new to the talon world, need help buying a car

[wesida]

hello, this is my first post. well i was looking into cars and i found an eagle talon Eagle Talon TSi (awd/turbo). i dont want to post the link here based on the forum rules. i need help with buying it because i suck at buying cars (Based on my bad luck for the last 5 cars i had). well i will post some of what the guy said. iam mainly looking on what questions to ask the seller based on what you see. please this is not an ad. thanks
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Car is in wonderful shape!. I bought from my (45 year old) uncle 1 year ago. He bought the car in 1996. When he had the car, it was not driven for four years prior to my purchase 2001-2005

I am 24 years old non-traditional Student at The University of South Dakota.
I am selling the Talon, because a second Uncle is selling his lexus at a GRACIOUS discount.

will trade for '95 or newer sportbike.
(I just dont like the chopper feel any longer)



Car:

No rust
No dents or dings.
No turbo lag/spools great!
No accidents
Clean Title
Transmision is good (no grinding)
Engine pull is strong.
Many service records.
Interior is in GREEAAT shape. Not even wear on seats.

DESCRIPTION:
1992 EAGlE TALON (TSI) ALL WHEEL DRIVE/TURBO.
COLOR: Teal
MILES: 114,xxx
6 BOLT ENGINE: Stock (exception of valves replaced with timing belt, oops!)
TURBO: Stock-14b
INTERCOOLER: Stock Sidemount w/ 2.25" Inlet and Outlet
TRANSFER CASE: Recalled Seal Replaced
BRAINBOX: Replaced w/ New Caps Replaced.

AFTERMARKETs:

*New ACT 2600 Pressure Plate w/Full Face Street Disc. (rated at 600hp)

*Dave Symborski Metal Shifter Bushing Kit

*17" MOTEGI GUNMETAL RIMS and TIRES... also included are original rims and tires at 50% in great shape.

*MANUAL BOOST CONTROLLER W/ AUTOMETER GUAGE

*10.5" RACING STEERING WHEEL (driving becomes go-cart feel)

*GREAT STEREO SYSTEM-AFTER MARKET


Value for the Money-
this coupe ranks as one of the best around, especially the TSI AWD, where it becomes a great all-weather sports coupe. Turbos take off with fury.Also, the turbocharged engine emits its power in massive bursts..A TSi AWD is one the most appealing performance cars of its era.
For $900 you can get 300hp out of the stock engine:
replace...Intake Pipe and Filter, O2 Sensor Housing, Fuel Pump, Intercooler Piping, turbo 16.



A shop opened up 2 months ago, they need clientel so they replaced:

*both front wheel bearings
*both cv joints/axles
*1 ball joint
*slave cylinder(clutch)
*both front rotors.......all for $150.

HIGHLY recommend them, for this type of work...40th bedford.

DOWNERS:
*No A/C- 3 day leak.
*Crack in windshield.
*Has stock muffler w/ leak in down pipe
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i know its along post but, would the turbo need to be rebuilt or replaced?
hopefully this does not violate the forums rules
thanks in advance
MHB

 

[1g_tsi_awd]

If the car was treated well, it shouldn't have to be replaced, but check for in and out shaft play...

 

[fourreGsixty3]

You aren't suppose to post "for sale" ads in here, yes I know you cant post them in the classified section, but that is a privilage given to the proven members of tuners. To awnser your question about the turbo, take the intake pipe off and check for shaft play(in&out), (side to side). Just post some good posts for people get your rep up, become a proven member then repost this in the classifieds.

Dustin

 

[Dasamary]

Dustin,

I think you misread the ad... He is looking to buy the car not sell it and wants advice on what to look for regarding the purchase of a DSM.

Here is my $.02 worth.
1. Run a Carfax report (A Must for all cars!)
2. Test drive the car yourself and see how it feels
3. I would question how the car was driven given the heavy clutch installed...I can understand the old clutch going out but given its a 2600 plate not a 2100 plate makes me think he was doing some really hard launches...which tend to wear the engine and turbo out.
4. The DSM Engines are pretty solid...however since the valves had to be replaced from a broken timing belt he was either beating on the car OR wasn't keeping up with the standard maitenance. There could be additional engine damage from the valves breaking which you won't be able to see unless you take it apart. (Could be ok though?)
5. Make sure the thing has not been recently repainted...Typically you'll see older cars get repainted to hide rust. Take a magnet and run it around the car...if it doesn't stick to spots that should be metal its a good sign that the metal has rusted and BONDO was used to repair the hole.

Not sure on the price of the car...but I would say given the info you provided It might be worth about $1500 -2500 or so???

Im not sure how far Iowa is from South Dakota but I made a 600 mile trip to pick up my 1998 Talon... I made sure I was comfortable putting a deposit down and being able to walk away from the car if I didn't like how it drove when I got there. Better to lose $500 or so on a deposit for bad car than the full $2500 and have a pile of junk to tow.

 

[Dasamary]

My biggest fear is that whoever owned it and had the AC go out, didn't repair the windshield, and ran a leaky exhuast either didn't have money to do repair work or didn't care. Either way chances are the oil wasn't changed regularly and the tranny fluid wasn't changed regularly and the radiator fluid wasn't changed on a reg. basis...any of those can lead to premature engine/tranny failure.

