Thanks for all of the great info guys! Right now it's 2nd on my list behind the Grand Cherokees although with gas prices looking the way they are and oil showing no sign of slowing down (price going up that is) the CSVT might be the better vehicle in the long run. If we do go for it I don't think I'll offer more than $8k max for it. They wanted book value for it and as we know rarely do cars (esp. average American cars) fetch book value these days.
98 SE: The VR-4 is a great car and despite being a low mileage (73k) example it's needed work for a while and I can't justify dumping money into it as it'll probably need more than I'd ever get out of it. Not to mention I don't have the room/tools to do the work myself here (small, uneven driveway). Plus I'm trying to finish up school too and it's just not going to be reliable enough in my opinion to suit me right now. That's the gist of it

Thanks again guys!!