The low prressure turbo was introduced in the U.S. market in
model year 97. A 97 would probably be a tad more reliable then a
96, too.

As far as the turbo goes, it is one of the more reliable parts of
the car. The transmission, air conditioning and electrical systems
are areas to be concerned with. Turbo problems are rare and I would
not worry about it unless it is a very high milage car.

Oil on the intake tubes is normal (the intercooler even has a hole in the
bottom for accumulated oil to blow out).

You can type in:

recommend 850

in the search field (below) and you should find a lot of posts with
clues as to what to look out for.