Question: Trade In, or No? Opinions Please!

[tazraz01]

Hi all,
Ive had my Eclipse RS (w/ and auto trans ) for about a year now, and since I'm only a student of 17, I can only do so much to it since I cant have a job while I'm in school. Anyways, I took my car to the shop today to see why I was leaking oil...my mechanic told me it was a bad rear main seal, and that it would be a lot of work and a lot of money to fix it.

This is where my parents stepped in and began wondering 'well, if your car keeps this up we want to trade it in for something that will last you through college without much trouble'. So, I went looking to see what was in their price range, and I've found an Acura RSX with 34K miles on it for 13,900.

So this is where I need your opinions! Should I stick with the 'clipse and fix the rear main seal, or just trade it in and try to get an RSX?

(I think fixing the seal shouldnt be too hard...and I bought the car for $6000, so a little work was to be expected!)

Thanks for your time, and happy thanksgiving

 

[Defiant]

Some parts of your life you just have to run for yourself.
Reading of this site should tell you what you're in for as a DSM owner.

 

[SkyLineGtR-R34]

rsx ain't bad...it's one of the only honda/acura cars i like, but please don't attack me with your comments about honduh and stuff like that....

anyways, how much do you think you can get for your car in trade in? and are you ready to get a credit and pay the rest?

 

[Tweaker_911]

Just my opinion, but for 13,900 you could find a really nice 2g Eclipse GSX/GS-T/ or SPYDER. I'm not a car salesman either but I can tell you that I've been driving the Eclipse since 1994, I had a 97 and now a 99 and I have never once had one leave me stranded. True I upgrade every couple of years, but now that the Eclipse (In my opinion) no longer exists, I will just have to do regular maintenance and deal with whatever happens as it happens. Actually, as soon as I get back to the states in May I'll be off to find another gem hidden in some guy's garage, or under some old-lady's carport. So if you look around a bit I'm sure you can find a gem to, a well kept, slightly modded interior/exterior 99 Eclipse is a beautiful creature....they're out there for 13,900, anyone here can tell you that. TRADE UP, NOT OUT !!!!!! my .02
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

 

[tstkl]

yea, with the exception of ecu caps, my talon hasnt had any problems (that i didnt create...) in the year or so ive had it..

 

[DGajre777]

My opinion - Get rid of it. If you can't keep up with maintanance on a NT, you sure in hell won't be able to keep up with maintenance and insurance costs on a GSX. I had a 92 1.8L Eclipse when I was in college (98-03) and I spent about $200-$300 a month on it on mainenance alone and almost every fricking month the car needed something. If you in college, are broke, need a reliable vehicle, don't live with your parents, don't have a high paying job then get rid of it. DSMs are not reliable vehicles and when they break it is not cheap to fix it - unless you do the work yourself and when I was 17 I didn't know shit about cars.

FYI - If you do plan to change your rear main oil seal, then you might as well put a new clutch in, resurface the flywheel and get a new clutch master cylinder.

 

[Tweaker_911]

My opinion - Get rid of it. If you can't keep up with maintanance on a NT, you sure in hell won't be able to keep up with maintenance and insurance costs on a GSX. I had a 92 1.8L Eclipse when I was in college (98-03) and I spent about $200-$300 a month on it on mainenance alone and almost every fricking month the car needed something. If you in college, are broke, need a reliable vehicle, don't live with your parents, don't have a high paying job then get rid of it. DSMs are not reliable vehicles and when they break it is not cheap to fix it - unless you do the work yourself and when I was 17 I didn't know shit about cars.

FYI - If you do plan to change your rear main oil seal, then you might as well put a new clutch in, resurface the flywheel and get a new clutch master cylinder.

I totally disagree, a lot of the problems posted in this forum are performance/upgrade type questions, or problems related to doing upgrades. Like I said and others, if you take care of your ride, your ride will take care of you. If he finds a well taken care of 2g Eclipse that wasn't abused or treated like a stock car, chances are he'll have dependable transportation over the next few years. There are plenty of reliable mechanics willing to run the motor through the gambit of tests to ensure he's getting a decent car. Just because he got one bad apple doesn't mean it's the time to throw in the towel. I say look around, and if you want to stick with the Eclipse there's one out there for 6,000 - 10,000 dollars, and for 10,000 you can find some great deals on really nice 2g Eclipses, you just have to know what your looking for.
As for his insurance with the GS-T or GSX, I'm sure he's probably on his parents insurance as of now, and what would the cost difference be between a GST and a RSX ?? I guess that depends on models eh but regardless, if he's not modding for performance or creating problems his DSM will take care of him at least mine have taken care of me for almost 11 years !!!!
So I say trade it in yes, but for another Eclipse !!!!

 

[lilalex86]

Cars are cars. They break and cost to fix. You do it saves bucks. You get a new one costs every month. I have three cars and can really only keep them all going by doing stuff myself or last resort take to mechanic. Your call. Do you know any gearheads that can help you out for trading services or case of beer. Improvise!

 

[tazraz01]

Well within the year I've had the car, I haven't had many problems at all with it...this will be the first! But my dad sees it as 'once one thing starts to break, others will soon follow', which I dont think is the case.

I love my DSM! I think I'll just keep everyone's thoughts in mind...are DSMs really not that reliable of cars, (as in the break or need repair often?)

 

[DGajre777]

My opinion - They are reliable if you take care of them, but there are other vehicles out there that are more reliable without having to take care of them. I personally think DSMs are high maintenance vehicles.

 

[VicBoost]

yea your car is just a RS no turbo and its auto so yea trade it in.