I am the same, I prefer to buy scopes new... for fear that the previous owner might not be as pedantic as I, and it may not be in the condition I would like it to be...
Collimation of an SCT is laughable... Its SO easy.. I avoided learning newtonian collimation when I had a newt, because it sounded hard... I attempted it finally after 3 months of owning the newt, I gave it a go, failed, tried again, failed, tried again, better but not perfect, tried again (etc etc...) When I got the SCT, I was again cautious to attempt collimation, Even though it clearly needed to be done, because I feared the same troubles I had with the newtonian. I bit the bullet in the 3rd week of owning the C11, and within 5 minutes of starting, the views were (to my eyes) as sharp as my 4" APO refractor.. It was an absolute breeze. now, 6 weeks later, the is still as well collimated as the day I first tweaked it.
It's easy, the scopes hold collimation, sometimes for years if treated with good care....
I think for imaging, an SCT is a great choice... Sure, the refractor will be easier to use, but there really is no substitue for good old fashioned inches!!
