Ed, welcome to the best type club anywhere! You'll like it here. I'm not too far north east of you at Haller Air Park (7FL4), just south of Green Cove Springs (south of Jacksonville), and due west of St. Augustine.
My advice is to be patient. There are lots of 150's/152's on the market and some of them are in Florida. You need to do your research, and look at several before you'll get a feel for what's out there, and what you should pay. Many sellers plan to haggle and "asking prices" can be grossly inflated. I tell a seller this: "I don't haggle and I don't make offers! Quote me your bottom price. If I like it and everything checks out with my IA, you've got a sale! Otherwise I'll thank you and walk away."
"New" engines and components may suffer infant mortality. It's often better to find one that's been overhauled in the last few years and with a couple of hundred hours on it, already broken in and with a proven track record.
When someone paints something for resale alone, they aren't always as concerned with the pre-paint preparation (and that can save them money). Preparation is everything and done correctly it's expensive! A "cheap" sand and squirt paint job can still look georgeous, but might hide corrosion problems or lack of preparation that becomes evident under bubbling or flaking paint in only a year or two. I probably wouldn't buy a plane with paint less than 2 years old, or that had been treated throughout with "Corrosion-X", "ACF-50", or similar anti-corrosion products within the last 2 years before painting (the paint can't stick well, so a reputable and experienced paint shop probably won't touch it anyway).
In this economy, you can find a really nice, solid 150 for well under $20k, as Bill said. Buy a solid bird for less than $15K that sorely needs paint, and you'll know what you're getting under the paint job of YOUR choice.
Bottom line, it's really about how solid and reliable the airplane is, not looks. Cosmetics can be applied after purchase, and honestly is much of the fun of ownership for many of us. There are lots of club members here who will gladly guide you on obtaining quality work at the best prices available. Buy somebody else's idea of perfection at $30K (a likely inflated price, and for unknown quality), or "build" it to suit YOUR tastes at probably considerably less.
By the way... the best interior man in the business may well be Mr. Shelby W. Isham of TN Wings, and a club member, too!
