My apologies. I think I may have deleted your email as it was in my spam folder. Please send me another email and we can discuss your options. Quickly, buying a horn for $200 is a gamble. Some are playable, but most are in need of some amount of adjustment, which can be everything from minor action issues to a whole repad with major dent removal. Beware any advertisement for "German" or "French engineered" horns. The quality on those horns is suspect and they are generally made of inferior materials in China. You are better off with a quality used horn than a shiny new inferior one. The saxophones that are actually manufactured in Germany these days are of good to great quality, but they are also out of your price range. And as a disclaimer, I'm not technically an instrument professional - I am a mechanical engineer (which is actually a great background for understanding saxophones). Saxophones are simply a passionate hobby of mine. I play them and I refurbish them in my spare time. I'd be happy to review any listings you are interested in, but it is impossible to say whether an eBay instrument (or an instrument from any other source for that matter) is playable or not without looking at it in your own hands and playing it first. I do sell horns on occasion and will have some available very soon, but as I only sell horns that are guaranteed to be in playable condition, I don't ever have anything for $200 as it takes time and materials to get an instrument in working order.

I played my Bundy II for over 20 years before deciding to buy a new horn and that was only because it's butt ugly (been through hell and back) and I wanted a horn that looked a little more professional. Still plays like a dream. I didn't have the frequent repair problems you're talking about, however. I love how the YAS-23 allows me to develop my own sound with reed/mouthpiece selection. Kind of a clean state to paint on. To each their own, right?