Prospective DSM owner here

[XxcastxX]

Hey guys, I'm probably going to be buying this Talon TSI AWD on Sat - 2 owners 80k miles and was daily driven to a train station in my neighborhood for 12 years.

There are a few things wrong with it from what I understand, It has no heat or AC and the front headlights don't work.

This is a 1991 TSI, 1G, btw. The headlights work I mean, but they don't go up or down.

It has been sitting in their driveway for about a year, maybe a little extra.

They want to get rid of it, so I'm getting it for about 500 dollars. It ran when they parked it, they only parked it because it was winter and the car had no heat.

Question - What should I look out for in this car? Are there any major issues that these cars have that I'll probably have to fix at 80k miles? The body has a slight amount of rust, but nothing too terrible. Not really bad at all.

Any help on what to look for when I go there on sat would be appreciated. I'm going with a mechanic. It'd help me be able to locate any trouble spots.

Also, I don't plan to race it or anything, at least immediately. Will this car serve for DD duty as long as I don't abuse it, etc? That is to say - Can I DD this car stock at 20 years old without dropping 20 gajillion dollars on repairs?

Thanks for any help!

I've wanted a 1g dsm for the longest time and finding one like this for 500 is a pretty good deal, especially since the car is stock.

 

[DSM1G90]

CT64 "CT" showing it's an AWD and the "64" is the class of vehicle-being the high end of the production model - why of the high sticker price out of the factory.

 

[XxcastxX]

Picking the car up-tonight. Any last warnings? If not I'll be back with pictures in about 6 hours.

 

[FLASH1970]

What is there to warn you about? You're getting a running turbo AWD DSM for a measly 250 bucks. You suck

 

[jwilt2008]

What is there to warn you about? You're getting a running turbo AWD DSM for a measly 250 bucks. You suck

Yeah what he said...

 

[XxcastxX]

A few more pictures, waiting for title to arrive to get the car signed over to me.

My mechanic said there was alot of rust, may need a new subframe. To be fair though I want a second opinion before I go replacing everything, he's only 20. His dad owns a shop and he's going to inherit it, but I don't trust everything he says.

Need more expertise, yanno?

Any way, pics.

Picasa Web Albums - Aaron

Picasa Web Albums - Aaron

Picasa Web Albums - Aaron

Picasa Web Albums - Aaron

 

[trunks]

Nice find. My advice to you would be to learn as much as you can so you can fix it yourself. If you already wonder about your mechanic I'd take it upon myself to do the work. Tuners and google can pretty much tell you what you need to know.

Also, research por15 for your rust problem. Good luck to you!

 

[XxcastxX]

Thanks so much for the por15 advice man! That's good stuff, that should do me straight. I'll pour that shit under the entire undercarriage xD

 

[XxcastxX]

Hey guys, I got the talon. Drove it home last night . Dropped a battery in it and it started right up.

Two things, are the shift points on this car kind of vague for you guys as well? It went into gear but it seemed like there was a alot of empty space in that shift area, I missed third a time or two.

Also, the brakes are horrific. The rotors are rusted to hell and the calipers look the same. These probably need to be replaced, correct?

 

[JEFFREYCASTGSX]

Turn the rotors and throw some pads in it, might even want to flush the brake fluid, brake fluid attracts anything and if its been sitting its probably adding to the sensation your feeling. What do you mean by empty space? Do you mean like too long off a throw when you shift?

 

[XxcastxX]

Yes, the shifts are very long and imprecise. It might just be the way the car is designed, but the first thing I said was that this thing needed a short throw shifter. It is extremely vague.

And okay, I was reading elsewhere that I can drive it around a bit and clear off the rust on the rotors, but if they calipers are rusty too is this dangerous? I was going to drive around my little circle block for half an hour or so, after putting in some new gas. Is this a bad idea?

And thanks by the way for everyones prompt and extremely helpful advice.

You guys are the best!

 

[blackhawkgsx]

its probably adding to the sensation your feeling.

thats great!!! Im jealous!!!! great buy though!! your first priority is to get that timing belt replaced and start doing preventive maintenance chance the engine oil,flush cooling system, change trans fluid/transfer case ,rear diff fluid,
NGK-BPR6ES spark plugs, tune up! and you should be fine!!!

 

[JEFFREYCASTGSX]

Rofl rofl rofl

 

[XxcastxX]

Anyone know if its bad for me to drive this around the block to shear some of the rust off of the brakes?

 

[JEFFREYCASTGSX]

Your good to go.