Steve,
For that price bracket I would seriously consider a Last Action Hero. Dorky movie, but the game is super super fun. Its actually the sister game to JP. Modes are similar, but 6 multiball, 3 massive magnets which cause mayhem and a big old crane in the middle of the playfield to move the locked balls!
You'd pickup (maybe) a WH20 privately....MartyMachine is selling one at the moment which comes with lots of extras. That would be worth a look if it hasn't sold.
T2 is a great game, but you would struggle find at under $2500 at the moment. Getaway is a blast.
Everyones's tastes are different. I would definitely suggest getting them to put a few hours in playing different games to see what grabs them. You don't want to buy a pin based on a theme only.
I think MarkC was talking about a meet soonish, which is a great opportunity to test drive and see heaps of different games. Or pinball faith at Bumper.
