well depending on the amount of money you are looking to spend i would definitely reccommend any AWD car! the problems really matter on how much abuse the car has been through, but from what i have seen it has been a sort of random occurance type of thing, probably the biggest problem for certain cars (mainly the years you are looking at) is crankwalk! just type that word in the "search" area and you will quickly find out what that is! but i would defnitely reccommend any AWD model of a car! once again depending on your budget

AJ

 

these cars are your best friend if you maintain them well and are nice to them, but if you are not good to your car it might not always be good to you!

 

these cars are your best friend if you maintain them well and are nice to them, but if you are not good to your car it might not always be good to you!

That goes for 99% of cars

 

I use my 96 gsx as a pizza delivery car, I've put about 45,000 miles on it in the past year. It is driven quite hard, constant stop and go traffic, sharp turns, as well as long idling and 100 mph+ speeds. The only problems I have had are a bad upstream o2 sensor, and two broken doorhandles. Its a killer daily driver. The AWD is great, especially in heavy rain, snow, or just when you need to leave a stoplight in a damn hurry.
Sorry though, no HUD or dual climate control, though the air conditioner and heater are stupid strong. The car gets about 22 mpg, though if one pussyfoots it, it can get an easy 25. I'm sure with a fuel controller, one could get a bit more. I'm not sure about all the options that are available, mine has leather, a sunroof, and an infinity sound system that sounds better than most stock systems, but still sucks, IMHO. Its comfortable, though no Cadillac.
For what it is meant to be, and how much it costs, it is one of the best buys on the market.

 

Also, are the 2Gs difficult to work on? Are routine things like a tune up, fuel filter t-stat change a bitch to do?

 

Also, are the 2Gs difficult to work on? Are routine things like a tune up, fuel filter t-stat change a bitch to do?

They're not really hard to work on - as long as one knows what he's doing . There are many "do-it-all" shops that are not familiar with the 4G63 engines and as the saying goes - if you want to have it done right, do it yourself - which goes especially for the timing belt.
Other than that, DSMs don't require too many special tools and one can easily maintain them with just a basic metric socket set. The suspension and brake caliper bolts as well as the axles may be a bit more stubborn than on 1Gs, but overall, DSMs are very easy to work on (although there's a few areas where one needs really tiny hands - such as the water pump pulley). Beside crankwalk (that's generally extremely overrated and overhyped issue of just very small percentage of 2G DSMs), the most common issue is leaking transfer case seal that may possibly cause the transfer case to overheat and lock up. There's been a factory recall issued, though, and the dealer is supposed to replace the seal or the entire transfer case for free and as long and many times as the car is on the road.
If you purchase the car, I'd suggest you take it to your local Mitsu dealer, have them inspect the transfer case and front A-arm ball-joints (there's a recall on them as well) and possibly also change the timing belt. As long as you're going to keep changing the oil every 3K miles and the timing belt + hydraulic tensioner, the car should serve you well - although you might expect some minor issues there and there (such as battery or alternator replacement, etc.).

 

Well said Taboo!

That goes for 99% of cars

These cars seem to be a little more stringent on this. You just have to love your car, and it'll do its best for you. I find them to be a quirky car too, little things here and there that have problems... but nothing severe. I've had my car almost a year (bought it at 117k km) and I've had wheel bearings to be changed, burned out my stock clutch. But aside from those which aren't an everyday type of occurance, the car has treated me very well.

 

mine came from the east coast... never buy an east coast car.. Im sure everyone elses cars are good.. but I just had to saw through my axles and replace them in order to buy all new breaks! YAY! RUST SUCKS!

 

That is a problem with all newer dodges I was told... the hubs seize to the axles making things ALOT harder to change.

I had to get one cut for a wheel bearing...

Mine is an east cost car though... (well, more east than west) and there isn't a single spot of rust anywhere. Thankfully my friend also owns a rustproofing business! Did the whole car for me free of charge! My next bearings, I'm gonna spray the whole area with some liquid wrench or something for a week before to make damn sure it comes off!

 

never buy an east coast car

Cuz rust never happens in any otehr states

Sucks that you have that problem, but that't not an east coast specific problem

 

I have a 98 GSX and it's my daily driver. It has 63,100 miles on it and I never got any problems with it except for a dead electronic antenna - TWICE. I dont like the creaks and rattles of it but hey, I love the turbo engine. It never snows where I am (SoCal) so I never really realize how good the AWD feature is, but I can tell you that it drinks fuel like a mofo - 16mpg before I added a boost controller and Gram Light wheels.

