Buying a modded talon?

[griptracshin]

Hey there, sorry in advance for the long post
I am very new to the DSM world, but have rescentley had my interest sparked. This question basically pertains to how logical it would be to buy an already modified talon. I have found a 1995 Talon Tsi AWD for sale. this car has a new motor with 14K and a 3 year warantee. along with that it has some mods including an 18g turbo, 3 inch turbo back exhaust, and performance shocks and springs. this was all that was listed on the for sale sign but im going to contact the owner for a full mod list, since im assuming it has more supporting mods for the turbo. inside the car i can see what looks either like an Apexi boost controller, or AFC, didnt really know enough to tell at the time. not sure of how many miles the car itself has. anyway, im just wondering if buying something with these mods would be a good idea? what other mods should i look for to make sure its set up correctly for the power? I will drive it and have it inspected by a mechanic before purchasing, but is there any other advice i should know? asking price is a negotiable 6000.
also, i know very little about tuning beyond what i have read on this sight, and know even less about mechanical maintenence, but i am mechanically inclined. I just want to make sure i dont get in over my head, but i am willing to devote time and money into this car, and want to learn as i go. i will have about 3 months down time with this car before im driving it since i want to drive my current car through the winter, so i will be able to put some work into it if necessary.

 

[IamCool]

Uasually a modded awd dsm is abused or has been abused. Isay go with a stock one and you'll find yourself to be happier.

 

[ADrewzki]

Warranty on a DSM? Do they realize it's a DSM?!?! If it's in reasonable condition, I'd say go for it. Heck, it's got a new motor. Also, make sure that by modding the car, you do not void their "warranty." Try to talk them down another thousand if you can.

 

[griptracshin]

thanks for the replys so far. yes the warantee sounded a bit strange but apparantley its backed up by someone who works on/tunes DSMs for a living who lives about 40 minutes from me. not sure of his restrictions in terms of when it becomes void. i also just found out that the tranny is modified to handle extra power.

 

[Thomas91169]

if something breaks and you cant fix it yourself, then youll be taking off all the aftermarket stuff so when you take it to a shop, they dont viod the warranty for something as trivial as even hard ic piping.

 

[griptracshin]

as far as i know the person who warantees it is the person who modded it in the first place, which is why it is an unorthodox warantee but sounds like a good deal. again, ill be getting more info on all this tommorrow when i really go and check out the car

 

[oldman]

Get a stock one and slowly build it up your self. A modded one will probably have more problem, without knowing your car, you will end up paying a lot of money to have some one fix it for. Plus what's the fun in buying an already modded one.

 

[griptracshin]

I do see where your coming from, oldman, and i realize the fun in modifying your own car but the truth is im on a fairly tight budget, and this seems like a really nice deal if everything is in working order. i would plan to put future work in to it anyway so i can pick up on the fun, but something thats had a shove in the right direction seems like what would benefit me most right now

 

[Masakari]

I just bought a severly modded talon and couldnt be happier...it has a few quirks, and i dont fully understand how everything works..but its out of the box fast...I like you was on a budget and just happened that the one i found was highly modded and priced in my range...i would have prefered to have started from ground level and build my car over time, but its nice to jump into a modified car and start spending money from a higher level to begin with...As far as worrying about finding one in premo shape thats stock, good luck! i would say that any used talon has at one point had the shit kicked out of it by someone at somepoint...sure it would be cool to find a late model with low miles but i wouldnt count on it...and the dude is even giving you a warrenty!!! damn, what are you waiting for???