I'm not saying I did it the right way but I have bought almost all my gear from the iis classifieds.
I can be patient when I want to be and it paid off, I have a 8" skywatcher 'black diamond' f/5 scope, and an eq6 (old model, no guideport) for <$600. With my 550D, laptop an guideport mod, off axis guider I'm pretty much set. Just saving up for a QHY5 guidecam at the moment.
It's probably not as portable as the setup you mentioned but it's hardly a mission to take it out most nights and I've been very impressed with the results (but I am easily impressed).
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...S/IMG_3011.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...S/IMG_3038.jpg
http://i735.photobucket.com/albums/w...S/IMG_7792.jpg