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If you have the choice you should totally go for any 98+ SC, most people that have pre-97 SC's just don't have the budget for a 98+ SC. I wanted a 98+ SC, but since those are so rare the sellers like to jack up the price to 10k.
it's worth the 10k if you want a nice stock car. The vvti cars are usually better condition (because they're newer) and it seems like the people who bought them never drove them. Most that I see for sale (when they are for sale) are usually under 100k miles.
With that being said if you plan on modding the car go with a 97. I've found that a lot of information online doesn't apply to the 98+ cars with vvti because of slightly different wiring or very minor changes.