Kelly Blue Book on the 97/98's are pretty high....the S14's were never econobox type cars....the high price of them was what killed them.
I like the exterior on hatchbacks, but the basic interior had be going to the S14's. It's a very high quality setup. Everything is well engineered, high quality and easy to work with (except the PCV valve)....hardly 'econobox'.
When I bought my 98, I was looking for a under 75k Kouki, white with a 5 spd. SE or LE only....I had $15k to spend and couldn't find one for several months...then found one 3 hours away with 68k, white, 5spd, SE that was in good shape with only a little bit of maintenance needed, $8,800.
My final car choice was 944 Turbo/Turbo S or the 240SX and later add the 'needed' turbo to it. I am happy I chose the 240SX....my kouki I haven't seen yet (only one white 240sx I have seen in 6 months and it was a zenki, and a few green zenkis)....however I see a 944 at least twice a week (beaters mostly).
Once turbocharged I think this is one of the best cars in the $15k-20k range cash can buy and compares to cars up to $40k...maybe $60k. New cars in the $15k-20k range are extremely lacking. Plus the exclusiveness of the kouki is nice.
Another added benefit is the 240/silvia as a whole aren't a bunch of assholes. There are a lot of car makes whose 'forums' are nothing but bragging/bashing/flamefests....I had a Saturn as a temporary college 'round two' car....I learned a lot from playing with it with cheap mods. The forums in the saturn community are filled with morons and those that just bash the car yet continue to pour money into it and then claim they could be driving a 'S2000/IS300/WRX/EVO/ETC', but they don't see the value in such a high car payment.
I am hooked on this car.