MR_S2K04

Use to have a 2 gen DSM only broke down on me once after 3 years of ownership and driving it over 100k and it was just the water pump and timing belt issue. I always kept up with it doing oil changes regularly and air filters and plugs and wires when due. On the other hand I also had a friend that had a 1st gen DSM but he kept up with it once in a while and always beat the snot outta it and that always kept breaking down on him and leaving him on the side of the road. He must of spent 5x the money than what that car was worth. So, depneds on the shape and if you'll take care of it.

Saki GT

They seem to suffer from "danger to manifold." I'd avoid.

billios996

I had a nicely modded 97 talon tsi awd (FP big28, intercooler, injectors, ecu, etc.) that I drove to 192k with no major problems. Take car of the timing belt, water pump, and the wear items and the car will take care of you.

A clean 1gB is a very nice find. Check the car out. If it's clean go for it. These cars are super easy to make fast and handle well. Dennis Grant from Far North Racing was killing the autocross with his 2g Talon.

It is, of course, a 20 year old car, so caveat emptor. There's plenty of dudes out there selling low mileage gauge clusters from part-outs, easy to swap and instantly lose 100k miles.

got a link to the ad?

TheDonEffect

Like with any car with actual torque powering four wheels, the trans is susceptible to going bad, but if youre smart about it youll be ok. 93 I believe was the last year of the 4 (or was it 6) bolt motor thay wasnt prone to the dreaded crankwalk so ir goos there. As mentioned, the waterpump can be an issue with the belt isnt installed correctly. Otherwise its like any other old turbo car so approach accordingly. I owned a 2g talon tsi awd, loved it, not the most refined car out there but a crapton of fun, wish they still made cars like that.

Smurf_9K

I had a 2g AWD with a 6 bolt swap. Ended up doing a 2.3l stroker, PTE SC63 turbo, ECMlink v3, built head, etc etc...put down 450 wheel on 93. Tons of fun when running right, but I spent thousands correcting hack jobs attempted by the previous owner.

99% of problems are owner or previous owner induced. Certainly because the newest ones are now going on 14 years old most will need a little attention- fluids, timing belt, etc. Parts are cheap(especially compared to an s2000!) and the aftermarket and community support is huge- a how to exists for everything. Even the AWDs are pretty easy to work on- it's the first car I really learned how to turn a wrench on.

Try to find a clean, stock, well maintained example if you can. These cars are so dirt cheap now it's well worth the small premium you pay. Nice modded ones for sale exist but be wary.

d1rtyc4r

Hilarious! The first couple posts are people who are like "my buddy had one and spent $20,000 on it!" "my brother had one and he lost his job cuz it broke down so much" "my dad had one and it killed him...twice!"

Then actual owners chime in and say that they had no major problems.

FUD is f@#king ridiculous on this forum. Case in point: "I really like RX7s, should I buy one?".

Sellout

92 was the last year for the 6 bolt motor, first year for the 4 bolt rear end. A 93 will have a 7-bolt/4-bolt. Only the 2G cars were known for crank-walk. A 1g 7-bolt is fine. Pretty much any 7-bolt that's still running today would be crank-walk free.

They're fine if you just want to drive one around nearly stock. (IE small turbo, no clutch dumps, no drag racing)

The transmission has a torque rating that's about as high as a stock S2000 transmission. If you race it you will break it. More than once. Probably more than once a year.

Mine was a FWD 2G (95) and aside from me breaking something in the transmission EVERY 6 months because I wasn't nice to it, it was as reliable as any other car I've owned. Nothing but the transmission was ever broken, and every time it was my fault. It had 130k on it when I got rid of it, 75k when I bought it used.

d-bo

I had a 92 with a 6/4 combo, cams, big turbo, all supporting mods but stock engine with just headstuds. I'd like to point out that the car had over 180k miles on it and the motor was still perfect

HOWEVER. The car went thru 3 or 4 trannys, 2 rear ends.. but that was about it. If you take care of your car it will be fine just like any other car. The problem with dsms is that they are/were a cheap turbo car. kids just like to put an exhaust and crank up the boost and go crazy for 30k miles, something breaks and then they sell it.. all goes downhill from there.

the problems are mostly owner error, although the tranny is pretty weak, and there are some modifications that need to be done to the motor to ensure longevity that's about it. It's a low compression closed deck motor with thick rods. It's perfect !

beanseff

i've never owned one but i have a very close friend that had one, i'd avoid them like the plauge. it wasn't just nickle and dime with his, the electrical system was a nightmare, it was a monster when it was running...and hence the saying "it'll pass everything but a repair shop" came to be

d-bo

I still don't even know what the original intent of this thread was Lol