Considering S-197

There is not too much difference between the years, the only real problem the early ones had was the spark plugs would break when they were getting replaced. I think the problem was fixed in mid '07. Someone can correct me if I have the time wrong. You would be better off buying a GT that a V6 with a power adder I think. Tough to beat the sound of a V8 with a V6 from an Explorer. You will start off with standard ABS, traction control, a limited slip, better stock wheels, tires, suspension, etc. If you start out with the GT and want more power, there are a lot of options out there, if you start with a FI V6 then you don't have as much room for growth if you decide you want more power. There aren't too many people around here that stay stock for too long. Not sure what your budget is, but there are a lot of cars out there to pick from.

Anything after 07 I would say because they stiffened the chassis, fixed the cooling system, and just plain worked out the bugs of initial production. But if it is true that in some later 08's and 09's they redesigned the cylinder head to use regular spark plugs insted of those PITA sleeved breakable units i'd say get one of those. You probably can get a killer deal on those remaining units sitting on the dealer lots anyway.

All 5 years are good. They made some minor changes for the better, but a couple of things got cheaper like the rear badge (GT) on the trunk is much cheaper on the newer cars. The paint peels off and the older ones have no paint, but a clear coated center emblem. If you pull the spark plugs every 25 k miles they will never stick in the heads on you. Just never seize them when you pull them.

My '05 which I bought back in '04 is one of the very first S-197's built has had 1 warranty issue. The door handle spring came apart from the plastic handle. That's pretty darn good considering all of the molestation of this car by modding it. I would say find a good deal on any year and go with it. The sonic blue color was only available on the '05 model year, then it changed to vista blue. I've got a buddy selling an '05 GT with 15k miles on it. Garage kept, 5 speed, MGW shifter, JLT CAI, Magnaflow cat-back, UD pulleys, Diablo Predator. That's almost 2k in mods and the car is like brand new. He only wants like 15-16 grand for it.

I would look for an '08 or '09 due to the fixed spark plug issue and improved shifter. The GT's have good heads so there is no need to dig in the engine. A blower is the easiest way to make big power but they respond really well to a tune, udp's, cmcv delete plates,etc... The only real propblem is crappy rear control arms which are easily replaced ( two lower and one upper).