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I have an opportunity to get this Sonora baby grand for around $200. I have been restoring Victrolas for a long time and the only other off brand was a Newby and Evans. After working on the Newby with its pot metal tone arm and its Meisselbach motor that gave me problems getting the springs out and back in, I swore off brands other than Victrola to work on.
My question is; is the Sonora baby grand motor 4 spring and hard to work on? Do they nave their own motor or do they use Meisselbach like some of the other off brands? Are these rare and desirable to collectors? Is $200 a good buy price?
Any input would be appreciated.

I don't know about how hard they are to fix, but they are said to be some premium-quality phonographs.

They are desirable...in the current market, "collectors" really are selling more than they buy. Also, restored machines are always viewed with suspicion for whatever reason--which is unfortunate. It is in the best interests of the survival of these machines that they be restored properly, but no one does that. I personally would love to strip down my old XIV and see it shine after a refinishing inside & out, but most folks would say "Don't do that, you'll ruin it!" before promptly cutting it up for scrap.

Maybe some Sonora buffs will add in a little more brand-specific info, but they were a top-shelf phonograph in their day.

I own a Sonora Invincible which you can see here. http://forum.talkingmachine.info/viewto ... =2&t=21672 I am not skilled or experienced when it comes to servicing phonograph motors. I did try to service the spring motor in my Invincible. The Swiss made motor is a true mechanical marvel and exquisitely well made. I did however determine that servicing it was above my skill level. I didn't have any problems servicing my Victrola IX motor. If the Baby Grand motor runs well, go for it. Just leave the motor work to the experts on this one unless you have a higher level of expertise for spring motors.

Sonora used Paillard motors, which are very well made.

-Bill