Well for starters, the P5 is no lemon in any year, unless you get one that's been flooded or been in some sort of accident that they try to cover up! Always get a carfax report, most dealers have one but run one yourself and have YOUR mechanic look it over.
Warranties I find really are useless on a used vehicle, I had the 6 month factory warranty left which only covered the power train and I didn't purchase the dealerships extended warranty because it was for only 6 months as well and covered the same thing as the factory warranty, basically you would pay extra money for garanteeing there mechanics work who were crooked anyways and did nothing. On top of which each visit to their mechanic whether they found anything or not was a flat rate of $100 and the warranty did not cover that.
Not a whole lot of difference between models, the 02 which I have has more boxier lines which I love. The differences from year to year are really small, just things like different guages, shifter knobs, blinker light on the front quarter panel, cd changer, and like mentioned wheels are slightly different...just topical stuff basically.
The paint in general is bad straight from the factory but you should be able to find one with very few chips, just keep them touched up and make sure it hasn't been repainted, because when they do that they usually only put one coat of clear coat on and it will start chipping like crazy.
Rust is an issue in the rear wheel wells...I haven't had any issues with rust yet except for my oil pan but it all depends on where you live. I haven't had any issues with my motor mounts either and that's a common problem, basically a hit and a miss there, taking into consideration driving habits etc. Another common issue is endlinks/bushings which I am in need of at the moment lol.
Overall nothing too serious or hard to fix.
Most of them come with low Km's and second gear has issues but nothing that a little TLC can't smooth over lol.
Overall a wicked car, good on gas IMO but as I'm sure you know that depends on how you drive yada yada lol, comfortable, lots of space, suspension is A+, styling is sexy sexy, fierce and sly that says to those stupid mini vans and *cough* honda's lol move the hell outta my way yet sweet and innocent looking for when one gets into mischief
, parts are easy to find and lots of room in the bay for mod's.
You really can't go wrong no matter what year you pick. Although I should mention the first 02's like mine have a nice stock shifter knob