I know the answer in theory... but.

[Esibnitsud]

But I'd like to know from some people with experience driving these cars.

Here is my background, Im about to graduate highschool, and I am in the market for a new car. I've always wanted a sports car and after ALOT of reasearch on ALOT of cars I decided I want to get a 2g Eclipse GST/X. I looked at rx-7s (decided agaisnt them cause of rotary engines), Mr2 (body design is meh.. Not easiest to work on), mkiii supras (just plain ugly) and 3si's (nice, but a little expensive.) Finnaly after reasearching all those cars alot I found out about DSM's, and as i started looking more i was amazed with the wealth of info, size of the community, and aftermarket for the cars.

So here I am, I know i want a 2g (Like the 2g bodys WAY more the 1g) but the problem is going to be finding one I think. I can spend up to 8 grand. Now here is my big question...

Should I wait and wait for a GSX in good enough condtion for the right price or should I go with a GST when I find one in good enough condition for the right price. I plan on working on the car over time, and prob taking it to stage 1 over time. But i am really not sure about FWD. How much worse is a FWD then an AWD in reality? I guess a good way to ask it would be... If the same driver was in a GSX and a GST, both with the same mods, what kind of difference would you except in a 1/4 race.

As of now, I found a 95 GST for 5 grand, but it has 128k miles and burns oil. Im worried if I decide to wait for a GSX one will never come around.

So, any real world advice you could give me would be great, and I cant wait to be a DSM owner in the near future.

[Injected]

I personally wouldn't spend 8k on a car that burns oil and has 128k mi on it. But what you may have in mind for the car is probably different than that which I started out looking for. I set out looking for a car with really low miles that would last me through the rest of college but that I could modify as I go or wait till I get out. I got a sweet deal but was very very patient with it. I found my car (GSX) on Autotrader.com and at the time it had 38k original miles, bone stock and the guy wanted 13000. It was in Florida though and I live in the great state of Texas. He found some buyers locally but the banks there wouldn't loan that much for a 97 so the guy accepted my offer of 11k cash. I know it was a STEAL but I found the deal after looking for six months daily on ebay and autotrader and following up on dozens of leads. If you but a car with that many miles on it you will definitely be replacing parts soon (sounds like a rebuild to me) and you have to consider that in the cost of the car. A good way to evaluate the cost of a car is to use edmunds.com because their system actually takes into account the condition of the car when calculating the price.

To answer the question about the 1/4, the GSX will take the GST because of the obvious traction advantage. The GST however is lighter and can pull on the GSX from a high-speed roll. The handling of the GSX is phenomenal and I wouldn't trade my GSX for anything, especially something that isn't all wheel drive. But that's me personally.
=

[Mystic511]

if you don't mind the older 95-96 body style, you can definately find a gsx/ tsi awd for less then 8k. Especially if you're sitting on 8k. It's great when you have cash in hand, and it's useful as a bargaining tool for that guy that says he wants 9k obo.

My advice would be to give yourself 2 months of shopping time. I spent about 7 weeks shopping for my tsi awd after i had the money and committed to definately buying. I was about to settle for a moderately modified one (and most likely beat on) for 3.5k when I all of a sudden stumbled across a fresh new post on dsmtrader for a stock perfect condition 92 tsi awd 6/4 bolt for 2k. I jumped on it.

You also have to be willing to drive a little if you want the best deal. I drove 7 hours to pick up my car, and I don't regret it.

Personally, the only 4g63 turbo 2g fwd i'd consider would be the spyder, since that wasn't an option for the gsx's. Other that that, the gst would have to be clean as hell, bone stock, low mileage, cheap and pretty much perfect in every way. That's just me personally though.

My advice is that if you have your doubts right now and just settle for a gst just because you want to quickly have the car, you may be filled with "what if's" and "I could have had's". I know how you feel though, because I almost did that when I was shopping for my 1g. I figured i would never find a good awd in my price range, but yea, you just gotta have patience and search a little.

[Injected]

Surfing the forums I found this a few minutes later. Read the Whole thing as many great points are made about the cost associated with puting the power of a FWD to the ground and about the fun of driving both. FWD and AWD both have great points but it all comes down to what you want.

