Like you, I got into them late and now kind of regret that. Back when they were dirt cheap, I was into the Garands and M1A's and couldnt be bothered at the time. Fast forward to about 5 years ago, and I had the bug and had 5 of them for a while there, all GI guns. Ive since got over the sickness and Im back down to 2.
Not trying to dissuade you here, but be prepared to fiddle with them and likely spend some more money on them, if you pick one up. All 5 of mine looked good outwardly when I got them, but needed a bit of work to get them somewhat reliable and shootable. Not really a big deal, but you should be aware of it.
I had to rebuild the bolts (you'll need the tool too if you do) and replaced the recoil springs on all 5, and that made a big difference in how they worked. Add to that, replacing the GI mags that came with the guns with new, Korean KCI mags, brought them up to 95-98%. I dont think youll ever see 100% with them.
Pretty much every USGI mag I have or have had have been trash and a big part of the function issues. The Korean mags, both the 15 and 30 rounders work great and are a great deal too. About $12-15 a mag.
You probably should pick up the wrench for the gas piston too. 4 of the 5 of mine had the staking on them broken too and were loose. Not really a big deal, and I actually prefer them loose so I can clean them, but the one thats still staked hasnt been an issue.
I had to reset and restake the rear sights on all 5 too. Seems whoever had them in the past didnt like that the main body of the sights werent centered when properly in place and knocked them out of the staking that was done at the arsenal. Its not a big deal, but you may have to do it. I actually had one rear sight fall off and land at my feet as I was shooting it the first time out.
You may have to work on the front sight a bit too if you want the range settings on the rear sight to match up with the zeros, if the front sight was replaced when they went back to the arsenal after the war. Most were. DCM has a page on their website to help you there. They actually have a bunch of good info on them there.
Ammo has always been somewhat expensive, even when the guns were cheap. I do reload for mine and that brings the prices down a good bit and its an easy round to reload for. Bullets are plentiful, fairly reasonably priced, and easily sourced, but brass isnt all that cheap and the most expensive part. Add to that, these guns seem to have a 360° vertical and horizontal ejection pattern, making at least some brass loss a sure thing. It is what it is I guess, but its annoying.
There still seems to be a fair amount of Korean GI surplus around but its a bit salty, and the commercial Privi Partisan seems to work and shoot well too, and isnt overly expensive. The Privi can also be had in a soft point.
Just be aware, once you.. start shooting them, youre not going to want to stop. Reloading is the way to go.
I had one of the Ruger PC Carbines for a little while and didnt like it at all, especially compared to the GI Carbines. Its heavy and clunky for what it is, and the blowback action is annoying. It wasnt all that accurate either. They seem to be going up in price too, and personally, Id spend the extra money for the GI Carbine.