I don't think I said that.
My problem with the old (Midlands) 5-speed is a seal that doesn't stand up to extreme cold. I live in northern Vermont, and -20F days happen pretty much every year. At that temperature, a transmission seal fails, and the transmission fluid drains out of the transmission, leading to transmission failure. It's happened to me twice so far, covered under warranty both times (thanks to the 2 year warranty on replacement parts, my car was out of warranty the second time).
Buy a 2005-2006 car, and you'll be getting one that has most of the bugs worked out. Buy a 2002-2003 car, and, well, don't do that.
A new one would be not much more expensive, and better quality. Not sure about 2004. 2007 will be a brand new engine and lots of other new parts, so that's an unknown.
And, just to make you more nervous, I'm sitting at the dealership right now waiting for them to finish putting in a new radiator as the original one developed a leak.