My view would be (corrosion aside), unless you are looking at anything thats considerably newer, you may still have the same problems, clutch, tyres, brakes, suspension issues, they are all consumables.
I am not sure why you would buy a new w brace, just get the old sand blasted and paint in smoothrite or get powdercoated, cant see it costing more than £50.
If the car is structurally sound and you know whats on the horizon (pads maybe clutch) it would seem an odd reason to get out of it.