 

[wesida]

hello, i appreciate all the replies and the comments . yes he is asking 2200 for it. ive had many car problems before. for example i bought a 91 240sx that drove and looked good with 128k. 2 month later the cylinder head gets cracked. that is just one of the cars!
well the guy is about 2 hours away from me, and i have a friend that lives near him to see and test the car. iam not really looking into highperformance but i need a reliable affordable car. and since this is a sports car with fairly low milage iam interested in it.
iam still waiting for the seller to reply to me, i will possibly post more questions.
Dasamary, southdakota is pretty far from iowa . iowa is in the midwest, 4 hours to the west of chicago. Thank you all for the great help, it sure made a diffrence on my decision now, i got a bunch of questions ready for him
later
MHB

 

[jumpfroggy]

I would recommend talking to the garage he had his work done at. Looks like they were all over the suspension, so they'd have a good idea of the exterior condition of the car. Maybe they also took a good look at the engine too. I bought a bike from someone that'd just had it serviced. Turns out there were other things wrong that the guy hadn't told me about, and when I took it into the same garage for a safety he took one look at the bike and said "Oh yeah, I remember that one... needs a new front fork seal." He recommends people bring bikes to him just to look over (for free) before they buy, so he can tell them if anything's wrong. If I'd done that, I would've saved myself $400.

The mechanic knew there was more to fix, and the owner before me just didn't want to fix it at the time. Don't think that since it's been serviced that there's nothing wrong. Could be a few things the mech. said "You should replace this soon" and the owner said "ok, later". Good luck, my next car will prob be a Talon TSI/AWD.

But like all cars, remember that low-priced cars are not cheap cars. If you're buying this to save money, do you have enough money to pay for neglected transmission maintenance? Blown turbos? Full exhaust replacement when that patched up rust falls off? Not to say that this car is bad, but the owner drove around with a leaking exhaust and cracked windsheild. This is not someone who's meticulously maintained the car, so you're taking a risk. Play it risky, or play it safe, up to you.

 

[fourreGsixty3]

Dustin,

I think you misread the ad... He is looking to buy the car not sell it and wants advice on what to look for regarding the purchase of a DSM.

Here is my $.02 worth.
1. Run a Carfax report (A Must for all cars!)
2. Test drive the car yourself and see how it feels
3. I would question how the car was driven given the heavy clutch installed...I can understand the old clutch going out but given its a 2600 plate not a 2100 plate makes me think he was doing some really hard launches...which tend to wear the engine and turbo out.
4. The DSM Engines are pretty solid...however since the valves had to be replaced from a broken timing belt he was either beating on the car OR wasn't keeping up with the standard maitenance. There could be additional engine damage from the valves breaking which you won't be able to see unless you take it apart. (Could be ok though?)
5. Make sure the thing has not been recently repainted...Typically you'll see older cars get repainted to hide rust. Take a magnet and run it around the car...if it doesn't stick to spots that should be metal its a good sign that the metal has rusted and BONDO was used to repair the hole.

Not sure on the price of the car...but I would say given the info you provided It might be worth about $1500 -2500 or so???

Im not sure how far Iowa is from South Dakota but I made a 600 mile trip to pick up my 1998 Talon... I made sure I was comfortable putting a deposit down and being able to walk away from the car if I didn't like how it drove when I got there. Better to lose $500 or so on a deposit for bad car than the full $2500 and have a pile of junk to tow.

Oh ok, yeah it confused me with this being sold and that.

Dustin

 

[4g6t3]

Like some one said befor, check for shaft play. Judgeing by the for sale add the seller has knowlege of the car. It also says it has a MBC and a boost controller, but I don't see anywhere how much boost he was running. You had alot of bad luck with cars in the past just don't rush into buying another one, take your time make sure its a good car(carfax and talk to mechnic) also if you have someone whom your familer with, take them with you.

Just my .02

 

[theycallmedalgo]

im getting a 14b how would i check for shaft play? just spin the turbine?

 

[VanIsleDSM]

now that the car is nearing the 120k mark you are going to do the t-belt again, unless of course it was run way past 60k and that's why it broke, then it might not need it for a while, in which case I probably wouldn't buy the car as that kind of attitude towards maintainance isn't good overall (like Dasamary said) I could see maybe if he had an oil leak he didn't know about and the belt was contaminated and broke before it was due.. that'd be more acceptable.. the fact that the car sat for so long rubs me the wrong way too, why did the uncle buy it to let it sit? he only drove it for a year and then parked it for 4? was the car started and moved around once in a while or just 4 years of sitting? was it sitting because it was broken? definitly check the compression before you buy it, only takes a few minutes and you can get a tester cheap, could really save you on a higher milage car.

 

[jumpfroggy]

Take off the intake from the turbo, spin the wheel (should spin freely and smoothly), push side to side, try to pull out/push in. Mine basically doesn't budge at all in any direction and spins perfectly (T25).

Something about this car doesn't seem right. It was bought, sat for four years, and then had a whole bunch of aftermarket parts put on and maintenance done. It's suspicious. The way the guy describes it sounds like there's nothing wrong. But an old car that's sat for four years I probably wouldn't buy just because it's too risky. Whatever you do, have someone look it over or do the tests yourself. Don't just take the seller's word for it.

 

[JKL]

The car is over 14 years old. The ad said that the timing belt went and they had to change the valves. I would ask for the paper work for the valve and timing job. What type of headgasket they used since from all the members recommends only oem. Check the oil pressure. Get a compression test done (turbo motor std. 164psi service limit 124psi). See if you can barrow a logger and check for knocks when you test drive it. Get some good pulls during the drive. Make sure it idles properly. Take a jack and go under the car to check for rust on body/ hard lines. Personally verify the parts the seller replaced are new/good condition. The stock turbos can be had cheap in the forums but a motor is expensive. Good luck