I have done the same thing in the past with a DVDP.
Interesting story.
I owned a Panasonic CP-67, 5 disc dvd changer.
I wanted the CP72 which had 480p (not just "i") so i bought one. Sold the other Panny to a friend for $100 (at the time they were $130 new).
He had discs in it when he decided to move it downstairs in his house. Never took the discs out. Turned it on its side during transport and tried to fire it up in the basement. He quite clearly had lodged discs in the mechanism and it burned out the motor.
So, he gave it back to me as junk.
Not wanting to throw out electronics into the garbage at a time when there were no good e-waste depots, I went online and through a painstaking process , i found a new motor ordered from Panny directly, and got a service manual all for about $40.
Installed the motor when it came in (a rather delicate procedure) and that Panny is still running 6 years later in our living room (kids dvdp).
Net gains:
$60
1 dvdp
