Saw your initial post on the Yahoo group. First the bad new a £750 budget is really going to limit your choices. If you hold off for a couple of months and slide up to £1000 a lot more options would become available. (eg Flintstones, Judge Dredd, Hook, Lethal Weapon 3, Jurassic Park, No Fear etc) - prices are very subjective though
The good news is that the resale value of machines at that end of the market are extremely unlikely to fall, so when time comes to sell you should get your cash back. There's not many hobbies that mean you can buy something, enjoy it and yet still not be out of pocket in the future,
Nothing wrong with a Hook, it was my first table. Just don't expect it to be as wow as say AC/DC. The small DMD is potentially an issue though if it fails as it's hard to replace. Same with the DE Star wars.
Gottlieb also have tables that tend to sell for under a grand.
DE, Sega and Gottlieb tables tend to be cheaper than WMS or Stern ones. Nothing wrong with them but personal taste is always important. The suggestion on Yahoo about buying a X-files will have Dan killing himself with laughter on this forum.
Hold fire for a couple of weeks and see what comes up. If you are in London then I'd suggest coming along to the Pipeline for the next London Pinball league meet. (it's in a couple of Saturday's time). Matt who runs it always has a good selection of machines for sale.
There's a fair few pinheads in London who can give you advice but really it comes down to finding a machine that interests you. The league meets are also a good place to get to try out a range of different machines. Where in the city are you?
I've currently got Batman Forever that I'm probably looking to move on in the near future but I'd be looking for a grand for it,
I'd hold off from ebay until you know a little more about what you are looking for, Lots of machines there but very little chance of getting a bargain.
The same goes for Gumtree