Topic: F-5

[jay3712]

Hello all,
I am a novice, looking for a table for the game room for casual play with friends. My parents have an entry level home Tornado that I played while I lived there in high school (can't remember the model). I really like that table, but as I have not played on a higher end table I don't have anything to compare it to so I may not know what I am missing. I defer to the greater knowledge of the interwebs. The consensus on this board seems to be to hold out for a tornado coin-op; I have looked for them for a couple of weeks, but have not seen any around the $500 price mark I am looking for. I have found a "like-new" Tornado F-5 non coin-op listed for $400.00. I searched the forum and didn't find much; I know the retail on these new but where should the price be on these used? How do they compare to the coin-ops that seem so popular? I guess just looking for input on non coin-op f-5s.

I am in Greenville, South Carolina but I travel around a good bit and will drive to get a quality table.

Thanks,
Jason

[snake eyes]

Thats a damn good question Jason, I have never played on a non coin-op version of the F-5, and the F-5 coin-op I did play on at the local pub where we play our tournaments only lasted there a couple of months because it had a playing surface that resembled a cereal bowl. Vending Co. even tried using this leveling kit from tornado that was a joke with what looked like car jacks in the inside of the table... The ball NEVER rolled true enough for us to play on. They sent in back and we got a new Grey Marble. Just my 2 Cents.


Snake

[Will17]

I have played on a couple of F-5 tables before, they are really good as an idea... Essentially it is the same as the coin op, but without the coin op installed. The only problem is that they were made in a different factory, so the quality control is even lower than with the coin ops. One of the two I played on was great, the other had a lot of problems. Just try the table out and see if it plays nice or terrible, then make your decision. That is a decent price for a table of this quality, it probably cost that person WAY more when they purchased it.

[alaris]

Jason,

Great Tornado foos is found in Asheville and Bonzini foos in Columbia. Your in the best spot in SC for foosball.
Make it to a Friday DYP in Asheville and ask around about a Tornado table for sale. You just might find one. Good luck!

Rebecca Terry

ps: DYP information listed on www.netfoos.com

[jay3712]

Hey thanks for all the info guys. I am glad I found this board before I bought anything. To think I was considering a Storm II before this, Lord have mercy!! I will keep looking for a grey marble, as this will match my black pool table and other black furniture well. I travel quite a bit for work to Atlanta, Savannah, and Columbia so I will watch these markets and I could pick one up on a "business" trip.

Jason

[John M]

Beware of the F-5 home model ....I have played on one before that was like snake eyes describes...There are other coin-ops that are more tried and true that you can find....PM me if you are coming to Savannah we can get a pick up game going.

[Tyler Foos]

Jason,

I noticed Savannah was on your list of cities worth searching. Jacksonville, FL is about 2 1/2 hrs south of Savanneah and has a farily well developed player base. Jaxfoos.com is the website for the organized foos scene with regular tourneys on Weds and Sats, and might be another location to expand your table search.

Hope this helps.....................................Tyler

[jinhopark]

Jason:

You might want to contact Alan Cribbs.  I believe he lives in South Carolina and might have a grey marble coin-op for sale.  I'm sure it will be more than $500, but I'm sure it would be in fantastic condition and it may even be local...thus saving you driving time and gas $$$.

Or you might want to try and contact this ebay seller:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=130461697414

It's not a coin-op though, and he listed it for $675...but it didn't sell, and so they would probably be more interested in a cash pick up proposition.  I'd offer them $400 cash and remind them there are no Paypal and eBay fees, no time packing, and since it didn't sell for their asking price then they should keep in mind it's an indication it's overpriced.

[jay3712]

I may not have had to wait as long as I thought to find a coin-op for a reasonable price. A "like-new" Tornado coin-op just showed up very close to Greenville for $575. I don't know what model or year it is, but I sent an email asking for pictures and more info. From what I have gather on this forum, $575 is probably a pretty good price if the table is "like new" as stated. I will likely have more questions if I talk to the seller tomorrow.

Thanks for the tips!
Jason

[alaskan thunder]

I think Jason A, who ran tournaments in Orlando may have some F-5 coin ops for sale. Pm me if you want his contact info. He is like 4 hours away from you, but I bet you could get a pretty good deal on one of them.

[jay3712]

Well below are a couple pictures of the table. Unfortunately, it is not in "like-new" condition as was stated previously. Things I noted:

1. Two chips in the laminate on the left side of the table, which you can see in the pictures.
2. The locking mechanism was broken so the owner just bolted a lock on the side.
3. A cupholder has been attached to one end of the table (with a couple of screws)
4. The 3 yellow man rod is very slightly bent; all the rest spin fine.
5. The surface, the goals, and the men all appear to be in good shape.

I thought this was going to be the table, but after I type all those things out above it no longer seems like such a great deal. Is it possible to tell what year this table is from the pictures? The owner is asking $500; what would all you experts pay for a table in this condition?

http://picasaweb.google.com/Jason.Feather/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLODsNq7lJytqgE&feat=directlink


Thanks,
Jason

[bbtuna]

500 is a reasonable deal, even a good deal...offer him $400 because you have to replace at least one rod and some men ect (rod is 35 plus shipping)...get that for 400 and you are now in the "steal" category...let us know what happens

by the way, the F5 is a metal wraped Cyclone

[jay3712]

I passed on the previously mentioned table that I went to see a couple weeks ago. It wasn't really in as good of shape as I had anticipated and this is going in the living room, so I think I am going to hold out to spend a little more and find a grey marble.

Thanks for all your help! The search continues.

[bbtuna]

how are you doing on this?  you aren't one of the people I have been working with off line are you?  if you are, sorry, i can't keep it all straight and don't make the connection to your online handle

if not, feel free to contact me any time