What for Mars???

If someone came to you and said they wanted to purchase a telescope with minimal accessories (e.g. one eyepiece, simple mount), soley for the purpose of observing Mars this year, what would you recommend?
Keep in mind this would be the only time the scope would be used.

If simple means cheap as well I would recommend an achromatic refractor of the longest focus length you could find with at least 3-4" diameter objective lens (aperture). It would probably come with an eyepiece and I would get 1 UO orthoscopic (maybe 6mm). For example a firstscope 80 w a 6mm UO - it would come with a cheap low power to use just for centering the planet - and the CG3 equatorial would allow you to track at high power. Another very simple and cheap (alot cheaper than refractor) would be a 6" f/8 dob (like a meade or discovery) - get a UO (5 or 6mm), maybe a filter and you should see some stuff. If you have more money get a nice big refractor - look at mars and sell it for about what you pay - really good optics don't devalue much at all. Hope that helps