[pinksnyper]

Originally Posted by Krooked

My personal feeling is this. If you want a weekend warrior, I would tell the buyer to look for an S model.

However, if you want a daily driver, you will be happy with either. Both have enough power to satisfy and both can be comparably equipped as far as creature comforts. And, depending on the year, the base will have more power than the S models in the listings.

That said, there are some cool options that make the S a bit better in my opinion. And all things being equal, I'd definitely pay a bit more for the S. The better brakes and improved suspension can mean a lot to some buyers, and the interior touches, like the white gauges (IMO), may be a draw as well.

I had a large amount of models to choose from and wound up buying a fully loaded manual 2005 base model. It didn't hurt that it also came with an adjustable custom after market suspension and exhaust. And since it is in pristine condition, I am very proud to show and sound it off. As a daily driver, it is an amazingly fun ride and I have had zero regrets.


But as far as the IMS seal goes, that wouldn't scare me off. Though I would have to change out the IMS on that particular model and factor that into the total purchase price (which, in my opinion, still makes the 2004S a good purchase).

100K on an original IMS is good, but I think at some point, you're just pressing your luck on what should be considered a wearable item.

Great insight ! Question: does having the IMS seal change at 53k prolong the life of the bearing itself in theory? For example of the clutch has like another bit of life in it, I wouldn't want to jump on changing it all so quickly.