[mts]

Try driving both as see if that helps make your decision. I think they drive and *feel* differently and for a reasonable difference in price and the same options I prefer the 05. Of course, when I was looking the price delta wasn't "reasonable" to me anyway.

The 05 has a bit more power and a better interior (IMO). They also cost more and have the traditional issues early new models have. Not a big deal, but given the option I always lean toward the last year of a model line than the first.....most of the bugs have been worked out.

I have an 04S and really like. So far the car has been really solid and at the time I purchased I wasn't willing to part with the extra $$ for the 05. Plus, I have the 550 model which I really liked and has almost every option available so that also helped drive my decision. It is true there have been more engine failures in the 986 (and 996 for that matter) cars than is probably warranted; however, there are many more trouble free ones than troublesome ones. In addition, though I have no statistics to back it up, it appears to me that there tend to be more engine issues with the earlier 986S motors than the later ones (03-04).

Get a PPO on the 04S you are looking at and I'm sure you'll love it. However, take a spin in an 05 first and decide for yourself if its worth the extra $$ for you. For me it wasn't, but it will be for others.

Good luck.