I get a lot of email asking, "Will you come to my home and fix my pinball?" The answer is YES! And the price is less than you may think.

In-Home Pinball Repair Service.
If you live anywhere around the lower east part of Michigan I can travel to your home and fix your pinball game (1950s-present, EM or Solidstate) in your home or business. This includes the South East Michigan and Detroit metro area like Bloomfield, Bloomfield Hills, West Bloomfield, Brighton, Howell, Novi, Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Belleville, Adrain, Northville, Hartland, Milford, Pinckney, Chelsea, Flint, Fenton, Holly, Whitmore Lake, Milan, Saline, Hamburg, Plymouth, Wixom, South Lyon, Orchard Lake, Farmington, Farmington Hills, Birmingham, Royal Oak, Walled Lake, Roseville, Beverly Hills MI, Redford, Livonia, Westland, White Lake, Grass Lake, Commerce, Franklin, Taylor, Dearborn, East Lansing, Fowlerville, Haslett, Mason, Holt. Sometimes even Clarkston, Sterling Heights, Troy too. Basically around the Detroit area and west (more or less). I also go towards E. Lansing down the I96 corridor. This includes the Michigan counties of counties including Oakland, Wayne, Monroe, Genesee, Livingston, Washtenaw and others.

Visit us on Facebook too! Our link there is
https://www.facebook.com/pinrepair

Click Request a Repair to ask questions or make an appointment.

I specialize in pinball games from the 1950s to present. That means I can fix an old EM (electro-mechanical) pinball, or the most current solidstate pinball games. I also fix old shuffle alley/puck bowling and ball bowlers, arcade baseball pitch and bat games, arcade mechanical gun games, and other similar arcade games. This includes coin operated games made by Gottlieb, Williams, Bally, DataEast, Midway, Sega, Stern, Chicago Coin (CCM), Genco, Mutoscope, United and many others. Newer Solidstate dot matrix display games to the oldest electro-mechanical pinballs.

I bring all tools and parts for your game with me (I would say less than 5% of the time I have to make a second trip back because I am missing a part). And if I can't fix your game there's no charge (assuming you're not an hour's drive away.)

As part of the service I also clean the playing surface and the rubber bumpers (and replace them if they need it or you want it.) This only take a few minutes, and it's easy to do. I will show you how you can do this in the future too. Because keeping the playing surface clean is the best way to keep your game playing great, lasting longer, and of course looking good.

Note I am animal friendly! That is, if you have a dog or cat or two at your home, that is not a problem. I can fix your pinball game at your home with no worry about pets.

Generally a 60 mile trip (each way) is about as far as I can travel to do a pinball game repair (like 1 hour each way max.) Also travel is more limited during November to March, because the winter Michigan weather is unpredictable. So if you are far away and need a pinball game fixed for Christmas, please let me know if possible by November so I can make the trip before the winter weather comes. Keep in mind that long distance repairs can present problems for warranty work, hence my hessitation to accept really long drives. Because if you have a problem after the repair, it is very difficult for me to support the repair due to long travel distances. This is why I don't like to travel too far for repair. So please keep that in mind.

I do slot machines repair too (email for more details.) Also Chexx and Super Chexx Hockey games (domed bubble hockey) from 1983 (when introduced) to present. And I do fix video games. I like to do pinball repair but can fix other types of coin operated games too.

Other stuff I'm involved with includes the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum. I own and maintain the 525+ pinball games at that facility. So chances are good I actually own the same game title as you are asking me to repair, and that I've had extensive experience fixing that exact pinball title. Here's an article about the museum from a local news outlet. I also teach at class at the museum on pinball repair sometimes.

As for cost, I can also say this with comfidence... I will repair your pinball correctly, and I'll do it for less than anyone else in the area. How can I say that? Since I have many years of experience, I'm pretty quick at doing repairs, and my hourly rate is less than anyone else I know doing home repairs in Michigan. So less per hour and less time getting the job done means a less expensive repair for you. In addition, pinball repair is all I do. That is, it's a hobby spun out of control, and that has taken over my life (to the dismay of my wife!) I wake up at about 6:30am and I'm either fixing games or documenting repairs, and I do this pretty much all day until bed at 11pm. Yea I know, it's sick. But hey that's what I do. (When you own 400+ games, there's always something to fix!) Check out the video of me doing what I do at the bottom of this page.