I always worked on it and I can say that it is moderately harder to work on it compared to my other cars - the C5 being the easiest and a Previa which is close to being smashed with a hammer just coz everything is not accesible under the hood.

It's true that if you treat the car right, it will serve you well AND I believe the most reliable car is a stock car. The more mods you add, the more headache you will get later on. Mitsubishis are geared toward performance (at least pre-2000s) and not reliability. If you want reliable, go with a Honda or Toyota.

 

If you want reliable, go with a Honda or Toyota.

Those aren't the only relibale cars out there. No honda for me & Supra TTs are overpriced so I am going with a DSM or another GTP.

 

dsm-cheap fun, but needs a solid amount of attention and the willingness to handle a less than comfy sports car

gtp-hyped up bonneville, great ride and torque, with room for extras.

If you are looking more for comfort and the lovely torque from those 3800s, get the gtp. If you want a car that is more erratic and on the edge, with the zip to go with it, get the dsm. These are two different creatures that have to different drivers in mind. either way, have fun.

Jesse

And I own a dsm and have driven enough gtp to know the difference. If I could afford it, I would have the gtp for around town fun, and the dsm for the pure racing.

 

Very similar profile

Your situation is really close to mine. I used to have 2 camaros when I was down south. I most recently had a v8 s-10 for winter, my 93 Z28 for summer and a Grand Prix for a family car (wanted a GTP but couldn't find one decent price at the time, yrs ago). When I moved to Chicago from PA the commute distance and emmisions killed my possibility of a V8 s10, so I decided on a first gen AWD TSI Talon. I picked up my 91 TSI for a "daily driver" for under 2 grand. It quickly developed a huge oil leak that justified an engine rebuild.
My "daily driver" turned out to be a $8k project. I couldn't help it. I love my Z28 and it will always be the love of my Car Life. But I also really enjoy my AWD turbo car. It's 2 completely different cars but it's still alot of fun. I also had a good time learning the "DSM" mods/engine. I'm anxious to get the Talon to the track to see what it will run. The power band is so completely different than my 400 ftlb tractor LT1 that its hard to tell which one is faster. The added traction is great in all kinds of weather. I use it in the snow and rain and it does great.
The first gen AWD with some mods is also a great option.

 

Well, guys, I drove a 96 TSi on Saturday and I remembered why I missed turbo so much, but man the interior is cramped and the design is so primitive compared to the GTP. So I got another GTP. One day I want to get a DSM as a project, but not a daily driver.

 

Man this thread caught my eye.I have a 99 trans am ws6 ls1 hopped up to approx 450 at the engine.I have a 96 z28 vert bought it for wife which should be around 325 to 350 engine.
I have a 1980 trans am which is getting a bbc possibly supercharged or with nice big shot of spray and just bought an eagle talon tsi a few short months ago.

I was bored in winter here and figured the awd would be nice year round daily driver.And turbos are cool but never had a turbo car before only turbo yamaha motorbike.And never had a japanese engine before either.

I love gtps also..especially the two door coups and if the price on one we looked at had been a bit better would have one now instead of z28 vert.

When that didn't happen and since now have a nice vert in the family then found a 1992 talon ts1 awd at auction.It had a bit of miles 220,000 km showing..thats around 130,000 miles and the speedo isn't working so might have a bit or a lot more.Still the body looked good and the interior looked decent.
It didn't run very good,in fact terrible but I bought it anyway.
I tuned it up myself and put in little stuff and then something weird happened.

I started to really like the car.And boost was way cool..nice little kick in the butt that feels like nitrous but never goes empty.I could learn to like that.And after got it running not bad lately with just the 14b I timed it and got a 14.44 at 100.2 with a 2.24 60ft.
Thats with just a n1 downpipe and catback,gm maf and maft and
better air filter and my supra pump,afpr and bigger injectors and just a real quick tune and a hurting factory clutch.That is faster than my z28 vert which is stock awaiting new mods not installed yet and just a bit slower than my 80 trans am with pontiac 400 with mild cam and stall converter and some gears.Big block isn't installed in that car yet.
And that is with a pathetic for an awd 60ft.The roads are cold and slippery here still.
Those times are on a tazzo vpc which was taken to track and was extremely close.

And now have got addicted to the turbo and got a new 50 trim to install and new clutch and will be getting some cams shortly ,big intercooler and sheet metal intake and maybe some nos.

