Welcome to the board! I'm Sarah, and I've been in your position before almost exactly, except I went through with it.
I bought a 1991 MR2 Turbo with 301000kms on it. I have since put 46000kms on it since buying it one and a half years ago. I have replaced to date: three sets of tires, two brake calipers, four rotors, four sets of pads, two emergency brake lines, distributor cap and rotor, two sets of spark plugs, four jugs of coolant, eight-ten coolant hoses (at $50-100 each), turbo, downpipe, exhaust, exhaust manifold gasket, turbo to downpipe gasket, throttle body gasket (twice), valve cover gasket (twice), air flow meter, and countless little things like vents and brackets and whatnot, as well as multiple oil changes, filters, air filters, etc. I have to replace the driver's side seat which has cracked and broken leather from use and wear, the hood flew up and broke the cowl and bent the hood (my fault of course), the paint is not factory but needs a refresh, it has lowering springs but needs new struts, and I am now replacing the entire motor as the head gasket blew and poured all of my coolant out at a gas station.
Is it worth the $4300 I paid plus the $1200 spent at Toyota last year, $700 on a new turbo, and the countless other little things and parts I have had to buy and am currently buying? Yes. Every time I get in that car it's worth it. I find excuses to drive it, I love to just stare at it sitting in the driveway. I get stared at driving down the road (in a 19 year old car!). If you have nothing you prefer to spend all your money on then go for it. I'm in debt for it currently, but I wouldn't trade it for anything (except a turbo MKIV Supra...
).
That's just an example, though. If the car you say has a rebuilt motor, I say go for it. If the price is right and you have proof, the motor is probably good to go (provided the build was done well!), the body will probably need some work, you may need suspension and whatnot, but it's really up to you. It may be good to do what I did, save the money on the initial purchase and drive it, and piece it together as you go. One day you may also do what I did and take it off the road and turn it into a project and get a cheap car to boot around in. These cars are certainly NOT cheap on gas either, using 91 octane at a minimum!
Good luck with whatever you decide to do, and don't hesitate to ask somebody on here to help you with your purchase, I'm sure we can provide a good insight into what you may or may not be getting yourself into!
