Just to follow up on what happened with Mark Uttley's Centaur advertised on kijiji:
My friend didn't detect that the kijiji ad was using IPDB.org pictures, but was in phone communication with the seller and got a good enough vibe off of the guy (he actually does know about pinballs, can talk knowledgeably about them, and described the condition of the Centaur in detail) that he ended up sending a substantial deposit by direct bank-transfer. At which point the seller stopped answering the phone. Unbeknownst to the seller, my friend had Mark Uttley's home number and business address (long story), so he drove 6 hours to Hamilton to confront him, but the man was either laying low or out of town so no joy.
Luckily, a board-member who will remain un-named was also pursing this game, and is local to the game. As is typical of Mr. Uttley, a local, cash-and-carry sale usually works out as he actually does have the games he is advertising (he seems to like to defraud remote buyers via deposits and a careful use of burner-phones and text-based communication). Our knight-in-shining-armour offered to go to Mark's place along with my friend. My friend drove down again, and upon being confronted by the two "buyers", Mr. Uttley sold the Centaur to my friend, honouring the deposit, and included the promised replacement playfield (along with a bonus set of new plastics). The game is in acceptable condition all-round, and the price was fair considering the extras that were included.
A special shout-out to the board-member who stepped forward to help out my friend, sticking out his neck for a fellow pinball collector. As my friend drove down without his truck (not expecting a "successful" resolution), the game ended up staying with the benefactor. My friend was able to do some meatball-surgery repairs on the game (which was initially DOA), and got it working pretty well, so as a bonus the benefactor has the use of Centaur for a week or too.
All-in-all, a much better than expected resolution to a typical Mark Uttley deal. Thanks again to the anonymous benefactor! Just goes to show that there are some really great people in this hobby! Stay safe when dealing with remote buys, and be aware that there are sharks swimming around in the pool (as if anyone who has ever monitored kijiji doesn't know that!).