clueless gift giver in Xmas rush

I am considering getting my best friend a 3D printer kit for birthday(24th)/Xmas. Considering the date, and my genuine lack of detailed knowledge of this hobbyist industry, I really could use a hand. I'd like it to be something that foremost can be received in entirety by the deadline. I would of course also like something of good quality, with a stable design that uses parts and/or construction that is upgradable. I can't spend several thousand, or even all that close to one of them. If my request seems feasible, then please throw some suggestions my way on assembling a shopping list for ebay, McMaster, etc, or point me to a complete kit solution. Bigger is always better, but I have no requirements for overall size or build area.

I don't know what kits require what level of knowledge, so I'll give a short description of the intended recipient. Long time computer tech. Builds and maintains servers, repairs plotters/printers, does wireless installs on towers, and whatever else they do in a small business that grew from PC sales to ISP. Able to handle home and auto repair, including engine rebuilds and repair/renovation of structures with carpentry and metalworking. He has a lot of certifications for his networking requirements, but I don't think he does much programming. He's played around with CNC torches and welding machines at one of the businesses his employer has a contract with for network services, so at least some knowledge of CAD and parts production. Bit of a geek, so he'd likely use the printer for both making mounting brackets and housings for work and trinkets/figurines from anime, fantasy series, and video games.

We have good parity as far as the mechanical equipment and construction knowledge, but I am clueless about electronics. This is going to be my hurdle if I were to try to take a BOM and make sense of it while searching out retail stock. So if there is a ready made shopping list with solid links, or a reputable one stop shop that can get a kit to the southern US in under two weeks, I would greatly appreciate a point in the right direction.

My kit from Makerfarm has worked pretty well for me. Your friend should be prepared for a lot of tweaking. Hobbyist printers need a lot of babysitting and adjustment.

As a side note, the z stabilizers included with the kit seemed to make my prints worse. I removed the 608 bearings from them and got much better prints.

You will have trouble with ship times for XMAS. Solid doodle took 5 months to received, makerbot too 2, and prusa took 2 months.

I have a solid doodle 2 in box - willing to sell it and ship it to you within a few days, you will get it early. I only bought it to open it and test it, so it will be fully assembled too your benefit, and minus 5 months. As far as my reliability, your welcome to PM me and I can send you my ebay account which has a 100% seller review score, or whatever makes you happy. Sell for about ~ $650 + 30 shipping.