Policy on Payment.
I please request Cash, but Checks are generally Ok. Payment is expected at the time of the repair. Checks with Dearborn Federal, Chase, Ann Arbor Bank or Citizen (those are my banks too) are ideal, because I bank with them.

I schedule about one week in advance. So that gives everyone plenty of time to get their funds in order. Most repairs are in the $50 to $300 range, so please have that amount of cash available on the day of the repair.

I don't work for insurance companies (been burned too many times.) So if you have insurance work, I can do it, but payment will be by the home owner at the time of the work (and you can submit the bill to insurance for reimbursement.)

Masks... I can wear a face covering at repairs. If you need that it's no problem, just ask.

Thank you in advance for this.  

You can click Request a Repair to send me an email with any questions, or to schedule a repair. Or feel free to send me an email at Cfh@Provide.Net as email is the BEST contact. You can call/text, but frankly it's difficult for me to answer phone calls during the day because I'm working. Email is better since I can do this in the evening and at odd hours. Please have the make/name of your game handy when you call or email! My number for calls/texts is 248-390-5382.

I ask that you only contact me if you are in the SE Michigan area. That is, I really can't help fix your game if you live in California. (Well unless you want to fly me to your location!) Though I do work in Las Vegas sometimes in the winter months.

I write and maintain the pinball and arcade game information and repair web pages at Pinrepair.com if you want to check that out before contacting me. Also I have a list of repair credentials at the top right of this web page.

In addition, if you have a broken game you want to get rid of, I do sometimes buy games. This includes pinball machines, gun games, bowling games, and Chexx hockey games. But frankly I would rather fix these games in your home if at all possible.

Bring the Game to Me.
I certainly do not advocate hauling a pinball out of your basement for repair, BUT if you want to do that, that is fine by me. If you want to take that approach, contact me. Doing this does save some money. Not a ton, but some, compared to me coming to your home. But if you are able to move your game, we can take that approach. Note if you live in Canada it's the only thing I can offer you (I don't go to Canada). Same thing if you live more than an hour away.

Why is this pinball service the best?
Simply put, I fix your game, and do it quickly and as economically as possible. My labor charges are the lowest of any one else doing this in southeast michigan. Also I'm quick, getting the job done is less time. Note I'm not a "board swapper". Yes there are some repair guys that can't actually do board repair, and just install a new board into your game. If you look at the price of new boards, and the labor you're paying the person to show up to do that, generally you will pay *twice* what I charge to repair your original board(s). And in situation where I do actually have to replace your board (rare, but it does happen), I use original replacement boards that are refurbished by me. The cost of a refurbed board is generally about half of a new board. And your game keeps its original look and value (most new replacement boards aren't made as well as the originals.)

Games for Sale.
I get asked a lot, "do you sell games?" The short answer is generally no. But sometimes (when I run out of space!) I get forced into "pinball space-closure", and must sell a game or two. This doesn't happen often, as I am a pinball fanatic, and just hate selling games! Also since I run the Ann Arbor Pinball Museum, we're always looking for games to exhibit there.

Q) When do you usually schedule repairs?
A) I generally try and schedule repairs for 10am on weekdays. I sometimes do weekends repairs too (Saturday or Sunday at 11am or so), for those that require it, but I try and avoid it if possible. One thing I can't do is repairs in the evenings. Please email to discuss your situation. I can generally work around your schedule. Feel free to use the Repair Request link to contact me with any questions, or to set up a repair.

Q) How much does it cost to fix a game at my house?
A) This is difficult to determine without seeing the game, but I can give a range of what most games cost to repair (cost based on time). Generally speaking, 95% of all repairs fall in the $50 to $300 price repair range. There are some caveats to this. For example, if you have more than one game obviously this usually takes more time. Older games (1950s/1960s) can also take longer to fix. Shuffle alleys and Ball bowlers from the 1950s and 1960s tend to take the most time. Solidstate pinballs from 1977 to 1985 with batteries on the computer board sometimes cost more to repair. I know now you're asking, "Batteries? Why would my game have batteries, and what does that matter?" Well most solidstate pinballs do use batteries to store high scores and book keeping functions. And the batteries can leak their corrosive fluids and ruin connectors and even eat the computer board (this is why I usually mount remote battery holders on many games I repair to prevent this problem in the future.) If the batteries have leaked, and the computer board must be replaced, this obviously will cost more (I do usually carry spares with me though.) But please keep this in mind - have you called a plumber lately? I know I have, and just to get a plumber to your house is about $100 minimum. So by comparison, in-home pinball repair is a bargain.

