How long do DSMs last?

[Corbic]

Serious.

I've been looking around now for a while. About 95% of all DSMs I see for sale have around +90k on them. More and more are having closer to 140k. I was wondering how much longer could these cars survive?

I was seriously thinking of handing my Golf over to my kid sister when she gets her license. I would get a DSM as a daily. However I just could never spend 10k on a 97 or 98 car. So realistically I would be looking at 3-5k for a 94-97 with around 140k on them

Insight? How much does a rebuild revitalize a car? Would a new engine and trans make the car like new? Could one of these cars make a RELIABLE daily? Mind you I drive 25k a year.

 

[nastynas]

My Talon has 260,000 KM on it. (Approx. 160,000 miles) and it still runs well, surprisingly. The only problem I have is my transmission always grinds going into 1st.

 

[IMTHECARGUY]

My 91 talon has 144k miles on it. its got its problems that go along with an old car but thats typical. The tranny is my only real problem spot. it pops out of first and grinds in 4th. i do beleve that the DSM tranny is a pile of crap.

 

[Gary 420A RS]

how long do white shoes stay white? its kinda the same. dsm's need love and if your not there to take care of it right off the back and 100% devoted then its hard. but when you have everything right.. its the dream car..

 

[evolvingGS-t]

A word of advice that I like to share. A car (DSM) is only going to last as long as it is taken care of. No, seriously though, people are making 400+whp on daily drivers.

 

[steve]

A car (DSM) is only going to last as long as it is taken care of.

This is the absolute truth.

Steve

 

[Game Over]

Mine is a piece of shit, it has 107k and within the past month or so it's been on a flatbed twice and down for all but a couple days. It's needed two coolant lines, a new turbo, a new clutch (the act 2600 went), a new flywheel, a new oil cooler, and various little shit.

My honest opinion. Do not get a DSM if you will be driving 25k a year, stay with VW's. My friends have VW's, they drive up to 20k a year, the cars have between 60k and 90k and the cars give them no problems.

 

[Corbic]

It just so weird that I can find cars of the same era with only 30-50k miles all day long, yet to find a DSM with under 100k and at a resonable price is impossible. Shit I even found a few Corraods with a mere 76k on them and they are 10-15 years old.

 

[Corbic]

how long do white shoes stay white?

More like how long does the sole last before you have holes through the bottom of the shoe. With field boots they last around 26 months. Ask me how I know!

 

[spirol]

Give it some TLC and it will last forever.

 

[Game Over]

More like how long does the sole last before you have holes through the bottom of the shoe. With field boots they last around 26 months. Ask me how I know!

Meh, my Nikes got about 2 years on them, the soles are starting to go...

 

[Nt-Eclipse-Dail]

My 1990 Eclipse has 244,000 miles on it now. It uses about 1/4 qt. of oil every 3000miles or so but there is no smoke and there are no leaks. Awesome car to have IMO. It is my daily drive. I fully expect it to go 300k before I have to put another dime in it...

 

[Defiant]

Until a kid buys it because they're supposed to be fast, and he thinks he's going to make it faster.

 

[ClevSilverEclip]

My '92 N/T 2L DOHC shows about 130K on the odo. Drove her factory-fresh off the lot when I was in high-school and still have her with me today.

No problems at all except for a 1-2 gear grind when cold, and her only major service has been timing belts every 60K miles.

Always changed her oil at 3K miles or 3mos. Still pulls right to redline today and tops out at around 130mph. Gas mileage is as good as my wife's '01 Civic EX.

She saw a LOT of highway miles back in '94-'98 - during those years, probably put on 100K miles.

---

My '95 TSi has nearly 170K showing on the odo. Her previous owner rebuilt her engine at around 130K, if I remember correctly. Drives very, very well and pulls like crazy.



If you take care of these cars, I'm convinced that they're just as reliable as any other modern automobile of the same vintage.

However, once you start modding them mechanically and then start thrashing them, no matter how mechanically durable or how well-made the aftermarket parts you put on are - no matter how good the work you or your chosen shop puts in to them - their reliability and durability will undoubtedly decrease somewhat simply as they're stressed more.

It's a machine, like any other.

-A
/

 

[calcifer]

132k on my Laser, still running strong as my daily driver.

 

[housegsx]

Mine can usually last up to a week between problems. I bought my car with 36k miles. It now has 105K. The only major problem I have had to deal with is a tranny rebuild, which I am getting done. It wasn't toast, just grinding 2nd alot and a throwout bearing went at the same time.

Other than that I have found that it's always stupid little things that need fixed with these cars. I am usually working on it a couple times per month, but nothing serious and it has never left me stranded.

 

[Gigaah]

I've JUST(its showing up today) ended my 1G search.

I'm leary of buying a car with over 110-120k miles that the engine has no rebuild on at all.
It should be manditory to compression test the car when you buy it. Trust me I found a beautiful car..looked brand new..no lie but had horrible compression.

