You are right ,they used to be everywhere & I know for a fact that they can take some abuse...hence the hefty cost I guess , years back I used to deliver pinball machines for Bally midwest and played many for free...😊
I do know they were expensive to have professionally worked on.
I have repaired my own for 30 yrs, but the newest ones are not repairable (the main computer board at least) without sophisticated equipment and knowledge. But with home use only, they may never need board repairs in my lifetime!
crazydoug