In what ways? And I was under the impression the Neo suffered from reliability issues. Or am I misremembering?
The Core is a step down from the Kicker, which many would argue is a step down from the Neo. I’m not here to have that argument, but the Core is definitely a step down. Thats why it’s the one that gets bundled with all the deals. It’s a great trainer, just not a Kickr or Neo.
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Are you looking at Facebook marketplace at all? I’ve been seeing the Edge devices a lot near me. I have a 530 and it is going strong on year 4 or 5 now so I’d have the confidence to buy used. Then maybe you could buy both!
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I have been checking marketplace a bit, but I’m still trying to decide what would suit my needs best. Definitely want something from Garmin, and that I can pair my speed, cadence, and HRM to. Decent battery life would be nice, and even on an older one, I feel pretty comfortable changing a battery if needed.
Just a note: these sensors are all cross-compatible, e. g. you can pair a Garmin HRM to a Wahoo head unit or an Apple Watch and a Wahoo speed sensor to a Garmin or Hammerhead Karoo head unit.
Not saying “Don’t go Garmin.”, I’m just saying that brands don’t matter here.
I don’t have a dog in this fight (I’m on an Elite Suito), but I think there are advantages to buying a new trainer and the Kickr Core is way more than good enough.
I struggle to find any feature on a higher-end trainer that’s not on an entry-level direct drive trainer.
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You’re right, brands don’t matter…but you want Garmin. 
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I own two Wahoo head units, Wahoo speed and cadence sensors as well as a Polar HRM. A Wahoo Trackr radar replaced my Garmin Varia, because it has better battery life. My trainer is an Elite Suito. I probably would have gone with the new Varia if it had been released last summer. I’m quite eclectic, I think.
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Generally, I’d agree that buying the 2019 tech over the KICKR CORE 2 (2025 tech, though basically just 2018 trainer with a new chipset) wouldn’t make sense.
However, two things skew that:
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The NEO 2T is genuinely in every technical sense a better trainer than the KICKR CORE 2, not just far more powerful, but definitely more accurate, and more reliable.
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The second piece being whether it survives future updating/etc. For reasons nobody can articute, Garmin has never released a true follow-up to the NEO 2T (e.g. a NEO 3 non-M), and thus, even Garmin sees the NEO 2T as still being in the circle of life. We saw them add virtual shifting to it this past summer.
Now, I’m sure as soon as Garmin decides to make a NEO 3 non-M, then the 2T will get dropped like a hot potato in terms of futures updates, but in the ever-slow-moving world of trainers, I don’t think it’d matter. And certainly not to TrainerRoad.
Either option is great, but I can see a lot of validity in going with the NEO 2T for a TrainerRoad person. Whereas, if I was really eager about being on the cutting edge of whatever Zwift (specifically) announces in 1 year, 2 years, etc… then I’d probably go Wahoo KICKR CORE 2.
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Be also prepared for a reality check. When I went from de Vortex (wheel on) to a Saris H3 (irect drive), I relalised that the Vortex was overestimating roughly 30 - 40 Watt!
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Yes, I also had similar. I found that it seemed to underestimate lower watts and overestimate higher watts.
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Thanks for the response! 
Would that assessment change if you got power data from the bike and used resistance mode (as opposed to erg mode) quite a bit?
I’m not sure. Assuming resistance modes (aka Simulation mode, versus resistance levels), the NEO 2 is going to be able to scale far higher than the CORE 2, and also has all the road feel bits (e.g. cobblestones, shaking, etc…), so I think those are kinda fun. Same goes for downhill forward drive when descending on Zwift/etc (so the trainer ‘wheel’ actuall spins forward).
It’s just tough, because while the CORE 2 is from a communications standpoint a better trainer (e.g. more BT channels, bridging of conections, etc…), it’s still a 2018 trainer. And that 2018 trainer is more or less the same as a ~2015-era KICKR trainer. Nothing wrong with that, as Wahoo was ahead of its time, but equally, a NEO 1 from 2015 is/was still ahead of most trainers on the market today (from a trainer hardware standpoint, setting aside the communication chip).
Long story short, if someone were sending me out on a boat with only a single trainer to choose for years, I’d choose that NEO 2T over the KICKR CORE 2, purely because it’s a tank.
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I figured this would likely be the case. I’m not a very powerful rider anyway (I’m at 246 right now, but weigh 91kg), but ultimately it doesn’t matter as the training will meet me where I’m at and grow from there. I’m interested in long term use and gains, so as long as the trainer itself is as accurate as possible, I’m happy. Honestly, I wish I could hide the predicted FTP!
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This is reassuring to hear. I am less interested in the jiggly-butt features, and more interested in it providing more accurate and consistent resistance levels to give me the best workouts consistently.
I had thought about the Wahoo trainers, but I have been happy enough with this Vortex I have. I wanted something more “permanent” I guess? Either way, I committed to buying the Neo on Friday. The workout on Friday will probably be a fail, or at least need to be adapted if this trainer does offer more resistance than the Vortex because it’s a Sweet Spot Interval (Galena -1). We’ll see I guess.
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I believe there is a way to hide predicted FTP. Can’t remember how though so maybe someone else can chime in on this.
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I actually just figured this out this morning. You click on a predicted FTE and at the bottom left there is an edit icon where you can toggle it. This also does away with the large Widget on the Career page which is what I really wanted gone.
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The Neo2T will feel very different to begin with, but stick with it !!!
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Absolutely! Only way to make progress!