in other words what are the things wich will make you not buy a boombox.

for me its anything burnt melted or cracked. other than the antenna holder nubby things.
i also wont buy if the radio is not a go. i can look past the tape deck not working but i have lots of tape decks.
so what are your major turn offs wich will push you in the walk past direction.

For me it usually takes a combination of 2 or 3 things before I'll walk away.

1) Pitted chrome, the kind you cant fix.
2) Lots of deep heavy scratches.
4) To much of the finish being rubbed off, especially if it's the writing around the controls.
5) Severly discolored or broken cases.
6) Dead radio.
7) Missing parts (depends on the parts).

Missing parts
Dead radio
Broken switches
Blown speaker

Dead radio.
it's worthless to me if the radio is dead

also for me.
bad smells... kids got into it and scratched designs on it.
hmmmm nasty battery compartments.

Suspicious partial functions. (Tell you tape deck RW/FF but otherwise Ok type of stuff. Leaving more to be discovered.)

Too many missing switches, knobs

Exterior clapped out.

Tape or Cassette Deck has to be working, and if its working then I can get the belt's out and measure them before they break so that I can replace them with new one's but that hasnt happned as of yet as i have lots of cassette's and players to uh play with .... James

to me -- as long as the line-in works well - and the sound is great --thats most of what counts --

except -- it is a huge thrill to get a 100% working minty box -- once in awhile

Where I buy, usually there is no way to test the boxes out, so whether or not the radio works is something I cannot tell until after I've bought it. I always hope/pray that it will work, but I expect a percentage of them not to. Fortunately, I can USUALLY (although not always) repair them myself, and I don't mind doing so, although it takes time. I COULD probably carry around a napsack with batteries in it and test the boxes, but I don't bother; the stuff I carry around is heavy enough already.

What stops me from buying a box is:

(1) Too many missing pieces. I can live with antenna damage, as they are replaceable, and maybe a missing knob or two (I can probably get Bredgeo to cast a replacement or get one from another box one day) but if half the knobs are gone or the handle is missing, forget it.

(2) Big cracks, deep scratches or missing case pieces. Too much hassle and too difficult to repair to "like new" condition. I made an exception for the Conion; it wasn't cracked when I got it, but was by the time I went to bring it home. I could have got my money back for it, since the guys there knew they had caused the damage, but I didn't, because, well, it's still a Conion C100-F, and the only one I've found. I'd rather have a beater with the challenge of repairing it, than none at all. IF it had been a lesser box, or if I already had a couple good ones, then I'd have either passed on this one or maybe just got it to sell on or part out to members here or via eBay.

(3) Big/deep/noticeable scratches. I can live with a few minor scratches, especially if they are in less visible areas or if it is a box I really want, but nothing too major. I don't care too much about dirt, as I can always wash that off, but scratches are something else.

(4) Too much surface corrosion/pitting: In the early days, I bought some boxes that had some surface corrosion that had gone far enough to pit the surface of the chromed parts; even after cleaning, the finish is pitted. Better than no box at all, but that pitting really bugs me. Now I try to avoid any like that. I might make an exception, though, if the box is super-rare and the pitting isn't too bad. For example, I wouldn't walk away from an M90 just because of some superficial pitting.

In general, I ask myself two questions when looking at a box: (1) Can I make this look and work like a near-new box (if it isn't one now)? and (2) Is this box worth the time and effort (to me, at least) that will be needed to make it near-new? If it passes those two questions, I get it. If it doesn't, I pass.

The only time I will make an exception and buy a box that fails that 2-question test is if (1) I'm buying it for parts to make another box (mine or someone else's) whole/near-new, and/or (2) it is so ultra-rare that even a beater one is better than none, and I don't think I'll find a better one easily enough (if ever).

For example,I bought a Marantz PMS-7000 without its (detachable) speakers and with some broken circuit boards, because it can provide back-up spare parts for my good one, and finding another one or spare parts if anything happens to mine, would be EXTREMELY difficult, as it is a super-rare box. Now if I lose a knob or the faceplate gets scratched, at least I have back-up replacements.

In other cases, I may buy a beater box with a few good parts --say, an antenna or volume knob-- to swap around and improve one of my other boxes. I plan to sell off most of those after swapping the parts around, though, only keeping the best (improved) one. FOr example, I got a GF-575 just to take the tuning knob and put it on my GF-9000. After swapping the knobs, I re-sold the GF-575, since I already had a nice one and didn't want two.

Very poor cosmetic condition, broken tuner string (I just can't fix them).

If it's one of my favourites or a "grail" I would always buy it anyway.

quote:

Originally posted by Fuzzyduck:
If it's one of my favourites or a "grail" I would always buy it anyway.

This is very true Fuzzyduck, certain boxes would have to be a pile of melted goo with a $50 price tag before I wouldn't buy them.

whitout tape door, mad scratches, but i buy all the bbx i see in the street in a good loking condition working or not

dust bunnies in the cassette mechanism
broken cassette keys

i allways start with those conclusions not to buy a dead one, one with scratches, missing parts etc. etc., but if the right one is there - don't know, maybe it's an adiction...



...and if, i don't care

It has to be cosmetic blemishes, pretty much all internals can be fixed/replaced but not on the outside. The worst are non removable tuning screens that someone has cleaned with a scourer

quote:

Originally posted by agentorange:
It has to be cosmetic blemishes, pretty much all internals can be fixed/replaced but not on the outside. The worst are non removable tuning screens that someone has cleaned with a scourer

It's a bit tedious, especially if they are non-removable, but you can still buff those up to look like new again, if you mask off the adjacent surfaces and work carefully. Small dremel tools are good for doing this, as they are small enough and easy to control.

If it's just an 'ordinary' box...

1. Very deep scratches
2. Lettering missing
3. Cracks in case or bits broken off
4. Very bad dents or holes in speaker grilles
5. Missing cassette door
6. Missing handle
7. Missing knobs or switches
8. One channel not working
9. Missing battery compartment cover
10. Maker's plate missing from rear of box