Hi, pleased to hear the bank blag went well, hope no-one got hurt.
So, you've got a spare two and a half grand eh?
If I had that much in readies I'd tour all the shops I could, trying everything hanging on the wall, rather than buying new and waiting for the depreciation to hit.
Or trying the privately advertised horns on sites like Gumtree, where I recently saw a Selmer Series II tenor within your price range.
ps. I've just seen a King Silversonic alto there for £1400, hmm interesting.