Ever bought something advertised as "broken", and it wound up working?

[PSony]

Bought a broken skeleton Saturn, reseated the rod in the drive assembly, and it works like new.

[saferkefka]

This. It worked right out of the box. I was actually pretty surprised. The only thing that beats this is my $40 60gig bc ps3 from craigslist that was on the wrong video setting.

[goatdan]

Would a Whirlwind pinball machine count?

I actually run across a number of systems like this with the GOAT Store, it's tough though because a lot of the time when a seller is selling something as "UNTESTED" it really means "I tested it and there is no way it's going to work, haha!" The key is finding stuff that people buy in lots that don't have all the necessary hookups to work otherwise. By doing that, I've picked up just about one of everything listed as 'broken' that worked once I was using the right hookups or something like that.

[PSony]

Bought a broken Japanese Dreamcast for $16.88 shipped.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWNX:IT

Seller claimed he couldn't get visual on screen. Received it today and it works perfectly fine. The top casing was discolored, but I had a broken American DC with a good condition case so I swapped it over and swapped over the clear triangle piece.

[horseboy]

I bought a "broken" Space Invaders upright for $50. Turns out the back door was loose and wasn't pressing in the safety switch on the back. Works like a charm.

[livingfora1up]

Went to a garage sale in the middle of nowhere with a kid about 18 running it. I asked if he had any video game stuff lying around and he said he had an NES with games, but the system stopped working. So he brought me out the games to look at and some of the cords and controls. I bought a couple decent games for $1 each as well as a dogbone controller. As I was about to get in my car to leave I turned around and said "what are you gonna do with the broken system, man?" He said "I dunno, I'll probably pitch it." I told him to run in and get it and I'd take it off his hands. He goes back inside and sure enough comes out with a top-loading NES, cords, and another dogbone controller. Gave it to me for free, of course I get it home, pop in a nice clean game and it fires right up. Love it when that happens!

[NoDanaOnlyZool]

Last weekend I bought a "broken bundle" at a local place. It came with 2 copies of Mario Paint and a Super Gameboy for $2.50. They all worked.

[PentiumMMX]

This is how I got my top-loading NES, after wanting one for years.

A friend of mine had it, and because it didn't work, he decided to let me have it; since he had already purchased a replacement. After taking an air compressor to it to clean out the dust and god-knows-what out of the cartridge slot, it worked quite well aside from a few little quirks (The 1st controller port needs a cleaning, as sometimes it'll read that I'm pressing Start if it jiggles slightly).

It's quite nice with the TV Tuner on one of my other PCs; allowing me to leave my trusty old NES hooked up to my TV

[The 1 2 P]

I was at a flea market where a guy had a table with a bunch of electronics and other junk. He had a big sign stating that everything was either $1 or $2. Amidst all the worthless electronics was a 3DO FZ-1 system, the first time I ever saw one in the wild. I asked the guy how much he wanted for it and he said $2. I then asked if it worked and he said he wasn't sure. So I told him that I would only give him a dollar since it might not work and he agreed. I got it home and not only did it work but it also had Crash and Burn in it. And thats how I got my first 3DO(which I still have to this day) for $1.

[bacteria]

I got a PS2 fat console for £5, and when I tried it, it didn't work, the discs weren't reading; nothing to lose, opened up the drive unit, and saw the disc that held the CD in place was wonky - now it works fine (i'm using that console in my Alpha Omega project).

Intellivision - they are unreliable these days by and large - had one unit that worked but controller didn't and so swapped with controllers from another unit, and system then worked fine.

[retro junkie]

A place that refurbishes game systems had a PSP 1000 with a scratched screen for $65. I wanted a PSP and couldn't really afford the $169 asking price at the time. I purchased it and noticed that it had a screen protector on it. I began cleaning the screen with a damp paper towel and the scratches came off!! The PSP was in mint condition. I still use that PSP today.

I have picked up many Original Gameboys and GB colors at flea markets for a $1 that only needed a good cleaning.

I have an Ipaq PDA that I got for $5 "as is" all it needed was a new battery.

I got a N64 "as is" for $10. I thought at the time, if the cords, ac adapter, and controller works, it would be worth it. Good cleaning and I have the system as a backup with all the cords and stuff.

[weaponepsilon]

I've bought brand new (at the time) systems off ebay because someone had to go and screw with them. Usually taking them apart and reassembling them does the trick. I also got a Japanese Saturn because "it didn't work". True enough, it didn't, but with a keen eye, I found a random blob of solder on a CD laser board where it didn't belong. Now I have a shiny Japanese Saturn for all those NTSC-J games I got...

[Kiddo]

I don't have anything quite as relate-able, but my Famicom Disk System and my Sega CD model 2 were both "Untested" on eBay and didn't come with AC Adapters.

Luckily, I had some appropriate ones myself, and gave them a test. I was particularly surprised to know the FDS was working right away.