I know some here scoff at the idea of an older cd player, although depending of the brand, I will often pick up a used one if the price is right. I have noticed out of all of the cd players I have found used, the JVC units around 1988-91 have always worked perfectly and continue to do so, not to mention that they are always dirt cheap. I have a XL-V 231, XL-V311 as well as a XL-Z 331, all of which work great and pretty much look alike to the untrained eye (although really from the front the only real aesthetic difference is the XL-V311 being from 1989 is black on black while the others from 1990 use the exact layout, but it is gray on black).
I have had old Technics, Pioneer and Sony machines and they have all been quite trouble prone when they get up there in age. I would say that the only other units I have used that have equaled the JVC's reliability is my ancient Luxman D-404 and my three Belgian made Magnavox (Philips) units (this is not including my Belgian made Philips CD recorder which is at times temperamental).
Anybody else have JVC units from the same era and noticed that not only will they not die, they will never get sick. This is certainly something they did not stick with on their later generations (starting with the all gray, tray in the center units which were junky in comparison).