I can chime in as I recently brought home a 1998 CE24. I was originally out looking for newer CE24s as I was wanting the green version I stumbled upon. A few local shops had them and some used one's to check out. I was pretty cold after playing a specific used one, but then a local deal came up on the 98. I was a fan of the deeper carve on the 98, and the deal was too good to pass up. It needs a little loving, but the neck feels and plays amazing. I will admit, the newer CE's satin neck was also pretty perfect. Mine has been mod'ed a bit, but I love the clean tones I'm getting from the neck pup. I think I'll be buying a drop in kit soon to set it up with a toggle and coil split on the tone pot. For now, she has been seeing the most play time...
DSCF0910-2 by
cxcxsx, on Flickr
I don't think you can really go wrong either way. I likely would've went home with a new CE24 if the floor models at GC didn't all have messed up pots. They all spun free with little to no resistance. I think someone must've been pretty rough with them.