Choosing a new soldering iron
Are you looking for best bang for the buck or solid reliability?

Best bang for the buck:

Chinese 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 that has soldering iron, hot air station and (with 3-in-1) smoke absorber. I went for the Kada 952D on eBay however after reading some more about the reliability, the lower risk of buying from a reputable dealer closer to home is attractive. The Aoyue apparently is made in the same factory and seems to be slightly more common so it might be worth going for an Aoyue over the Kada. Supposedly, the soldering irons on these offerings are compatible with the Hakko tips. Opinions differ on the included tips. I've ordered up a selection of genuine Hakko tips to compare.

Kada 852D+ or 952D:
See eBay.

Aoyue 968:


http://hackaday.com/2009/02/20/tools-aoyue-968-3-in-1-soldering-and-rework-station/
www.sparkfun.com/commerce/product_info.php?products_id=76
store.sra-solder.com/product.php/6267/0


Solid reliability:

Weller WES51

Hakko 936

You could combine one of the above with a hot air station (say Aoyue 850++) and still be under $200 (at least if you're in the US and talking USD $200).

I have no experience with any of these products but did recently face the same decision. I'm waiting on the Kada 952D and crossing my fingers that it isn't going to be faulty. I can only post one link in my first post.