If they break... why not get them fixed? There are quite a few options out there to fix various systems.
After about 10 years my Game Gear had no audio due to the cheap capacitors Sega used. I got a new motherboard and all capacitors replaced on the audio board as well as changed the backlighting from tube to LED. I've even replaced the d-pad rubber membrane between the button and motherboard.
Don't toss your old systems... fix them.
I have no idea how to fix them, and there's no shop or store anywhere near me that will fix them.
There wasn't one near me either. There are people on Etsy or eBay that will fix your systems. Then there are brick and motor locations and sites like www.estarland.com that will fix your systems. You ship it too them, they do the work, and you get it back. It takes a bit of trust on your part, but there are legitimate businesses.
buying a new one is cheaper then egtting it repaired for the most part
um depends on where you get the thing repaired and the console in question, them retro consoles are getting pretty rare and expensive now a days in America at least, I vote for repair vs, getting a new one because I know a PC repair shop near me that charges about $60 USD plus cost of parts to get any console repaired, to me that is way worth it
when getting another console used, you may encounter the same exact problem or worse, people could sell you another lemon it may work then break soon after with little usage hence the reason why the last guy might have sold it in the first place, in rare cases you may get bugs from another used console, if you do get another console make sure it's sold as refurbished and clean,
sometimes all a console needs is a good cleaning to work again I'd say get it cleaned if you don't know how to my local repair shop also does that for $60 USD a console.
when I bought my OG Xbox used I took it in for an inspection shortly after I purchased it. And the tech found it had a leaky capacitor. It just started leaking recently after it was sold at the place I bought it from, but good thing was the tech caught it in time
I ask the people I bought it from about and they told me they never knew about the leaky capacitor. or the fact that it's common in OG Xbox consoles a this point in time, the clerk said no quickly and without a 2nd thought
if you buy an OG Xbox make sure you get it looked at by an expert like I did, AND? i've had it for 4 years now or 5 don't rememebr and IT STILL WORKS