My Garrett was $180 freshly rebuilt and ported. You can get journal bearing Garrett turbos for cheap. Borg Warners are great too and can be had in the $150-200 range depending on model. You'd want to get one that's about the size of mine, cute but works. T3 50 trim .42 A/R compressor, .48 A/R turbine. In fact, Spilner521 has the exact same turbo that I have, except his has the option for water cooling. You might be able to buy it off him. His Alero hasn't moved since he bought the Evo, and he's fine with taking parts off it.
But yeah, some eBay turbos do the trick, surprisingly. I just wouldn't risk a rebuilt engine with one, because if the impeller decides to break into pieces, all those pieces are heading right for the engine. Bits and chunks of metal don't usually do well for an engine.
