I wouldn't like to be without mine, I've had it about 3 years now. I have the 20 version which they don't make anymore. The only issue is I have to use it  fairly upright because it gets hot. I've read in forums that it does not get too hot. This is not true. If I have it at 20 to 30 degrees angle , bearing in mind I use it for around 12 to 14 hours a day, it gets hot enough to burn my hand. Having it at 60 to 70 degrees the heat stays at the top of the monitor so so long as my hand is in the lower 2 thirds of the monitor its bearable. When I got this there was a Japanese alternative for less than half the price but the monitor was only capable of displaying thousands of colours (I always thought that was a graphics card issue) so perhaps it was a mis print. Anyway I have'nt seen any alternatives recently other than self builds.
If you can afford one its worth the cash I think. I save a fortune in paper pencils and materials. Even my sketching I do on the cintiq. The down side is you never have originals to sell.

I got to play around with this at Comic Con this year. It is pretty sick. But I really didn't ask a whole lot of questions other than "how do you do this?. What is this for?". But now that I'm really looking to get this or an alternative, I'm kicking myself for not asking more meaningful questions.

As for getting hot, is this a common thing with your set? How long can you work before the heat becomes noticeable? Any breakdowns in performance since you've had it? How reliable are refurbished ones? How much does it weigh? Do you move it around and work wherever you want or are basically married to your office? So many questions I know I have but can't think of at the moment.

The downside is definitely no originals to sell. But for me it will be for coloring and painting more the drawing, even though i know I will do some of that too.