water out of order

A friend in New England just posted that his water heater has gone to Heaven. How did he know? "(I) woke up to find out that my hot water heater was leaking all over the basement. Questions:

- It's cooked, right? It was leaking from the bottom, that means it's rotted out or otherwise unrepairable?
- It's oil fired. (Welcome to New England... oil heat.) Should I switch to electric?
- Should I go tankless while I'm at it? Preliminary research seems to say yes to that one.

The consensus was yes, indeed the unit was done for, the debate came into how much if any cost savings there would be to go with a tankless model, with some people thinking they are more efficient while others quoted a Consumer's Report study which may prove that they don't save any money given the length of time it would take to recoup the initial investment.

I do know that if he needed a Roxboro plumber I could have given him a number to call. A place where all their techs have a minimum of 5 years of working experience and they have earned their good reputation by being honest and reliable - the three things you really want when it comes to taking hot showers in the morning!.