Repair a 17-35 or buy Nikon 16-35 AF-S VR ?

[BrianSmith]

My 17-35 has started to squeak occasionally. If this progresses to AFS motor failure should I have it repaired or try and find the pennies for a Nikon 16-35 AF-S VR
Or maybe just use the 17-35 manually.

[Stany Buyle]

Had the same trouble with my 17-35 and bought the 16-35 to go with my D700. I find 16-35 a fantastic lens and I like the VR even for a wide angle.
I wrote my findings here.
Opinions vary though... Steve Bingham didn't like the 16-35 that much.
I never liked my 17-35 while Steve likes it a lot. After reading Bjorn Rorslett report about the enormous sample variation among the 17-35 F2.8 things became more clear to me.

[BrianSmith]

I'm certainly happy with the sharpness of my 17-35 copy and I'm not sure I would get much use out of the VR on the 16-35. I guess it will depend on the size of the repair bill when it becomes necessary but at least I would probably get the lens recalibrated at the same time.