I agree. Won't be so bad I would guess, if you can do alot of the work on your own. From the moajority of the turbo models I have driven, the 2nd gear synchros have always seemed to have that grinding issue. I guess they are just that weak and can't tolerate the abuse all that well. So basically, I would say it's kind of normal and should hold up fine as long as you don't rag on it. Mine has had a slight grind/notchiness in 2nd gear (when cold), but usually smooths out when the car is warmed up. That was when I bought the car back in 2001 with 53,000 miles on it. Car now has about 94,000 miles on it today and the tranny is still running strong.

All comes down to your driving habits and style of driving. I consider myself to be a decent driver, that can squeeze out all the performance that the car's setup can provide, without ragging the shit out of it (which in turn, can actually cause a decrease in performance).

EDIT: Have you checked some of the cars that are available here? Some of them seem to be in good shape, and for a good price. Keep checking autotrader and ebay periodically. You can find turbo models, that were adult owned, unmodified, and maintained well, for really good prices at times.