People who have paid $150 for Out-of-Warranty service

[Rike255]

Ok so my 60GB PS3 broke today, and I'm debating whether or not to get it fixed ($150) or buy a new one ($400).

This is the second time my PS3 broke, first time it was still in warranty so I didn't mind. But now that I have to pay, I'm curious if anyone knows about how reliable the consoles Sony sends out are. If I pay the $150, is my system going to just break again in a few months?

Also, do I get any type of warranty that comes with the system Sony sends me?

Also, like a big dummy, I haven't backed up my system for a long time...probably over a year, is there any way to get that data off the current HDD? My PS3 won't turn on at all so I can't do it that way.

Thanks in advance!