Hello from New Zealand. I have a couple of walkmans: Sony WM-D6C and a WM-D3 which both work fine. The D6C originally had a faulty CX20084 which I managed to get a replacement IC from Japan seller a few years back with an excellent rating. The D3 had the typical broken center gear, which was a tricky fix (so many mechanical parts to remove!). Cheers.
I picked up the D6C up about 4 years ago, and the D3 about 2 years ago. And my tape collection is growing (50 ish).
Welcome another fellow Kiwi. Glad to see that you have taken up collecting cassettes. I also have a wee collection of approximately 500-600 odd. Most I have owned from new, also own a D6C a great machine. Cheers Kiwinut