The sadness that may be me leaving DSMs.

I'm with Defiant on this one, provided you have somewhere for long term storage. You aren't going to get anything selling it with a blow motor. Like he said, you can pick up a Hyundai under the factory warranty for about 6k. They come standard with a 5 year/60k warranty that is transferrable between owners.

I bought a used 2003 Accent for $6,200 with 25k on the clock. Nothing special, but it got me back and forth to work and I was in a bind when the tranny went on my last daily driver. I ended up dumping the car a couple weeks ago because I wanted something nicer.

Go with something cheap that has a warranty for now, and deal with things after you get done with school. Believe me, I know how it is to be in college.

Oh, by the way, the dealerships will fix anything that goes wrong with the Hyundai under warranty. Let's see, I snapped off the door handle by accident, busted the cup holder and blew out the rear hatch struts by slamming the hatch when there was a bunch of ice stuck in there.

Even though all the problems were my fault, they covered everything under warranty. Not too shabby for $6,200.

Well the good news is, I most likely will be getting the Talon repaired.

A local guy, to whom I was referred to via the local forums, is very knowledgeable and willing to perform the work at an AMAZING price. From my description and his experiences, he seems to think that the problem may lie in the balance shaft(s) seizing.

Worst case scenario; my car gets a rebuilt block, new head, and new timing components for about $2k. Though it may take about a month to get the job done, I am confident that this guy can perform the task correctly.

Great news. And to think I was about to delete you from my Facebook friends list.

Ha ha ha! Ouch Anthony.

Well, the problem was a faulty oil pump seal which caused some oil to spill on the belt and the crank sprocket to jump and the pistons finally caught those pesky valves. I replaced all the seals last timing belt job, so it was either my neglect in installation or a bad part.

Either way, I am getting a head rebuild, balance shaft removal, all new timing components, and a pesky dent removed from my oil pan for about $600-$800 parts and labor.

The Talon will most likely be back on the road in the next couple of weeks.