@CU_AMiGA
I think the prices on the Blizzard 1260 are still high, but haven't seen anyone on Amibench in the past few weeks.
I have also recently upgraded to a BlizzardPPC, going from Blizzard 1260, and I haven't had to spent money on upgrading or repairs at this point, about half a year later.
I have 5 PPC boards at this point, and haven't had any problems with those yet. I'm keeping at least 2 of them to run OS4 when the time comes.