I think Dillen can give the best answer on that as he has done alot.
The Beomaster 8000 is a complicated machine with alot of electronic devices from a service point of wiev.
The more complicated the more it heads for trouble. Being the age that its from (1981) its no wonder that every Beomaster at some point needs service. Keep in mind that when the units perfom perfectly the get alot of use and the only reason alot of the older B&O comes up for sale is the fact it needs service and most people don't know where to go.
If the Beomaster 8000 is done well it well last long. Mine was a bit time consumming as there was alot of different adjusments to do due to unqualified former service. I use it on a day to day basis and exept a tiny bit of loose connections comming up it works great.
As I learned getting into the Beolab 8000 and 6000 for that matter is that its a step up but if you dont have a repairman on hand its not the best purchase to make.
As for lights Dillen fixed some in mine so it comes with age and it can be done well. It's just one of many little things that can be trouble in a Beomaster 8000.
Yes I have heard many cheaper/less complicated Beomasters and the thing with those is there is less to break. That's basically why. My parents Beocenter 2000 is still working. Now half of my white 6000 has replaced it. That is also back to 100% ready for the future.
I could get my Beomaster 2000 fixed at my local shop for a fair amount and it worked flawlesly the next 3 years. When it came to the 6000 and 8000 he was not able to do it. The Beogram 8002 were nearly dead even after he tried doing service. I took it to Dillen and I got a working as new 8002 back. That one still plays wonderfully nearly every day. I got it back november 2007 and so far just enjoyment.
I will say that the statement is right. Ad 8 years from now to any Beolab 8000 unit. Beomasteres for sale do show signs of trouble today, Beocords, Beograms likewise and Beox MS has foamrot. The few that has not had service yet will need it sooner or later.
The trouble is that few people can handle the service. My Beomaster 8000 is proof!
Unless its serviced its a question of when and that's basically the questions that comes up when one of the few still going is for sale in an ad. Great nice Beomaster 8000 with remote price xxxxxxx. Nothing about service or working condition but to the normal higher price it must be. Is it a better buy? No it will come and 8 years is good guess. One thing to say is that 20 years at least is really good for any stereo and B&O does it well. After that your unit will expire in ?????LOL
I don't regret a second of the Beolab 8000 time and money spend getting my system. In most cases straight to seller of the unit and then straight to Dillen in Copenhagen before I could even use it at all. The hunt for my Beomaster 8000 were interesting as it blew fuses. What could be wrong? Can't say 100% untill it's on the workshop table but Dillen gave me a sort of how complicated the worst case scenerio could be. Still I was curios and since a CDX also dead were with it I went for it.