EdwardNorth
15+ Year Contributor
- 292
- 1
- Dec 20, 2003
-
Waterford,
Michigan
Hey all,
My wife and I test drove that '97 Talon TSI AWD with 11,400 miles on Saturday. It turned up with a completely clean CARFAX. In 2002 this car only had 1600 miles! Since the current owner put about 10,000 miles on it over the last 2 years, I'm not too worried about how much it sat from '97 to '02.
Anyway, I went to the test drive expecting to find problems, prepared to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. We met up with the owner at a neutral meeting place, and as soon as we got there he handed me the keys and basically told me to take it wherever we wanted to go and do whatever we want to it. He didn't even want to come with us, and just hung out at the market where we met up.
This started things off on a good note, because I believe it showed that he was pretty confident in the condition of the car. I think he wanted to let the Talon speak for itself.
I started out by taking a look around the car, checking the condition much more closely than the last time when I went up to his house for my first impression. No dings whatsoever, just a couple small scratches here and there, but not noticable unless you dig deep to find them, and the paint is in great condition. I dropped down to have a look underneath and check out the rust again, and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I had taken a look at some late-model cars in used car lots to see what their underbodies looked like, and this Talon is actually better than all of them. My wife's 98 cherokee and especially my 95 T-bird have way more underbody rust than the Talon, too. We then popped the hood and took a quick pre-drive look. Nothing looked out of place.
Everything looked good so we got in and started out. I pushed the clutch in and checked the RPMs. They stayed pegged, didn't drop at all. We pulled out of the parking lot, caught the on-ramp and drove it up the freeway a few miles, checked the boost and all the gauges. The boost controller was set to 12.5 and it pegged right on every time I boosted. The car pulled quite nicely from a roll, however I could definately tell that from a 60+ MPH roll the AWD was holding the car back a bit under WOT. Still very fast though, and also very educational.
The ride is incredible. It almost felt like the quality of a very firm sedan, because it was smooth going over bumps but very tight in the handling department. The shifting, pedals, and everything else associated with driving the car is perfectly smooth, firm, and precise. Combine that with the outstanding condition of the car on the outside (forgetting the bit of underbody rust), as well as the brand-new condition of everything on the inside (complete with new-car smell!) and you basically have a brand new Talon.
We pulled off into a large entryway to a factory. I pushed the clutch in while we were rolling, put it in neutral, and let the clutch out in the middle of the left-hand turn into the factory. The clutch immediately released with no delay or even slight sticking. We stopped and got out. I popped the hood and started snooping around. Everything checked out nicely. No ticking or strange noises, just the swooshing of the timing belt and the sound of the engine purring. I shut the car off, let it sit for a few, then checked the condition of the oil, tension and condition of the belts, etc. and everything seemed to be tip-top. I took another detailed look around the outside, got in, and we were off again.
I wanted to do a little more drive-testing, including a small launch, so we turned onto the road, and while rolling at about 5 mph I kicked it to about 2500-3000 RPM and quickly slipped the clutch. It felt like a kick in the pants, that baby just gripped and slung us forward! Even going easy on a "rolling launch", AWD is where it's at.
I did some brake testing, pretty nice but could use just a tad bit of improvement. Maybe I'm used to the brakes on my FD but it took a bit of extra effort for a quick slowdown from about 60-20. The braking was still very nice, effective, and safe though. After that I did a few more left-hand turn crankwalk checks (as well as right) and the clutch was glued to my left foot the entire time. No problems there.
We went back to the market at which point I left the car running for a few minutes to let the turbo cool, then did a VERY detailed external inspection (about 20 minutes of crawling around looking under the car, in wheel wells, etc.). Except for the rust, everything was good. I gave him back the keys, told him that we'd make our decision in a few days, and we went our separate ways!
So now, the verdict is in. We decided to go for it! This car really is just like a brand new car. It FELT like being in a brand new car from the interior condition to the ride and engine feel/performance and everything else. Zero defects. It will be the perfect daily driver and additional "toy" that I was hoping to have, and with the condition it's in and the low low miles, it will last us for many long years. I wanted AWD for the winter, not really for launching.
And now, when the weather gets nice enough for me to take my FD out of hiding, both me and my wife will have our own individual "toy" to drive in and "tear up" the streets together every now and then.
Anyways, I am thrilled to be getting this Talon. We take care of the paperwork in a couple days, and I will most likely go get the car and all the spare parts this weekend. It looks like I will be joining the ranks of your community!
Thanks again for your advice in my other thread. If the car was in even slightly questionable condition, I would have taken you guys up on your offer to come with me to look at it again. I appreciate the offer!
