There are a couple salt cells that are interchangeable (generic versions). Mine has not gone out yet, but some of my co workers have had success buying replacements online saving about $200 off the dealer costs. Replacing a salt cell is an easy task and takes very little time or tools.
My salt water pool has been super easy, its only a few years old so no failures yet. I have added some acid a couple times for pH, add a few bags of salt ($8/bag) a year and thats about it. The first winter I had it I got a black algae in some places, which I read is somewhat common the first year in gunite pools (something to do with the porosity of the plaster). Getting rid of it was pretty easy though, took a couple hours on a Saturday and maybe $50-75 of chemicals.