Q) How much do you charge per hour?
A) A reasonable question, but difficult to answer. The rate is really variable. I will say this though with confidence, I am less expensive than anyone else doing house calls in Michigan. Again I really try and keep people in the $50 to $300 range for repairs. So sometimes that means working for minimum wage! (Though I really try to not do that frankly.) I try and give a price range for repairs, as discussed above. And if the repair turns out to be time consuming and takes a long time, I will try and stay in the stated price range. In these cases obviously I'm working a lot cheaper "by the hour" than a standard repair. The point I'm making is that I will put a price ceiling on nearly all repairs, so the budget is not blown, regardless of how long the repair takes. It's best to discuss this for your particular situation, so send an email and we can talk about it. The problem with just saying a dollar rate is it doesn't really relate to anything. Because if someone is working for $20 an hour, but it takes them 5 hours to do the job, then isn't it better to hire the guy at $50 per hour who can get it done in one hour? That's why comparing hourly rates doesn't really tell you much. That said though, my hourly rate is lower than anyone else's in Michigan for this type of in-home work.

Q) What forms of payment do you accept?
A) It used to be I would accept nearly any form of payment. But in the last years, this has become a problem. I don't have the time or energy to track people down for payment. So as of now, Cash is the preferred payment (due at the time of the repair.) I apologize for this in advance, but bad checks and broken promises of sending checks just aren't working. I schedule repairs in advance, so this gives everyone plenty of time to get their funds in order for the day of the repair. Checks can work if you bank with Dearborn Federal, Chase, Citizen or Bank of Ann Arbor (as I have accounts with those banks.) Thank you.

Q) Am I a friendly guy?
A) Look I know you're excited to get your game fixed. But I'm at your house to get a job done. So let me do that work, and then after it's all done, we can get all chatty and talk about pinball. During the repair you will notice I just don't say much. It takes a fair amount of brain cycles to do this work, and frankly I need to concentrate. So you're not going to get my life pinball story (and frankly while working I don't really want to hear yours.) After we're all done, sure, let's talk. But during the repair, I just want to keep my head down and work as quickly and efficiently as possible. This keeps things moving and also saves you money. It may seem like I'm not being friendly, but what I am really doing is trying to fix your machine, and do it as quickly as possible, saving you money!

Q) Will my pinball repair require multiple trips? What Lead time is needed for an appointment?
A) Ninetyeight percent of the time I can repair your pinball in one trip. No one likes return trips, especially me! I usually book appointments about one week in advance.

Q) Would it be cheaper for me to bring my game to you for repair?
A) The short answer is "a little". When moving a game, there are lots of considerations. You have to disassemble the machine, get it out of your house, put it in your vehicle, and drive it. And then do it in reverse after the repair. Yes you can hire someone to do this for you, but that usually costs about $100 each way. And there is a chance the game will be damaged in the process. Moving a pinball is no easy task. So in the end, is it really worth it? I tell people it's just be easier to have me come out once and fix it at your home. That said though, if you really want to bring your game to me for repair, I can accomodate this. Just email me and we can discuss the details.

Q) How can I prepare for you coming to fix my pinball?
A) Please have the area around your game clear of stuff. I will need to gain access to all five sides of the game (front, back, left, right, bottom.) Also please make sure the light around the game is working! Though I do bring my own light, having good general light really helps a lot. If you have keys and manuals, please have them available. (Though probably 30% of the games I work on the keys are lost. Not a huge deal usually, but it takes time to get into a locked machine.)

