Funny, I read $2800 and thought that was crazy cheap. But I'm in California where most tankless installs are around $4K. I think there are some benefits to a tankless, not nearly as many as most people think, and water heating is such a small cost compared to house heating in general. One thing to consider is what shape the rest of your piping is in. tankless doesn't do too well with galvanized pipe, and as others said, at least in California, tank water heaters got more insulated, bigger, and don't fit in as many spaces as they used to. Perhaps buying the heater and parts to have on hand is useful, and then you can save some money if and when your tank does go down.