I had a problem with one of my solar models. As far as I can tell, any problems that have popped up is the use of the 1616 battery models. My battery was replaced by a local jeweler who tested the water tightness afterwards to make sure it was not compromised..all for about 10 bucks versus the 40-50 that Casio wanted. One of the many theories (nothing for sure) is a bad batch of batteries and that the problem may not exist anymore in recent production, YMMV.
Solar models are available with a few different battery types though, so you dont have to get one with the 1616...plenty of larger capacity models available.
I think the auto-EL is only available on the solar or 10 year battery models. If its something you will use a lot then of course a standard 2-4 year battery would be a bad choice as the auto-EL drains it quick. I have a few models with the auto and I find I hardly use it. Neat feature but way to sensitive and may require you to need to charge the watch way more often.
I swore off solar after my GW-300 had trouble, but after speaking with the jeweler about it and reading some of the comments on ht watchuseek forums I have given it another chance. Think of it this way, just pretend that the battery will only last 3 years under normal use in either a solor/non-solar model. Frequent use of the light and alarms will shorten the life of a standard one. Even if you only get 3 years out of the solar battery, you can still use the light and alarms far more often without worry. Also, either one will eventually need a new battery anyways and for a jeweler that knows what they are doing, one is no more trouble than the other to change.
As for your needs that yoyu stated, this is one of the ones I think can be useful. I got one recently myself and love it. It has plenty of features, autoEL if you want it, and of course the all important countdown timer.
This uses one of the higher capacity cells and I have not read of any problems with it about short battery life. If you want a solar, go ahead, I dont think you will encounter any problems.
Be careful of ebay. If you find one you like, then check on the seller. There seems to be a high number of fakes (some models more common than others) of G-Shocks and might be difficult to tell if you dont know the watches all that well.
For most models, this place seems to have good prices:
http://www.4-watches.com/casio/gshock.html
Never hurts to check Wal-Mart though, some stores have a good selection and by the time you figure in shipping from online dealers then Wal-Mart is probably about as good a deal as you will find.