GS-T owners post your traction problems

I had a friend follow me home one night and I took a S curve from a stop and when we got back to my place he said, "man, I've never seen a car move like that!" and another friend wanted to race me in his his Datsun 300Z and he said nearly the same thing when he caught up to me . I love the way that AWD feels and I love the control However I've also had the unfortunate experience of being pulled on from a 70 mph roll from cars that I should walk easily from a stop :thumbdown (a GST would have taken them). I'm near stock though and after some mods I should be able to take them even from a roll.

[Defiant]

You'd be best off with the Supra, but we'll skip over that part.

Look for a Talon. I got my '95 for $7K, with 66K miles on it.

[MyEclipse5]

I have AWD, and sometimes i wish it was front(for burnys ) but other than that, i don't launch it that much, in fear of loosing my clutch (still Original). The GS-T is a bad deadl, but if you find a nice GS-t...get it, its turbo and youll OWN on rolls

[ckozlgod]

I looked at rx-7s (decided agaisnt them cause of rotary engines)

I don't understand why that would be a negative?

Anyways...

Goto an auction, you can get a late model 2G for $8k...even with decent mileage. I too am on the $8k budget and have found several so far...only problem for me was I quit my job and until I get a new one I can't get a loan!

You'd be best off with the Supra, but we'll skip over that part.

yahhhhh

[CountZero]

It is a negative just because of the nature of a high horsepower rotary engine. It is going to go through apex seals fairly quickly and need to be rebuilt more often than a piston engine. Also some people don't like the strict maintenance schedule they have, although its probably not much worse than a dsm.

That being said they are amazing cars, my friend owns one and I've gotten a chance to drive and race against it. I would like more torque if it was my daily driver but it will walk me in a race so you have to take the good with the bad.

[Daem0n]

I say give yourself lots of time to shop. AWD is really something to behold. Try skimming through cars.com and autotrader.com . I've had good experiences with those two sites in the past. Great deals do pop up once in a while, and you have to be ready to spring on them. I found my Talon on autotrader last month, completely stock, unmolested, adult NY driven with 40k on the odometer for $8,600.

Good hunting, man.

[boostedinaz]

This all depends on what you want and were you drive. If you are at the drag strip all the time then a GSX is for you. If you drive on freeways all the time then get a GST. DO NOT buy something just to have it. Buy what you want and you will be much happier. I bought a GST and had that fot about a year and a half and didnt like it. I ended up getting a TSI AWD and I absolutly love it. It took me two months of looking on every possible car sales page to find what I wanted but I got it and am very happy. Patience is a virtue.

Michael

[yankees1919]

Dude u just gotta be patient...Somethin will come up I grabbed a 95 tsi for 4700 with only 500miles on a built 6bolt and very little problems...If ## patient somethin will come up

[gsxtacy]

If your decided on DSM...get a GSX.

a 97-99.

www.Autotrader.com

www.cars.com

Do advanced searches.

Auto's are 2-4K LESS than 5-speeds.

I have seen NICE 97' GSX Auto's go for around 6-9K.

NICE 5-speeds go for 10+ unless you find a HELL of a deal.

6 months ago when I was already 3 months into searching I ran across a 98' GSX with 80K miles 500 miles away and every option that " I " personally would have ordered HAD I bought the car originally.

Autotrader is the way to go.

Everytime I jump out of my GSX I swear everyone in the world should experience a 2G AWD....then I smile and think......"no". Cause thats what sets ME out from everyone else.

While others dream about GSX's.......I know there are 1000's of other GSX owners out there who are totally happy about the one in the garage.

Good luck and be patient. Its worth it believe us.

GSXTACY

[ckozlgod]

Auto's are 2-4K LESS than 5-speeds.

How do you figure? Auto is a convieniance.

Look it up...Manual makes the car less valuable.

N.A.D.A shows a -500 for getting a manual...which means a dsm worth 8500 is 8000 if its a stick

[BlackbirdOfPrey]

DSM's are of all different ranges, it mainly depends on where u live. I have ones for 10k up the street, and I bought mine for 2500 from a little out of the way dealership. (1g AWD turbo 5 spd) Look in places you sometimes don't, a lot of times you can get a decent deal if you get lucky and the smaller dealerships have them (most of them don't know what they have anyways, just what some book tells them). Don't get impatient though, you dont want to drop 5k for a car that needs 8k in repair work. Be smart.

[Defiant]

Book prices mean exactly shit in the case of most cars, and more so in the case of DSMs.