To be honest I think it depends on a lot of things mostly how handy you are. I think a grand is not a lot for a machine this day and age. Yes people pick up bargains but I think they are few and far between.
I have seen Nedreud's bargain machines(s) and what he has done with them and others like him and I marvel at what they have done but I am not that kind of a person and the wonders they have achieved are a total non starter for me and probably many, I don't have the skill set to do that kind of work so I would rather pay the extra and have it somewhere near to what I wanted when I bought it, and it's not a case of well I bet he hasn't tried because I have. I bought a Getaway HS2 (great machine for around 1K) the cab is faded as are most so I thought I would paint it with glass paint, I looked at it, black background, how hard can it be?
I wished I had never started, what a total hash I made of it! yes it looks ok from a distance and it is the right colour and I may even finish it in 12 months but I am not cut out for it. I can tinker and clean but that is my limit.
I came in to this hobby a few years ago and I paid 2.5k for my first machine (TAF) I paid over the odds but now it doesn't matter because I had the cash at the time and now it's done and I would get it back if I sold it but I would loose my house before I sold that machine.
The very best way to get a machine today is talk to members on here, we all have them and we all move them on, we all know what they are worth so basically expect to pay it, you may get a bit of a mates rate but don't shaft them by shifting it on a few months later at a bigger price, you won't get a mates rate again. If you haven't got the cash and you know them ask for a deferred payment deal, I have many times there are more than one way to skin a cat!
If this makes no sense it's because I have had a few Vodkas!
Sorry
It also kept a lot of non-pinball friends entertained. Good luck on your hunt - are you going to 8bitflip event over easter weekend? That's a good opportunity to play a few different machines.