The grading system primarily addresses the cosmetics. Back in the 60s-70s-80s the train's ability to perform was usually proportional to its appearance. But on the newer electronic stuff you really don't know without testing it. It could be DOA right out of the box. The complexity and opportunity for failure is probably an order of magnitude higher than postwar or mpc.
I try to avoid sellers and situations that are vague and evasive. Unfortunately all the grading standards are subjective. The definitions are open to interpretation. (minor scratches).
My favorite grading terms on this forum are "mint", "brand new" and "test run". Seller descriptions on OGR can be very humorous such as: "mint, less than two hours run time". Or "brand new - test run only". Like advertising a brand new car with 1,000 miles on it.
