The issue here is whether or not the things that need "maintaining" are problems or things that would fall under general car maintenance. To me, an exhaust manifold that goes every 50k unless you can get your hands on a revised one, is not general maintenance, neither are turbo's that go some times as early as 50k!
They are reliably problematic
The manifold is a known issue, but they can be welded and modified to prevent repeat failure. Turbo's going at 50k miles is simply indicative of poor maintenance and/or abuse. They are Garret turbos as used by many other manufacturers, there is nothing inherently unreliable about them.
Weak points are front wishbone bushes (replacement wishbones are reasonably cheap), engine mountings at higher mileages (not cheap!), rear radius arms (repair kit available), oil cooler pipes (steel parts can corrode and fail in old age), radiators can rot (as with many other cars of the era). The engine is strong and reliable if maintained properly; failures are usually due to upping the boost without checking the fueling.
Lots of people will love to tell you the the engine needs to come out to replace the cam belt, this is complete rubbish. It's a very tight squeeze to get to it, but any of the specialists will do a cambelt change for far less then a main stealer will charge, and do a better job. It's also entirely possible to DIY it if you have the skills and tools.
Contrary to popular belief, the red key is not vital. Lots of people own a coupe without this key and have never needed it, ECU's don't tend to magically lose their codes. You can clone existing keys quite cheaply if you need spares. The red key is a good selling point however, as it will discourage the lesser informed.
