I can add my $.02 to the discussion. Just recently purchased a pre-owned Lobster Grand Elite 5 off that auction site (guy was local to me so I picked it up). Once I bought it, we got a STUPID amount of rain in the southeast Pennsylvania area in late August through September. I can only use it on my day off (Thursdays) and every freaking Thursday it was raining or was spitting out. Not going to chance it.
Moving into October, I have used my machine 3 times so far and I LOVE IT!!! So happy I went with Lobster (as I was also contemplating a SP demo off the same site). This thing is great. I'm not gonna lie it has it's few flaws, but the pros outweight the cons.
Pros:
Multiple different settings. You can use the manual mode and just hit one way for hours, or use the presets for one of 6 different "opponents" like Moonballer, grinder, lefty, etc.
Portability: yes it's a bit awkward, but I'm telling everyone, it DOES fit in the backseat of a sedan (I have a Ford Fusion). I roll it to the car, and I put a piece of cardboard on the seats. I lift it using the grab handles under it and put on the edge of the seat and then slide it. Fits fine. Balls in the box they came in (case of Penns from Costco). And Nike Tech bag in the back. Everything fits.
Quiet: machine really doesn't make much noise. At the court near my house, I do t hear the motor running.
Support: Lobster's CS has been great. I've emailed them before I bought one and after and gotten replies real quick.
Battery. This is the thing that amazes me. I changed it (said full). And I've used it 3 times about an 1.5-2 hours each and the battery is still listed as "high". Fantastic.
Upgradable: One thing the Grand Elite 5 can be is upgraded to the GE 5 LE. You take off the panel, pack it safely and send it back to Lobster and for a fee (with a core charge for a discount) they will change it to a LE with the 18 positions. I'm eventually going to do that. Worth it to me to have "full court" usability.
The few cons are small but need to be noted.
Remote:. For how much these are new, it should ABSOLUTELY be standard. I grabbed one off that same place for $75 never used (they are $300 new) and it's worth its weight in gold. Can change up settings on the fly and pause while your on the other side of the net. I may get the Android remote as that is the one you can program the machine from the remote entirely.
Handle:. It's wobbly and the locks are not the best, but I make it work. I'm sure the handle can be replaced. It's just bolted into the base.
Adjustability: while a positive, it's gonna take a good hour to really tweak the settings to do what you want it to do. I haven't yet done it, as I just wanted to get back into playing after a 13 year hiatus (I'm 42). Once the settings are programmed, they do stay locked in. Great feature. Not really a con but once you spend the time setting it up, it's done and won't need to change unless one wants to change them up.
I'm not going to mark the weight as a con. We all know these are going to have some weight so we know what we're getting into. It's not heavy, just awkward. No big deal. I don't mind wheeling it with the balls already in the hopper and my backpack bag (Nike Tech 1) on my back.
Overall, I'm thrilled with it. I may be missing something someone else didn't like, but I really haven't used it enough to find any bad quirks.
About me, I'm 42, and stopped playing back just after my liver transplant October of '03. My regular playing buddy got married and as life happens, got busy. So I stopped. Picked up where I left off as my wife (who never played before) wanted to just hit a little at the park. All I needed to remember why I loved this game. Played since I was 13 (self taught, never a lesson) and got myself up to a solid 4.0 as I could basically do it all with pace and spin. It's getting colder out but I'm gonna use the machine until it's too cold to be outside. Hope this helps some of you looking for a machine.