contrary to popular beliefs, the SS tranny is not as problematic as you think when you're just using it as a daily driver. the problem starts when you try shifting it manually a lot. my friend has a '97 base model with the SS tranny and in the 5 years he's owned it, he's never had a problem with it. if you plan on autoxing, the SS tranny would be a bad idea. if you just want a nice looking cruiser that can haul ass on the freeway, i say there's no problems with it.