Turntable problem/advice?

I have quite the LP collection but a surprisingly lower-end setup. A long, long time back when I was a preteen, my mom bought me a Sony component stereo system (this was 1988-89) with a standard PS-LX model turntable (can't id it at the moment). While it was a huge improvement for what we had at the time, it is still a fairly pedestrian setup.
Anyway, after 25 years, it is still kicking. I changed the needle and the belt regularly and kept it clean, and my records still sound great. However, I noticed an issue with some records, where they tend to skip as they are towards the end of the side. It seems to be a pretty consistent problem, and it makes me worry that the needle is wearing down the records more than it should or that something else is going on. At first I thought it wasn't balanced and that the floor was too sensitive, so I bought a table for it. That improved things, but it still skips occasionally, even on brand new records. I have a cheap Ion USB turntable that I gave to my son, and many of these records do NOT skip when played on that turntable.
Now, I like the turntable and the records still sound great, but there's not a lot of room for improvement. There's no skate control, etc. so I don't know how to determine a problem. My question, should I take it in for repair or track down something else altogether? And do you guys have any recommendations for a nice mid-price player? I probably should get a nice rig, but I just haven't bothered. I did have the chance to get 2 Technics 1200's a long time back for a good price; I wish I would've now.

 

Replace your current turntable. Search through the forum here and you will find lots of lower cost/entry level suggestions.

 

What he said. You don't have to spend a ton of cash to get a nice setup.

 

Thanks guys. One thing that is nice about living in Pittsburgh is that I have a ton of resources for vinyl/turntables. There's even a really nice repair shop/equipment place right in my neighborhood, but equipment has been flying out of there as vinyl has been experiencing such a resurgence lately. I'll do some reading/research.

 

Are these records skipping at the same point every time? I ask this cause when I first got my Pro-Ject Xperience turntable and I eventually noticed that the tone arm would only go so far and would not make it all the way to the end of the record because it was turned to far to the right. Meaning it was at the end of its travel and wouldnt go any futher.