Q) Will you fix my game in my garage?
A) If I will be working on your game in your garage, I need to know that ahead!! Especially if it's the winter! Seriously, I am human and I don't like working in a 55 degree or colder garage. (Or 85 degree or higher in the summer.) So please, if the game is in the garage, and that's where it will be staying, I need to know that ahead so I can dress accordingly and we can talk about it. Also be aware that games don't like cold weather (especially older electro-mechanical games), and consistent reliability will be compromised in a cold garage.

Q) A local repair shop is asking me to remove a board or to bring the entire game to them. Wouldn't that be cheaper?
A) Again the answer is NO it would not be cheaper. Removing a suspect board and sending it away for repair is a risk. When (if) you get the board back, you have to plug it back in correctly, and there may still be a problem elsewhere in the game, which damages the board again. It makes far more sense to have the whole game to repair. So what about bring it to a local shop? Again, do you really want to move a 250 pound pinball? Or pay them to pick up/deliver it? I can guarentee it won't be cheaper to bring a machine to them! In addition, some local shops use me as their repair guy! So ultimately I may end up fixing your game anyway, just at their shop. And I can guarentee that will NOT cost you less than just letting me come to your house to fix the game. There is also the time consideration. That is, most shops will have your game a month. Opposed to me coming to your house for a couple hours and fixing the game right then. And you can watch and perhaps learn a thing or two. Trust me on this, the shops in the Detroit area that offer that service will NOT cost you less. Besides the fact that you have to disassemble and move your game to and from their shop, the bills that I have seen reflect much higher repair costs than I do repairing your game at your home. Add to that the cost of a good chiropractor, and the fact that they may have your game for *months*, well, you get the point. And in the case of some local shops, they usually hire me to do the repair anyway!

Q) How much are parts?
A) In most cases parts are pretty reasonable and not expensive. I generally don't charge a lot for parts. I should say that some custom parts are expensive, like digital orange score displays or a CPU board, but most everything else is pretty reasonable. In fact I don't charge anything for some parts (like light bulbs).

Q) Will you clean my game too?
A) Yes I will. I always make sure the playing surface of any game I work on is clean. It's part of the service I provide, and frankly it only takes a few minutes to do this. I also like to show the customer how to keep their game clean.

Q) Do you warranty your work?
A) Yes. If the same problem that I fixed happens again in a reasonable amount of time, there is no charge for me to come out again and fix it (if you're 30 miles away or less.) Obviously there are some caveats to this. I should state some obvious things first, like pinball is very "mechanical." Meaning you're kicking around a three ounce steel ball, so things DO break. There's no way around that. To expect a pinball game to remain "perfect" indefinitely is frankly not realistic. Also most games I'm fixing are 15+ years old. Sometimes they are 30+ years old! (How many 30 year old devices do you have operating in your house?) Keep in mind that these games were designed for a 5 year life span! My point is, pinballs do break, and they are not designed to last forever. That said, I do try and be as pro-active about repairs as possible. But I can't predict the future and what will happen in one week or one year. Also if you live more than 30 miles from me, it is difficult to offer return warranty service. If you live 60 miles away, and there some issue after the repair, it's often difficult for me to come back out. Again that's why I don't like to drive too far for game service, because it makes after-the-fact support difficult.

That all said, there is one more point I would like to add in regards to my warranty. If the game breaks again shortly after I repair it, you should email/call ASAP. I can't read minds, so if the game breaks again, please email! I *will* take care of issues quickly assuming you're not really far away. But I can't do that if you don't tell me about the problem.

Q) I have lost the key to my game. Do you have a "master key"?
A) There really is no such thing as a master key. But I can usually get into a locked game without too much trouble.

Q) Can I watch when you fix my machine at my home?
A) Yes you can, but frankly I'm a little uncomfortable with it. To put it in perspective, at your job, do people stand over your shoulder and watch you work? On the other hand a lot of people watch and learn some things about pinball machine care. I'm happy to share this kind of information, just please don't make it too obvious that you're watching, and don't get too close! (Also if you're a real interesting personality with good stories that never hurts.)

Q) Why don't your do evening repair calls?
A) To be honest, it's not the best time of day for me. After a long day, it's more difficult to be focused and to do a good job quickly and effectively. Also it's harder to find people's homes in the dark. And frankly, anyone that is offering to do evening service calls probably isn't giving you their best effort (after a long day, how could anyone doing an evening call possibly work out better than a early in the day call?)

