hey all...after thinkin alot about it, and doing extensive research on turboing my current 98 avenger, i realized i would much rather look around for an R/T Turbo, considering that i see them around town for around 5-7grand. and my car currently is worth 4k, and it wouldn't be worth the work/cash to drop 3k into a turbo kit. but if it's not turbo, i don't want it.

anyways, it's just that i have a few worries about buying an "older" vehicle. a friend of mine at work has a 92 rt turbo, and she's had transmission problems ever since she got it. (there's still a steady leak of trans fluid) how often do things go wrong with these older cars? i'd rather not get to play with a new car for 3 weeks then have something major go wrong. =/ i'd want it to last atleast a month

so i guess my main question is, how safe is it to buy an old(er-ish) car? such as year 91-93. if it's well maintained, it should be okay, right?

 

from what i have read, most of these cars have trans problems...
you are kind lookin at this the same way i am...i had a project car that was a 98 neon r/t....was starting to put money into it and then i thought about it....neons arent worth much money and no matter how much you put into it, it still wouldnt be with it....just get a different car that would be worth it, or that alredy has it done

 

The Stealths are a mechanic's nightmare......but they are great cars when in good working order. The turbo versions are quite fast, fun to drive, and AWD to boot....most of them have issues with the transmissions, but there is a fix for it. TheStealth, our Stealth section mod, would be the man to talk to on it.

If you still love your Avenger, I'd suggest talking with silvercoupe97. He's the Avenger section mod, and he's sitting on a AWD Turbo'd Avenger.....and it's ridiculously sweet....I'd buy it from him in a heartbeat.....

Good luck to whatever you decide....I think modding your Avenger is the best way to go....as the Avenger is such a good looking car....and no one would expect you to ever be "fast"

 

yeah i spoke when earlier last week for quite a bit about turboing my venge...which would be SWEET as hell because i'm definitely into the whole..."sleeper" thing. but after realizing i've seen plenty of r/t turbo stealths around town for only 5-6k...i could sell my car for ~$4,000 and only have to spend one or two thousand more for one hell of a ride that'd be even faster than an avenger with a $3,000 stage one turbo in it.

so at the moment i'm kinda stuck...either save up twice the money for a turbo kit and keep my avenger...OR sell the avenger and get a stealth for only 1-2 thousand more but have the possibility of mechanical problems to deal with. however none of this will be taking place until early next year probably.

so that's where i'm stuck.

 

Well, the other thing you have to factor in is the condition of the actual vehicle itself and the repairs you'd have to make on it. The Stealth is expensive to maintain, much like a Porsche if you will. Plus, what condition is the motor of the Stealth in? Is it something that's been ragged to hell? Keep these in mind.

 

well i know what to look at when buying cars and i have a lot of experience in buying them.

i just want to know how many of these cars have transmission problems as they get older. if it's over half...is it really worth the risk? what else goes wrong with them other than trannies? if that's all i'd have to repair/replace it if i had to and that was all, i wouldn't mind the investment.

 

The transmission is not weak...it just wasn't designed for multiple high RPM launches. Even then, the tranny isn't really weak, the problem usually lies with the synchros. A few missed shifts, or treating it like a Muncie "rockcrusher" 4 speed will kill the synchros...sad but true.
The reputation of tranny problems arose originally from Getrag (the manufacturer). They stated that it was in irrepairable transmission, so any tranny problem resulted in the car owner having to buy a new transmission. I'm not sure exactly how the story goes, but either Getrag or Mitsu did release a breakdown and parts list for the tranny's and people have been rebuilding them ever since. There are a couple 3rd party sources for parts that I know of. It is still hard to get parts from the dealer, so most people use these other shops.

The 6 speed tranny in the 2nd gen is a little stouter than the 5 speed in the 1st gen. Transfer cases are also a weak link, kind of like the tranny, they simply are not strong enough for repeated "launches" of a 3800# car. Recently, however, an all steel transfer case has been designed and built and has made several passes down the strip in a full weight 800+hp, 3000gt without fail. This is very promising, hopefully they will be in production soon.