A couple of years ago I found a Pace rework station on EBay for about $500. It is a three channel base and came with four handles: soldering, de-soldering, small tweezers for resistors/caps/ect sized parts (hot air + tweezers), and a larger tweezer type handle for QFPs.
Only the soldering sponge had ever been wetted and the de-soldering iron was used briefly. I did have to replace the soldering handle after one year as the older heater type was no longer available. I bought a small selection of tips in addition to the ones that came with it and am still on the first tips I put in it. With the new soldering handle and tips I have about $650 in it which is not cheap but about 1/3 the cost of a new unit. Oh, I also had to repair the vacuum pump but that cost nothing.
If you look around and can get a good deal on a used professional rework station you will never be sorry.