Q) Are there any spray lubricants or contact cleaners I should use on my game?
A) NO. Nothing from a spray can should be used in pinball. Chemicals can not fix a mechanical problem. If a repair guy shows up with WD-40 or Contact Cleaner, it's time to find a new repair guy! I fix problems correctly, not by spraying WD-40 (which isn't really a lubricant anyway.) Did I mention spray fluids are flammable too? (Yes you can start your game on fire rather easily with spray fluids.)

Q) Do you have any references?
A) No problem, I can provide references. I have also written extensively about pinball repair in the pinrepair.com web pages, and I write for magazines. I've even done webcasts on pinball repair and history, and some pinball repair videos and blogs. I also speak at pinball conferences across the country from Seattle to San Francisco to Chicago to Pennsylvania.

Q) Do you have any pinball games?
A) Yes of course. In fact, I probably have more games than I'm willing to admit. (I'm just not some yonkel that fixes games yet doesn't own any.) I probably have the largest pinball game collection in Michigan, with games ranging from the 1930s to present. (Ok, I'll admit it, I'm somewhat of a pinball hoarder.) Check out the Credentials section of this web page at the top right.

Q) I have several old broken pinballs from the 1960s and 1970s that have been stored in our barn for 10+ years. Can you fix these?
A) Yes I can. But please have them set up on their legs and the inside vacuumed (especially if stored outside, mouse house!), so I can get right to fixing them. Hopefully water, rust and vermin are not big issues. But games that have sat a long time are usually the challenging to repair.

Q) I have a 1963 Chicago Coin ball bowler. It has not worked for more than 10 years, and we can not find anyone to fix it. I am located in Farmington Hills, can you repair it? Do you carry the parts?
A) Yes I repair ball bowlers and shuffle alley bowlers from this era, and I carry the parts needed.

Over 800 game schematics!

Free Light Bulbs!
Generally speaking, I don't charge for light bulbs. Now why would I do that? The reason is pretty simple... A few years ago I bought about 20,000 #44 and #47 light bulbs (the most common light bulb used in pinball machines.) Since I have over 500 games, this made a lot of sense to buy in bulk. But having that many games, I've made the conversion to LEDs, leaving me with an excess of lights bulbs which I'll never use. (I don't necessary recommend the use of LEDs, but when you have a hundred games powered on, the small individual power savings from each game adds up, hence my switch to LEDs.) Therefore, I generally don't charge for light bulbs (specialty bulbs which I don't have in bulk are not included in this deal.)

Parts? We've got Parts!
Since I have a great many games, they require a great many parts. Hence I have nearly anything needed already in stock in my repair shop. And since I own so many games, I buy parts in bulk. This means you save money because my parts generally cost less than others charge. For example on rubber rings. I have an inventory of about 10,000 rubber rings in various sizes. Why? Well I buy in bulk for my extensive inventory of games. And you get to ride on that train and get rubber at a good price too.

Test Fixtures and Repair Equipment.
I do component level repair. Meaning I fix broken components, and generally don't just swap boards (though sometimes a board swap is quicker, and in those situations, that works well too.) Because of this, I have test equipment for nearly all the pinball systems out there. This greatly aids in the repair of boards. (The picture below shows a test fixture for 1977-1985 Bally pinballs and for 1980-1989 Gottlieb pinballs.)

Boards? We got Boards!
And because of all the test fixtures and equipment, I keep a nice inventory of extra repaired original boards on hand. This means when I come to your place to fix your machine, there's an excellent chance I have a spare board in the car for your game. Because somethings things do get tricky, and doing component level repair on your basement floor may not be the best option. For this reason, I sometimes do board swaps. That is, I put a fully working reconditioned original board into your game, and take your broken board as a "core", which I will fix later at the shop. This is a very effective way to do complicated repairs (though frankly I always try and repair your board at your place, because, well, that's what most people want.) Note I generally do not sell brand new Alltek or other maker's replacement MPU and driver boards. Why? Because they are expensive! Using good quality original and restored boards cost about half what these new boards cost. Guys that want to put in new boards are just costing your more money (and making your game unoriginal.)