Hi
@MrSpireite, welcome to the forum and pinball!
When you say not looking for a 90s pin and your budget is very low I have to assume you're thinking either late 70s or early to mid 80s solid state? As suggested something from the Bally or Gottlieb stables could be had for a few hundred. My fully working 1981 VECTOR was £350. However, if that's still beyond your budget you could take a chance on a basket case project machine. My 1979 PARAGON was £150 and 1984 GOLD BALL was £125. Both were "non-working" but both came with an honest appraisal as they were sold by members of this forum. So I got an few photos, a basic description that pretty much everything was there and that they were sound and not rotting or anything really nasty.
It took me several weeks to coax life out of both machines. I'm quite handy with tools and pretty good at electronics but it tested all my skills to get the digital stuff working again. There's lots of great info out on the net. And plenty of folks on here who know pretty much everything there is to know about pinball repair. If you haven't got a decent set of basic tools (screwdrivers, pliers, snips, socket set, nut spinners, soldering iron, wire strippers, multimeter, etc), some workspace and a basic understanding of mechanical and electrical things then you'll struggle, hate it and give up. On ther hand, if you've spent your life pulling things apart to see how they tick and then managing to put them back together you'll fit right in!
One other thing to mention is that purchase price is only the beginning. Pinball can be a stupidly expensive hobby. Single screws costing £2.50 each and new machines £6-8k. But if you've got time and an inclination to attempt to reclaim and restore parts then it can be done on a modest budget. I have two "shop logs" on here (linked below in my signature) wherei detail my "Adventures In Budget Restoration". I've hardly bought anything new apart from obvious basic supplies (balls, light bulbs, rubbers, polish, cleaners and coin door locks). I've bought a lot of electronic parts but if you hunt around they can be had at bargain prices. The only expensive items I've bought were repro drop-targets, pop bumper caps and an apron decal for PARAGON. A real noob error! The decal was terrible! Caps and drops look good though. I'm also willing to experiment such as my homemade Lexan playfield protector which cost £15 whereas commercial ones will set you back over £120 (not that anyone makes one to fit GOLD BALL!).
Sorry, lots of words. I do waffle on when I get going but hopefully some useful advice and experience from someone who's also relatively new and willing to have a go