Cliff's: Found nice car, bought it.
My wife and I test drove that '97 Talon TSI AWD with 11,400 miles on Saturday. It turned up with a completely clean CARFAX. In 2002 this car only had 1600 miles! Since the current owner put about 10,000 miles on it over the last 2 years, I'm not too worried about how much it sat from '97 to '02.
Anyway, I went to the test drive expecting to find problems, prepared to go over everything with a fine-tooth comb. We met up with the owner at a neutral meeting place, and as soon as we got there he handed me the keys and basically told me to take it wherever we wanted to go and do whatever we want to it. He didn't even want to come with us, and just hung out at the market where we met up.
This started things off on a good note, because I believe it showed that he was pretty confident in the condition of the car. I think he wanted to let the Talon speak for itself.
I started out by taking a look around the car, checking the condition much more closely than the last time when I went up to his house for my first impression. No dings whatsoever, just a couple small scratches here and there, but not noticable unless you dig deep to find them, and the paint is in great condition. I dropped down to have a look underneath and check out the rust again, and it wasn't as bad as I remembered. I had taken a look at some late-model cars in used car lots to see what their underbodies looked like, and this Talon is actually better than all of them. My wife's 98 cherokee and especially my 95 T-bird have way more underbody rust than the Talon, too. We then popped the hood and took a quick pre-drive look. Nothing looked out of place.
Everything looked good so we got in and started out. I pushed the clutch in and checked the RPMs. They stayed pegged, didn't drop at all. We pulled out of the parking lot, caught the on-ramp and drove it up the freeway a few miles, checked the boost and all the gauges. The boost controller was set to 12.5 and it pegged right on every time I boosted. The car pulled quite nicely from a roll, however I could definately tell that from a 60+ MPH roll the AWD was holding the car back a bit under WOT. Still very fast though, and also very educational.
The ride is incredible. It almost felt like the quality of a very firm sedan, because it was smooth going over bumps but very tight in the handling department. The shifting, pedals, and everything else associated with driving the car is perfectly smooth, firm, and precise. Combine that with the outstanding condition of the car on the outside (forgetting the bit of underbody rust), as well as the brand-new condition of everything on the inside (complete with new-car smell!) and you basically have a brand new Talon.
We pulled off into a large entryway to a factory. I pushed the clutch in while we were rolling, put it in neutral, and let the clutch out in the middle of the left-hand turn into the factory. The clutch immediately released with no delay or even slight sticking. We stopped and got out. I popped the hood and started snooping around. Everything checked out nicely. No ticking or strange noises, just the swooshing of the timing belt and the sound of the engine purring. I shut the car off, let it sit for a few, then checked the condition of the oil, tension and condition of the belts, etc. and everything seemed to be tip-top. I took another detailed look around the outside, got in, and we were off again.
I wanted to do a little more drive-testing, including a small launch, so we turned onto the road, and while rolling at about 5 mph I kicked it to about 2500-3000 RPM and quickly slipped the clutch. It felt like a kick in the pants, that baby just gripped and slung us forward! Even going easy on a "rolling launch", AWD is where it's at.
I did some brake testing, pretty nice but could use just a tad bit of improvement. Maybe I'm used to the brakes on my FD but it took a bit of extra effort for a quick slowdown from about 60-20. The braking was still very nice, effective, and safe though. After that I did a few more left-hand turn crankwalk checks (as well as right) and the clutch was glued to my left foot the entire time. No problems there.
We went back to the market at which point I left the car running for a few minutes to let the turbo cool, then did a VERY detailed external inspection (about 20 minutes of crawling around looking under the car, in wheel wells, etc.). Except for the rust, everything was good. I gave him back the keys, told him that we'd make our decision in a few days, and we went our separate ways!
So now, the verdict is in. We decided to go for it! This car really is just like a brand new car. It FELT like being in a brand new car from the interior condition to the ride and engine feel/performance and everything else. Zero defects. It will be the perfect daily driver and additional "toy" that I was hoping to have, and with the condition it's in and the low low miles, it will last us for many long years. I wanted AWD for the winter, not really for launching.
And now, when the weather gets nice enough for me to take my FD out of hiding, both me and my wife will have our own individual "toy" to drive in and "tear up" the streets together every now and then.
Anyways, I am thrilled to be getting this Talon. We take care of the paperwork in a couple days, and I will most likely go get the car and all the spare parts this weekend. It looks like I will be joining the ranks of your community!
Thanks again for your advice in my other thread. If the car was in even slightly questionable condition, I would have taken you guys up on your offer to come with me to look at it again. I appreciate the offer!
Cliff's: Found nice car, bought it.
