Most of the DVD issues were fixed quite some time ago. I got a refurb (from my 1st one dying after 1 and 1/2 years), and the DVD is better/quieter.
If you want one, either save cash and wait for the price drop, or buy a cheap-o refurb from geeks.com for like $325 + free shipping.
Trust me, with H3 and GTAIV, MS WILL drop the price to keep in some sort of competition with Nintendo.
Back from the dead, I'm afraid.