I had the same dilemma last year when I bought my first car... I really think it boils down to what you really want... I bought a 93 esi with a d15b vtec engine over a 98( or was it a 99?) model sentra ... Rusting here in there, is really the problem of the esi... However, when it comes to engine performance I was never disappointed (di ako bitin at kaya makipag sabayan sa karamihan)... At the same time, I really like the way the esi looked, konting lowering lang and other minor accessories, gwapong gwapo na... Just my two cents...