This thread gives me a little hope.
I just bought a house with a water heater that, according to the serial number, was made in 1993. The house was built in '94.
We haven't moved in yet, but it makes hot water.
The first thing I noticed was a plastic drain spigot at the bottom. Should I dare to touch it, or even look at it directly?
Also, I have never changed an anode rod, but there's plenty of room to do it. Is the old one (what's left of it) likely to come out? The pipes are something white like PVC.
I was planning to leave the heater alone and replace it soon instead of waiting for it to fail. We'll see how it does when we move in, but I might consider doing a little maintenance if that's realistic.
(If anyone comments and I don't answer, that's because I'm in the middle of packing.)