i own a hakko 936 soldering station & a denon desoldering gun (the vacuum pump is in the gun so it does not have a hose going to an external pump ) (see attached picture).
the denon has been a great tool and i havent ever had to change the heating element and makes desoldering components a breeze. The denon is also used for soldering smd components. with a flick of a lever and a different tip you can solder surface mount components.I paid $480 for the denon 11 years ago and it is still going strong.(worth around $560 U.S. today)
the hakko 936 soldering station has been great also. i used to work as a electronics assembler and this iron would run 9 to 10 hours a day 5 days a week for 5 years but over the last six years it only gets used a few times a week. i have used it to solder the tiniest of pins and wires which you need a magnifying glass to see ( if any one has chipped a ps2 they will know what i mean) to soldering the top part of a T220 package 7805 regulator to a p.c.b and 10mm square cable (using different tips of course).
in the 11 years i have owned the 936 i have never had to change a heating element and spare parts are still available today.
