Tully wrote:
(I sold the two D80's)

I need to put off the purchase of a D300 for six months to a year. Maybe
by then the price will be down around $1200-1400 USD for a new one.

What do you expect to pay for a used D200?

Until that day, I plan to buy a used D200. In the first stages of
evaluating a used one, I'm thinking that a pro probably puts around 2k
clicks on a DSLR shutter per month---if more than that, they would
likely be using multiple cameras.

Ask for a jpeg & check the total shutter count in the exif. This is
certainly something significant to look at.

More significant might be the number
of lens changes and the type of maintenance.

My experience with (film) cameras that are owned by a studio or a news
organization is that they get pretty good preventive maintenance and
even if the exteriors are rough the mechanical & electronic bits are
well-cared-for. How much of this do you guys think is applicable to
digital beasts?

I've bought some old lenses which belonged to news agencies or something
& they were severely abused inside & out. Who else would use a lens so hard?