Tascam 488 vs. Yamaha mt8x?

[floid]

so, i've had a yamaha mt8x (you know, the "other" 1/4" tape 8 track) for a while now, and dig it...but it's starting to crap out on me - the tape speed varies wildly, some motor or control voltage switch or something my non-tech-head can't figure out. not a huge problem, i suppose, since i've got another board i can use, but i have to admit i've become rather attached to the glorious cheapness of its sound (record with dbx, then mix without = tasty), plus a rather substantial backlog of material recorded in this format... so i've got multiple questions:

who would be able to fix it? would this el cheapo gear be worth the money and time? if not, should i get another mt8x, or make the switch to the tascam 488 - i.e., will my tapes play back? and while we're at it, how do the two compare in terms of features, quality, usability, etc.?