For a newer collector the advice to get a shooter is sound. You'll learn about the pistol and it will help you discover where your interests lie. Re: affordable collectible or nice shooter, I'd lean in the shooter direction for a first Luger.
Lugers are not fragile. Like anything mechanical they may require adjustment and parts replacement at times.
On parts swapping -sometimes things fit and sometimes they don't. While Lugers were finely machined for their time, in general manufacturing is far more precise nowadays. Luger parts were hand-fitted at the factory to accommodate the manufacturing variances. I wouldn't advise a new collector to swap parts.
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