I think if the engine compression tests 150+ its solid.

I've driven a dsm with a "crunchy" transmission for a long time..seems to be holding up under normal driving just fine.

Make sure the car drives straight..age seems to have its way with their straight line..things get loose..but if it seems good..I wouldn't be worried.

It does matter the most how the car was treated, these things were mostly my tests to verify its condition. I think under little/no mods if it "passes" it'll hold up good. IF you don't know when the timing belt was done DO IT NOW. I did mine right when I got the car..and the tensioner was bad could have easily cost me a head AND a timing belt job.

I think if the rebuild was top and bottom end the engine is good to go. Ask for paper work if they claim rebuild. If compression isn't stellar and they claim recent rebuild call BS and walk away from the deal.

The car I'm getting had paper work for the rebuild and did 160+ compression across all 4.


In the end, how long they last is conditional. If its in good condition when you buy it and you maintain it it will last. Most of the my dsm is broken is from racing around ..as obviously this is a performace forum and not a forum for "how to I baby my car, drive it nicely and get it to last the longest" forum.

Hope that helps some bro.

 

[Warmachine91vr4]

"Until a kid buys it because they're supposed to be fast, and he thinks he's going to make it faster." {----WELL PUT, some people call dsm's money pits, some people drive them and have no probs, it all depends on what you know, do your homework before you spend 5 k on parts that you have no clue about, dsm's have flaws, in the hands of a good owner they can last as long as you want, its stupid kids who say " oh man its got a turbo that means i can stomp on it everytime a super rice civic pulls up to me, or crank the boost up to 17 pounds on a stock fuel system and run it untill it dies then wonder why it happened, before you spend a dime do your homework, my first 3 tsi awd's all 90's i was that kid who didnt know shit, now i do,and the 2 that i own now all run near perfectly and my gvr4 has 170k miles and runs as if it just rolled out of the showroom i wish it looked that way, stupid ass deer if your a tight ass on spending money to fix your car a dsm is not your for you, go get a hondur dur dur civic, or a ford festiva with a mazda 323 gtx swap,

 

[dsmRemy]

mine has 180,000 miles on it now and its seems to be having a few problems

 

[94Jettameowpsst]

I have a 90 talon tsi, its crazy cause im the 2nd owner. Its actual production date was 10/89 #58xxx on the production line. The car only had 86k miles on it when i bought it off the old guy that had it before me. DOnt let mileage fool you! If ur car has high miles on it most likely it was previously taken care of but in my case, since the motor that was in it skipped time, it sat for 7 months in a junk yard. Needless to say although the car seemed to be taken care of, EVERYTTHING was origional. Suspension, motor mounts, ball joints, etc. hence the reason it skipped time. you name it it was og. A relationship works 2 ways, both people have to make it work.. think of it that way. You get out what you put into it.

 

[huafist]

It all depends on how much the previous owner cared about the car - my 1990 N/A Talon has 270,000 miles on it (had to replace the motor at 263,000 because the previous owner was a dipshit), but my '91 TSI AWD only had 139k on the odometer when I got it with a destroyed motor. Like has been stated before, it's all about maintenence.

 

[Jena]

seriously, if you get a car someone loved you'll drive you smack it into a tree. if you get a car someone trashed the motor and tranny on you'll be in repair hell untill you sell the thing. these cars will go and go as long as you keep up on the upkeep, but you never know how much of a moron the last owner was. my 95 GSX daily driver will still smoke just about anything, but it's had MAJOR work and money put into it to rectify the damage done by the previous owners. and still needs another $5,000 of transmission and other piddly stuff too. but the good news is that these motors, if and when they decide to go, can just be bored out instead of having to totally replaced.

but seriously, if you don't love the car get yourself a honda instead. otherwise every time it heads to the shop you'll be kicking yourself.

 

[Anubis_4_99]

3 day's... no seriously it's all about how ya take care of it, , although i had to put 1K into mine 3 day's after i bought it, snapped 3 wheel stud's, lost a balljoint on the freeway and snapped an axle, replaced slave and master clutch cylinder and my thermostat... now it's been about a month and not even a single small problem be prepared to spend a little bit of cash on ANY used car you buy, belive me i talk from experience, i've had more car's then some dealerships in my area!!!

 

[Nanan]

The reason why most cars break is because people just dont do upkeep on them. Yes hoses, belts and shit need to be replaced thats why they rupture and snap. Wheel bearings wear out over time, clutches were only really designed for 80k or so, balljoints and bushings tend to start failing at around 100k/8 years.


Just think about it a 90 e/l/t is 15 years old now, 95's are 10 years old, even the last to be made 99's are pushing 6/7 years old now. These cars need work right off the bat to get them up to speed. If you dont fix it before you beat it then expect it to break, its as simple as that.

 

[BUCK]

They'll last until this Board goes away...