Golden Tee 2005 CAB Advice

[urbecrisch]

A friend of mine is looking to buy a Golden Tee Dedicated CAB.  He's looking to spend around $1000-$1200 but doesn't want a real old version (99,00 for example).  I ran across a local ad for a 2005 CAB and emailed the seller who tells me "it is in excellent condition the monitor is clear and the trackballs ar smooth cabinet is nice as well".  The sale price is $1000 which I thought was pretty decent especially if the minitor and CAB are in good condition.  Now the same friend and I are going to attend an arcade auction 4/7/07 so there should be other GT games available.  Should he go for this one right away or wait for a chance at a better deal at the auction? The auction is 10 miles from us and this CAB is 65 miles.  Also, what are some of the things we should look for when looking/buying the CAB.  I'm new to this hobby and I'm building a Mame CAB (now it looks like two) so I'm not familiar with dedicated authentic machines.  Just some friendly advice and some suggestions would help me out. Cheers. 

[shardian]

Well since you are one lucky bastard to live 10 miles from an arcade auction, definitely hold out for the auction.

[urbecrisch]

Well, I live more like 45 miles but that's still close    You think he can score something cheaper or in better condition at an auction?  I was recently reading a thread and someone wrote that a 2004 GT sold for $1500 at a recent auction, that's why I thought this may be a good deal.  Anyway, I'll be starting a new thread soon about what to look for at an auction and how to go about buying a CAB since this will be my first auction 

[modessitt]

If you know someone who has a working 2005 GT for $1000, and it's an actual 2005 cab and not a 2002-04 cab that's been converted, you better jump all over it.  Hell the monitor alone sells new for almost half that.

Retailers sell 2005's for almost twice that.

But....

You don't need to buy a 2005 cab.  All GT's use the same cabinet starting in 2002 and just change the marquee and software, making it easy for operators to upgrade their games without buying new systems every year.  The only cabinet differences are with the new GT Live's which change the hardware, CP, and add a LCD screen in a new header, replacing the dot matrix scrolling display.

If he wants it to play licensed GT software, then find a 2002 or 2003 that's cheap, use the extra money to buy the GT Complete upgrade, and play all the courses from 2002-2006.  If he's planning on maming GT or something else in it, then just find a 2002 in good condition.

[urbecrisch]

Is it easy to upgrade a GT?  This is coming from a complete NOOB (myself) and my friend who "just wants to play GT".  Is it as simple as a board swap or is there some really complicated technical stuff to figure out?