1.8T miles

I have a made the choice to buy a Jetta 1.8t but, I have a delema, which year model to get. I want to make tasteful mods like a chip, downpipe/other exhaust, suspension, possible larger turbo later, but my question is should a get the newer model 2002 1.8t that has 180 hp and drive it a while before making mods, or should i get a 2000 - 2001 1.8T that has 150 hp and mod it and hope to make up the loss of 30 hp somewhere else with the extra money? Sorry if i screwed up on a HP measurement but this is what i have found on google so feel free to correct me if i am wrong. The post about miles has to do with another delema, there is a 2000 jetta 1.8t near my house with 22 thousand on it and a 2002 jetta 1.8t with 50 thousand on it. Which would be better assuming i havent made a decision on what i am going to do about the first quesiton? :comprage1

someone try to talk me into or out of the Jetta vs. GTI as well. Any opinions?