Argghh yes if only I could have half the money back i've spent on cars over the years I'd be a rich man!
As for the spending money on GTRs debate..well they are no more unreliable than any other 12-15year old car...the thing that tends to make people focus on them so much is:
1. The type of owners (Like ourselfs) that they are attracting now, and what we want from them.
2. When something does break, parts are generally a more expensive, plus they have all the bells and whistles such as 4WD, 4WS, ABS, Twin Turbos etc etc which makes them difficult and expensive to work on.
As to the original question on Turbo options, heres one for you, you can have your existing Turbos rebuilt with Machined housing, steel T28 Wheels and steel shaft for around $1200ea mark (Taking them off yourself)
I'm considering this option ATM, as have had great sucess in the past with this arrangement.