I've got a BR-8. I got a couple of years ago, for a lot more than $245 let me just say. As for whether it's worth the money, that really depends on what you intend to do with it. If you have any previous recording experience, you won't have much trouble with it. If you're brand new, it's a good peice to start on. I made the jump from an old four track cassette to the BR8. It served me for a while. However, now that I'm recording on PC, the thing mostly just collects dust. Every once in a while I'll run a bass or guitar through it. Once you get away from the presets you can dial in some decent amp models that don't sound half bad. handy for recording when micing an amp cranked to 11 isn't an option.
The editing abilities are limited, but when compared to the four track it was like magic. Compared to most good recording apps it's like pre-school. If you intend to do any kind of live band tracking, don't bother with the BR8. If you just want a good way to quickly and easily throw down some ideas, go for it. If you have intentions of turning out anything "PRO", you'll probably be disapointed. It does have a lot of features packed in there, though. If you've got a drum machine, you can use the BR8 as the master to control the drum machine via MIDI.
I keep mine around because I travel for work fairly often, and it's a good way to mess with ideas in a hotel room without waking the neighbors.
If you think you're really going to get into recording, I'd suggest investing in a peice of software you can grow into,and a decent soundcard instead. Actually, if you're new to PC recording, Spend the cash on a good interface, then get N-track studio. 16 bit version is only like $45 and 24 bit is I think $70. This is a CHEAP way to get into PC recording, and affords a lot more flexibility and expandability than the BR8.