I like all my cars.The ls1 has wicked top end and sounds awesome
with an electric cutout and my headers and cam.It can run a mid 12 on drag tires.The lt1 vert has very nice around town torque and good mid and decent top end and should easily run a high to mid 13 this year after a few tweaks.The 80 trans am should be in the 12s with mildy warmed over big block chevy and in the 11s to 10s on spray /and or blower.

But my little arrest me red talon is still way cool and fun.Are they hard to work on ..no,actually most stuff is pretty easy.Can they be expensive for parts and stuff..yes they can.But can they be big fun and wicked fast for not that much money..yes they can be that too.

I would still really like a gtp too but hey I think I have enough cars for now.

Sorry if this got a bit off topic but saw some comparisons with my car collection.

 

Man this thread caught my eye.I have a 99 trans am ws6 ls1 hopped up to approx 450 at the engine.I have a 96 z28 vert bought it for wife which should be around 325 to 350 engine.
I have a 1980 trans am which is getting a bbc possibly supercharged or with nice big shot of spray and just bought an eagle talon tsi a few short months ago.

I was bored in winter here and figured the awd would be nice year round daily driver.And turbos are cool but never had a turbo car before only turbo yamaha motorbike.And never had a japanese engine before either.

I love gtps also..especially the two door coups and if the price on one we looked at had been a bit better would have one now instead of z28 vert.

When that didn't happen and since now have a nice vert in the family then found a 1992 talon ts1 awd at auction.It had a bit of miles 220,000 km showing..thats around 130,000 miles and the speedo isn't working so might have a bit or a lot more.Still the body looked good and the interior looked decent.
It didn't run very good,in fact terrible but I bought it anyway.
I tuned it up myself and put in little stuff and then something weird happened.

I started to really like the car.And boost was way cool..nice little kick in the butt that feels like nitrous but never goes empty.I could learn to like that.And after got it running not bad lately with just the 14b I timed it and got a 14.44 at 100.2 with a 2.24 60ft.
Thats with just a n1 downpipe and catback,gm maf and maft and
better air filter and my supra pump,afpr and bigger injectors and just a real quick tune and a hurting factory clutch.That is faster than my z28 vert which is stock awaiting new mods not installed yet and just a bit slower than my 80 trans am with pontiac 400 with mild cam and stall converter and some gears.Big block isn't installed in that car yet.
And that is with a pathetic for an awd 60ft.The roads are cold and slippery here still.
Those times are on a tazzo vpc which was taken to track and was extremely close.

And now have got addicted to the turbo and got a new 50 trim to install and new clutch and will be getting some cams shortly ,big intercooler and sheet metal intake and maybe some nos.

I like all my cars.The ls1 has wicked top end and sounds awesome
with an electric cutout and my headers and cam.It can run a mid 12 on drag tires.The lt1 vert has very nice around town torque and good mid and decent top end and should easily run a high to mid 13 this year after a few tweaks.The 80 trans am should be in the 12s with mildy warmed over big block chevy and in the 11s to 10s on spray /and or blower.

But my little arrest me red talon is still way cool and fun.Are they hard to work on ..no,actually most stuff is pretty easy.Can they be expensive for parts and stuff..yes they can.But can they be big fun and wicked fast for not that much money..yes they can be that too.

I would still really like a gtp too but hey I think I have enough cars for now.

Sorry if this got a bit off topic but saw some comparisons with my car collection.

 

I noticed alot of F body owners/DSM owners. They make a good pair, with the torque vs turbo/traction. The Fbodys are great good weather cars and the DSM are great rain/snow cars that also can be made fast.
I like my Z28 and DSM mix, they are both alot of fun and in a way two really different cars. I would recommend both to everyone. As for sound there is NOTHING like a ballsey V8.

 

if you are thinking of buying a turbo car just know that these are much different that your average motor and require alittle TLC, if you take care of it the car will take car of you

btw: the door handles suck so be careful

-EE

 

hey man i might be selling my '95 GSX/ slightly modded inside and out soon. My mom got it for me as a birthday/pre-graduation gift but i dont really need/want it, cuz i was looking for more of a convertible n/A eclipse or some type of sedan like a honda accord. if interested let me know

 

Mine is daily driven, check out the mod list at my website. She's regularly run to redline +.
Properly taken care of these cars are very dependable. You'll always have stupid stuff like batteries and alternators die just like they do on other cars, but proper maintenance and a keen eye when modding and tuning is the key here.

V8's suck, been there and done that.

Dependable
Sick fast
Machine