Used car opinion.

[PurpleFloyd]

Looking to pick up a used car for my daughter who just turned 16. So far I have narrowed the search to 2 different cars.

1) 1998 Eagle Talon AWD TSI. It has 90,000 miles and is in outstanding condition.

2) 2001 Ford Mustang coupe.

Both cars are very clean and appear to be well maintained and she likes both of them. Personally I have always been a bit of a motorhead and tend to gravitate towards the Talon but I fear that any needed parts might be hard to find since it is a discontinued brand and mechanics might be harder to find. The Mustang would presumably be easier to find parts for and people who know how to fix them. I like the idea of AWD for when it gets a bit slippery out and my wife thinks a RWD car like the Mustang cannot be driven in the winter even though I assured her that I drove many rear whell drive cars in my days and never had a single issue (Except that 85 Trans Am I had that I got out one spring and ended up driving home from Duluth to Ashland in 4 inches of snow with the GoodYear Gatorbacks) . This will be driven year around so there will be a set of winter tires for either car. They both get approximately the same fuel economy and insurance is within 10 dollars a month between the two.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these (especially the Talon)to tell me what to look out for? I heard strut mounts on the Talon can rust. The motors are supposedly bulletproof.

[Jcup]

I wouldn't say the motors are bulletproof by any means. I owned a 96 talon tsi and have never sunk more money into a car. major one being I dropped a valve and had to have the head rebuilt. Take this with a grain of salt because I beat on that car a lot. also, Search crankwalk issue for these cars. Being a turbo car always concerns me. Was it properly warmed up before getting into boost? cooled down after driving? These two things will greatly improve the life of the turbo. I would say the latter being the most important especially during the cold. when getting into boost with a cold engine the turbo can starve from lack of oil. But if the car has been maintained well I would be less worried. A friend of mine had the exact same car and never had a motor issue.

I wouldn't be too worried about finding parts. The tsi awd is the exact same car as the mitsubishi eclipse gsx just different facia front and rear. These cars are commonly know as dsm (diamond star motors) in their community. There are quite a few dsm tuners and forums that can provide you with much more information than me or this forum. A quick google search should bring up some good results.

I'm not trying to steer you away from the talon. In fact, That was one of the most fun cars I ever owned. I think with the right maintenance records I would choose the talon. AWD is amazing in the winter. Especially, for new drivers.

[PurpleFloyd]

Thanks for the reply- Yeah, I am somewhat familiar with the DSM arrangement and was also searching eclipse models when I came across this. I know in about 99 or 2000 they went away from the turbo 4 cyl to a 3.0 v6 and we were originally looking for that configuration when this car popped up.

Was the problem you ran into related to the timing belt not getting changed when needed?

[Jcup]

No timing belt was fine. Just snapped a valve is all. Luckily it only nicked the piston and I didn't have to do a full rebuild.

[SkunkedAgain]

My oldest brother owned a 1992 or 1993 Talon. That was a fun car to drive, even for an automatic. Going around 90-degree turns was a blast when it would downshift and kick on the turbo.

Don't forget that the Plymouth Laser was essentially the same car too.

I've owned one Mustang and driven many. My main concern would be that they don't sip gas, they use it. I always liked driving rear wheel drive, but if that is a consideration with your daughter driving it, then go for the AWD Eagle. Safety should trump an higher costs

[1968]

Your list looks like the 16 year old was involved in the decision making! The Mitsubishi will likely break as much or more and cost a lot more to fix than a Mustang. Seen many exploded valvetrains on those mistsu's. Never fixed one, cost too much and were all towed away from the shop. If she's a mellow driver, that may not be an issue. Factor in a timing belt job(not just a belt) if it wasn't just done or her driving habits won't matter. Oil changes will be a lot more important on any turbo as well, along with synthetic oil.

Got a regular Mechanic? Better check with him first.

[PurpleFloyd]

Thanks guys. as luck would have it work has been a bear and I didn't get time to look at the talon before it sold. I did get up to look at the Mustang and after seeing none of the body panels lined up, paint didn't match from the doors to the fenders to the hood and the chipped off paint on the rear deck that exposed the fiberglass repair work we just walked away.

She has been looking at Saturn SC2's and ion's now.

[Jeremy airjer W]

SC2 and Ion are good choices. The ion I think is an the same platform as the cobalt so you can expect all the normal quirks and repairs that are "normal" for that model.

The SC2 will usually be fairly trouble free. They are oil burners and the oil needs to be checked often or you will be replacing the motor in no time.

[PurpleFloyd]

Even on the SC2? I thought the SC1 was the only one that did that or should I be looking at the SL2?

[Jeremy airjer W]

The letters identify a four door or a two door. SL is the four door, SC is the 2 door. The number generally identifies the engine. 1 is the single overhead cam, 2 is the dual overhead cam. The only difference between an SL2 and an SC2 is the body. They both have the same motor.

The dual overhead cam is an oil burner but is also a pretty tough motor. The only time I see catastrophic failures is when they run out of oil or the oil doesn't get change regularly. Otherwise they will go beyond the 250k mark with little problems,

[PurpleFloyd]

Between the DOHC and the SOHC is there a difference in oil burning or durability?

[Jeremy airjer W]

SOHC had an issue with oil leaking through the head. It's been a long time since I have seen one. The fix was to replace the head.

There is no difference in oil burning but I prefer the DOHC.

[Moose]

I just picked up an 02 Toyota Solara for the boy. Nice black 2 door with side airbags and all the safety features plus the 3.0 6cyl for his need to be a young man. I picked it because of the reliability and the insurance cost the same as the Camry. He picked it because of the speed and it looks really sporty all shined up. Good to compromise to start with especially if your paying the insurance bill.