I happen to be driving a 98 SE myself. Mine has 102K now.
I bought it at 89K and the water pump failed almost instantly. Many people have had trouble with the water pump but if the car in question only has 38K, then you should get another 22K to 60K out of it. When you do replace it, by all means, look on the parts/mods section of this site and get the unit with the metal impeller. The stock unit has a plastic impeller. When it goes, the plastic shatters.
Mine runs just fine in the dead of winter.
