Tascam 388 advice

[beatifictatter]

Hi,
Been looking for a 388 for a while. Just heard back from someone saying they have one but 'needs a service, the motor has started running slow''. Is this a dealbreaker? I have zero experience of working on electrical stuff so I'd need to find a tech. Are there any in south UK that anyone would recommend?
Many Thanks

 

[beatifictatter]

Scrap that, the seller has replied saying the following, refreshingly honest. I'll keep looking....

"Well, to be honest I cant say how much the repairs would cost or if the part
thats malfunctioning can be replaced so you might be better off finding one
that works--it could run you £200 to repair this and I cant guarantee it can
be done."

 

[A Reel Person]

...

If a capstan is running slowly, it may just need a belt.

If the FF/RW function is running slowly, this can most often be adjusted out.

 

[beatifictatter]

Thanks for the info. Neither of those sound too expensive/hard to fix...Is there an indication i can ask the seller to look for that would rule out it being the motor being on its way out or something else that will be more difficult/expensive/dealbreaker etc? I'm planning to learn the 388 inside out and eventually be able to do most work on it myself, but I've barely used reel to reel before and concerned about getting a deck that'll be a waste of time/money to get it going... I've found another 388 that is much more expensive, but it works and is good to go straight away, trying to figure out the best option but its difficult without being able to see the decks (both at least 6 hour round trip away..) and with my having zero experience with them or knowing how difficult/expensive various issues could be...