This Old House, or Fix me.

   Along the same line as bringing in the Subaru for a no-cost application of sealant ,and finding that it needed new brakes and new tires,  our fuel provider told us there would be no cost for a tune-up to the furnace and water-heater in our basement. The tech arrived today, and descended  into the basement only to knock at the kitchen door seconds later to tell us there was a problem with the water heater.  "Flames are shooting out," he told us, "and the material is melting."  He wouldn't service it, of course, and recommended replacing it.  He wasn't making that up; it is definitely deteriorating, but who would have noticed.  It had been cleaned  a year and a half ago, by our fuel company, and must have been okay then.   "It's old, said the tech, That company, Ford, doesn't even make them any more."  Now the issue with me is that if I remember replacing any of those things in the basement, they should be newer, not old.  The water heater that came with the house was white and we replaced it with the present one that is blue.  And that blue paint is scorched and peeling off what looks like corroded metal underneath.  It is old.
    "How much is it for a new one?"   That depends, we are told, on what type of heater.  Those we have had were and are oil-fired.  To replace with the same type would be $3,000-$4,000.  But he would recommend an electric heater at $1395, which would include installation.  So we're quote shopping right now.
    I think we just outlived the fixtures of this house, obviously not by too many years.  Must have been the clean living.  Last summer we replaced our oil tank, which was original with the house, and this fall we needed a new water pump, which necessitated pulling up the old well pipe and burying the pump in the well.  That's how it's done now we were told, and who are we to argue. 
     We put in a call to a local plumber, but he hasn't returned our call, so maybe it's off to Home Depot.  Maybe we just shouldn't use any hot water....