Good luck in your search.
I've always recommended a thorough in-person evaluation, and considering you've concluded that a number of Pagodas are in a condition less than as represented, this becomes exceedingly important. If you buy sight unseen, don't blame a prior owner, the onus is all on you. In a solid PPI, you or your agent will determine pretty quickly if the condition is as represented. There are two sides to every story. If you find a lot of misrepresentation right from the start, probably best to walk away. Be wary of "California Cars", there's far too many represented as such that may have retired there but started life somewhere else. There's 5,000 surfers in California and 50,000 that dress like them. There's far too many "California Cars" out there to justify the claims.
In addition to this forum, don't forget to check the mbca.org classifieds, both online and in The Star magazine. There's generally a few each month in your price range. If those are things you don't know, invest the $55 and join the club and partake in some activities to meet other Pagoda owners that are local in the Minuteman section.
Many auto manufacturers today don't build to a customer order, they build to a dealer order. So it is sometimes hard, even on a new car, to get exactly what you want in the color you want. In the older cars, this is exacerbated; just the color palette and combinations on this W113 series is astounding compared to modern cars today, the bulk of which are black, white and silver and maybe a variation of silver like gray.
Form your own opinion, and if you can drive a couple of them. They all feel wildly different! Remember also that ~50% came with automatics to the USA. Some eschew the automatics and only want a manual. Some pine for the ZF 5 speed. I've driven the latter and came away wholly unimpressed. My own impression was "give me my automatic!" But that's just me. You want a sports car? Buy a Porsche. Want a real affordable sports car? Try an MG, or a Triumph. The Pagoda is not a sports car but a touring car with roadster body and two seats.
Spend the time to learn what the maintenance and repair costs are and can be. An engine rebuild from Metric is about $10K, and of course you have to take the engine out and reinstall it. FI pump rebuilds are well over $1,000 these days. Some trim pieces are hard to find, so familiarize yourself with what a complete car looks like. Seek out the other members in MA and New England (there are a number of them) and go see their cars. Pay a visit to Gernold at SL Tech in Maine, and buy him lunch or dinner! Before you go, look up Phil Morgan (member here) in southern Maine and see if you can pay a visit to him. He's very knowledgable on these cars but stays quiet of the forums.
You indicated that you don't mind a car that needs something as long as it's disclosed. Not every car in the hands of our members here is running flawlessly but damn we're all trying to get to that goal as time and $$$ allow.
Buy the absolute best you can for your budget; and remember the old adage, there's nothing more costly than a cheap Mercedes...
