Want to leave Honda for DSM.

[91DA]

I want to buy a first-generation DSM (turbo) because I like the potential these cars have. My Integra is too slow for me and I don't want to spend an extra 5 grand to just get a decent 1/4 mile time out of it.

I just have a few questions for you guys, I have searched around a bit and come up with some interesting stuff, but there was just waay too much information for me to search through in the time-frame I'm in right now. So any help would be greatly appreciated

I'm getting mixed messages about the reliability of these cars. I'm assuming as long as I find one that has been well kept-up I shouldn't have a problem, same with Hondas. I can't find any common problems though when I search, I find a BUNCH of things that go wrong. So here are my questions:

- I have been hearing a lot about crank-walk, and I found a thread in which there was a poll on it. Looked like about 70 percent of people didn't even have a problem with it. But I am still going to check for play on the crankshaft, but I'm not sure how to do it?

- What things should I check for with the turbo system? Shaft play? How would I check for that? How about intercooler condition, etc?

- How should the cars feel when I test drive it? (AWD, FWD) Are there any quirks about the cars that I should look out for?

- What kind of milage should I be looking at for a first generation? A lot of the ones around here I have been looking at have about 120k on them. Would that be reasonable if they have kept up on maintanence?

- I'm going to be driving this car daily, and maybe doing a few upgrades but I will not be doing anything TOO serious to it. I'll do the occasional hard driving, but definitely wont be racing it around all the time. Will alot of things be breaking with a near stock car, or should I not be worried too much about that. I'm just scared that after a couple times opening it up something will break (many horror stories on this site, not sure if it's common or not since there's SO many people who are on here).

- What kind of price range should I expect to be paying for a 1G turbo DSM? I checked blue-book on them, but that's not always right. What's a more reasonable price to negotiate for (what have YOU guys paid)?

If you could answer my questions, or point me to a thread that would help me that would be sweet. Thanks for reading.

 

[tsibryan]

I got my 1g TSi AWD for $1800, but the guy wasn't looking to make a lot of money off of it. I think $1800 is about what it bluebooked for. It was in pretty good mechanical condition, but the paint is about gone and the interior isn't great. Not a bad deal though, with some research a good DSM can be had for cheap

 

[Drag Limited]

I might not be much help but I am taking a different route, I also am only looking for a drag car.

History....
My first car was an integra GS-R so I know all about slow v-tech

Second car, 240sx with SR20DET, turbo upgrade, cams, fast as shit but broke all the damn time so I sold it for another honda

Third Car, Honda S2000, chicks love it, I love it, slow as balls and does not have that surge of power and ive got huge turbo withdrawl

Now I am buying a 1gen DSM shell with a blown motor for $400, and I am hoping to be running 8 sec in the 1/8 mile very very soon after I get a motor set. This will solve my problem of being non turbo and I will have another fast turbo car, sure it may break but thats why ive got the honda for a daily driver. If you buy a shell it will be really cheap and you will learn alot building the car by hand so you might wanna think about it if you have the time and money to do so. All in all good luck!