All 3 of these are Sanyo models (Betacord) from I assume to be the early to mid 80s. All are top loaders. All of them when you press play the motors make a whirring noise, yet the tape does not advance and the machine shuts off. 2 of the 3 I was able to get the tapes out without any issue or damage, the third one it took a little effort to get the tape out as it unthreaded it so I had to manually wind it back into the spool.

The one that unthreaded the tape would not work in any other way, either Rewinding or Fast Forwarding. However, the other 2 aforementioned Betacord decks DO Rewind and Fast Forward tapes, they just don't work when I hit the Play button.

So for those more in the know, what is wrong with these machines? Given that they are all the same brand and all have similar issues, is it possibly the same part that is faulty on all 3 of them, like a belt or something similar?

Lastly, I'm debating getting these machines fixed with Mr. Betamax, the famous Beta format repair expert. Has anyone here had any experience with him? Given his proximity to me I probably would hand deliver and pick up the decks myself as shipping would be more than gas.

Threading ring is most likely jammed up with dried up grease, common issue with 80s vintage electromechanicals. Sanyo does things a little differently than Sony on the Betamax format in they unthread the tape when not in play/record mode and there's a little rotary switch to tell the microproc the position of the threading ring. Often times these are dirty inside and need a good squirt of DeOxit or similar contact cleaner, Sanyo used a glass fiber infused nylon threading ring in those so you want to be careful with how you attempt to move it around, easily broken and very difficult to find another. I have the Sanyo SuperBeta HiFi (VCR-7250) so I'm familiar with the problems, I'm assuming you have either the VCR-4400 or the 4600 decks or both and while they're not terribly difficult to work on they're not a good quality. I've owned my 7250 since new and used it for the audio quality (better than VHS HiFi) and more than once had to lift the top to rescue a tape.

I don't know who this Mr. Betamax is or anything of his reputation, I've been working on Betamax and U-Matic since the early 80s.