Are CD-RWs worth it?

My RICOH DVD/CD-RW drive has been unable to write to several brands of rewritable disks. When I visited my local byte shop to discuss repair/replacement options, I learned that they neither repair nor sell those drives. They claim that the technology is so flimsy, at this point, that they are essentially not worth the trouble. What do you think? Is there any basis for their assesment? Is there any CD-RW drive that you would especially recommend or would I be better off investing in some other removable storage solution.