Looking for a DSM

[crmiller1]

Hi all, I don't consider myself a member yet, but I want to be. My first priority is getting a DSM, and I wanted to post the specs of this car and see if you all think it's a good buy. Please let me know! And administrators, if this is unacceptable posting, I'm sorry- if things go as planned, I'll be a highly contributing member soon!

Here's the car I'm looking at:
1991 Eagle Talon TSi AWD
123,000 miles
5-speed manual tranny
Leather interior, but the driver's seat is in well worn
Kenwood HU with Infinity speakers

Additionally, he's put in an aftermarket clutch and flywheel, as well as a better (though OEM I think) tranny, and he put on an aftermarket exhaust (I think it's made by ATR?). The body's in pretty good shape, a little rust here and there, overall not bad. And one of the headlights is broken (doesn't flip up).

He's asking $3000 for it, so, assuming the engine's in good working order, is this good or bad? Please let me know.

 

[Slack_r]

I may be wrong, but if the flywheel is lighter don't you have to do things to the pistons and other internals too? Don't flame I still consider myself a newbie. But I'd offer him like 2500$

 

[jayboogie]

you may want to (highly) considering purchasing a stock DSM you know hasn't been raced, or one that has been taken care of... especially if this is your first one and youre going to be learning all the problems that come with it. there are tons of stock, babied dsms at that price range - well at least here in CA.

i bought my 90 talon tsi from the original female owner who is an older woman. picked up the car for $2000 with a written warrantee for one month. if it'll take a couple more weeks more to find a deal, wait it out. there will always be more.

the prospect of buying a car that is already modified seems ideal, but really, you dont know how the previous owner drove the car and whats wrong with it no matter how honest he seems or how much paperwork he gives you. you know he drove it hard from the start because of the new clutch, flywheel and tranny...

you'll find yourself getting slowly sucked into the idea of buying a car that's going to be super quick from the second you buy the car...

does this guy have receipts and paperwork? does he know what's wrong with the headlight - you have to fix this if you plan on driving it.

in my opinion, it would be better to buy a stock, babied, rust free dsm for 3000 and do the work yourself - it's not that its a power trip or that "you should do the work yourself", but its the safest and best bet.

good luck in finding one... try http://www.craigslist.org and search for one, ive found 4 out of my 7 cars from there.

 

[DSM_Obsession]

yeah....i got my pig for 1500 with a snapped timing belt so i had to replace the head and after that was all said and done the car spun a rob bearing and i had replace the whole motor.....so ya just have to watch for that kind of stuff and not get screwed over, but with any used car you buy, they have risks involved.

 

[theSicKness]

you may want to (highly) considering purchasing a stock DSM you know hasn't been raced, or one that has been taken care of... especially if this is your first one and youre going to be learning all the problems that come with it. there are tons of stock, babied dsms at that price range - well at least here in CA.

i bought my 90 talon tsi from the original female owner who is an older woman. picked up the car for $2000 with a written warrantee for one month. if it'll take a couple more weeks more to find a deal, wait it out. there will always be more.

the prospect of buying a car that is already modified seems ideal, but really, you dont know how the previous owner drove the car and whats wrong with it no matter how honest he seems or how much paperwork he gives you. you know he drove it hard from the start because of the new clutch, flywheel and tranny...

you'll find yourself getting slowly sucked into the idea of buying a car that's going to be super quick from the second you buy the car...

does this guy have receipts and paperwork? does he know what's wrong with the headlight - you have to fix this if you plan on driving it.

in my opinion, it would be better to buy a stock, babied, rust free dsm for 3000 and do the work yourself - it's not that its a power trip or that "you should do the work yourself", but its the safest and best bet.

good luck in finding one... try http://www.craigslist.org and search for one, ive found 4 out of my 7 cars from there.

No offense but i wouldnt touch a ca car to much emisons crap
id give 3000 grand for a decent dsm as u described but id always try to hagle him down first!

 

[Defiant]

No offense but i wouldnt touch a ca car to much emisons crap

No offense, but the difference is the EGR solenoid. If you have a pre-94.

http://members.shaw.ca/costall/1000Q/answers-makeandmodel.htm#FedvsCAcars

"What are the differences between Federal cars and California (CA) cars?
CA cars have more stringent emissions requirements than Federal cars, so they have a couple of extra pieces of equipment. An exhaust gas recirculation (EGR) solenoid valve is installed on CA cars next to the fuel pressure solenoid valve, while Federal cars have a empty space there. 1G CA ECUs are programmed slightly differently than Federal ECUs, making it problematic to switch ECUs from car to car without getting error codes.

To add to the confusion, all 1994 USA DSMs had California emissions, meaning there are technically no Federal 1994 cars. This prevents 1994 owners from installing an EGR blockoff plate, as the CA-style ECU is smart enough to notice and flag an error code. This requires the substitution of a 92-93 Federal ECU for the original CA ECU.

[Other changes to be added.]

Other than that, there are no differences between Federal and CA cars. "