Can't comment on 2 - don't know the cost difference in your country (and we never had the 350 in the UK).
The carbon issue seems to be higher in the US, it is rare to see this issue in the UK that got to a stage where it impacted the running of the engine. Given the oil change interval in the US is less than the UK I can only assume it is related to people using poor quality oil in the US or there are emission differences with the engine. Do regular oil changes with fully synthetic oil and you shouldn't have too much of an issue. Certainly fit a catch can if you wish, it can only help.
If you needed to have the engine cleaned, that would still probably be cheaper than selling the 250, buying a 350 and paying for more fuel the 350 would consume over your ownership.