Is it smart to replace a gas water heater before it actually leaks?

If you are getting an indication that it might need replacement... and the budget agrees.... then do it.... obviously your "intuition" is hard a work... and better to replace it than to have it break at a much less convenient time.

You could have it checked out and see if it has signs of problems to come. If not, I would wait. Do your homework and find what you want before it is needed, that way you will know in advance what to get.

You've gotten 16 safe years of operation out of your current water heater. Unless you've got it set up with a valve to automatically shut it off in case it starts to leak or the bottom literally "explodes" out, if you have a catastrophic failure you could do serious flood damage to your basement or whatever location in which the water heater is located - and it may not be covered by homeowner's insurance so (1) check your coverage to see if water damage due to water heater failure is covered! (2) You can't always rely on online product reviews because, just as with restaurants and other service businesses, competition does hire fake posters to make negative comments about their "brand." There are also professional scam artists who will do this at sites like Home Depot, etc. to try and get a response from them and get a partial refund on a "defective" product that isn't defective at all. I would say your best bet is to stick with an established brand and check with Consumer Reports to see which brands come in at the top. And be prepared for sticker shock. Due to stricter regulations that have been put in place over the years, water heaters and furnaces can no longer be routed through an old chimney stack, piping must be run through the side of your house and vented outside. If this type of venting does not exist, it can get expensive to have installed, depending on how far the venting pipe has to be run. Because of additional safety features also built into the new generation of water heaters required by updated building codes, be prepared to pay more for a new one as well.

Save your money and wait till it goes out. They still make standard hot water heaters that vent through the chimney. Then there are the high energy ones that have a power vent that vent through an outside wall. A lot people can't afford the $1000+ bucks for the high energy ones. And sometimes they don't fit the application if you don't have an outside wall close by. I got 18+ years out of mine till it finally went out. Was installed by previous owners when I bought the house in 1992. Bottom just rusted out. Replaced it with a standard one. Just drain at least one gallon of water once a month to flush any sediment and it'll last longer. WHY FIX SOMETHING IF IT AIN'T BROKE!

Do you drain it every year to get rid of any deposits of any mineral in your water? So in other words are you taking the steps to make it last? I would have an account with the money so that if you have to you can without it causing a strain,and pretty much that's z great strategy for all appliances but not easily done,I understand that but a good chunk of your savings budget should be for home emergencies not just for a job loss situation. I run things into the ground. I also have a family I can count on to bathe at their homes if need be, cause I won't pay for weekend or emergency fixes overtime is outrageous so if you have a support system that can help out in a pinch I would wait but with the money saved for when the time does come.