My Adventures with My New/Used Eagle Talon

mnicks

I just bought an Eagle Talon TSi with $3,500. I
thought I got a heck of a good deal. Right!
Being
a single mom on a very scarce income (paycheck to
paycheck), two jobs and no savings, I had to be
very particular when buying a car. I bought this
Talon from a private one owner who convinced me
that this was a very healthy car.

Less than a week and a half after buying the car,
I had a surging problem when the RPMs were at 2.5
and 3 in 3rd and 4th gear. Then, I started it one
day and it sounded like it wanted to blast off!
Then as it sits at idle (usually worse in colder
weather) I get a rnnnnn rnnnnnn rnnnnnn rnnnnnn
noise! It's some IEE motor that will cost me
(according to the dealer) $500. to fix. Or $1,000
if it lost some screw! Than I find out that the
Talon has to have the timing belts replaced every
60,000 miles! This one was replaced at 47,000+
and
it currently has 117,000+. With just these two
problems, I am looking at $1,000 to $1,500 to
repair! I can't qualify for a loan, but if I
don't
fix it soon, I am going to end up walking with my
daughter! Not to mention, the payment for the
amount I borrowed for the car (and prepaid
insurance) is taken out of my check from my first
job automatically and paid for within a year! So
if my car busts before I can fix it, I am in for a
world of hurt! I am currently working an extra
job
just to try to put money away to fix it! The Eagle
service manager's advise to me is "sell the car,
those things are junk"! Now how am I going sell
it
without a major loss in it's current condition!?
Basically, I playing a game with time against my
car! My advise.....don't buy a Talon unless you
have an extra vehicle to drive and/or lots of
money
to spend. If I would have seen this sight in
time, I wouldn't have bought the car and had this
weight on my shoulders!

pat455

You're in a tough position, mnicks, I'm sorry to hear all that you are going through.

I see that you've already posted in our "Engine Revs when Idle" topic - that's probably a good place to look for an answer.

Have you found Town Hall's Our Turn Conference? It specializes in women's automotive issues of all kinds. We are fortunate to have an automotive technician hosting that conference - she may have some thoughts for you if you post your dilemma over there.

Good luck and welcome to Town Hall!

Pat
Community Leader/Maintenance & Repair Conference

darlene6

I have a very close sitition I bought my 91 eagle talon last year for $4,000 I put half of that amount already in to it just hoping to drive it or sell it good thing I had another car because Ive only driven maybe a week Its been one thing after another with it and after all the repairs to try to make if sell able I find out its leaking oil in spots where the engine will have to be pulled to fix it more then what the car is worth I know how you feel I hope you run in to better luck

urge361

All cars must have the timing belt replaced between 50,000 and 80,000 miles. All related belts should be replaced at the same time as well because they can cause the timing belt to break. There are three or so belts that include AC, power steering, alternator, balance, etc. The water pump, pulleys and tensioners should be changed as well. Total cost for parts can be had for around $350 if you shop around. There are some dealerships that offer parts discounts for DSM (eagle talon, eclipse, laser) owners if a member of the www.DSM.org club (free).

Labor is a different story. Expect to pay $400-$500 for that, unless you or a friend is capable of the work. Its not very hard, but will take you a day. You should buy a maintenance book.

Ken
'93 TSi AWD

urge361

I own a 1993 Talon TSi AWD and I think its one of the best performance cars for the money. Mine has 110,000 miles on it and its great. There's so much I want to post here and share with you but I'll be brief. First, you really must subscribe to the DSM Talon digest, its a free club devoted to these cars. www.dsm.org

Lesson one, all used cars will begin to show signs of electrical problems, especially one that is at least 7 years old and is as complex as these. The IDLE PROBLEM that you described is very possibly an easy and cheap fix.

Lesson two, dealerships are called "satan" for a reason, because they are trying to rip you off. What that dealer said is a blatant lie. The SCREW that he mentioned is called a BISS, basic idle set screw, used to adjust the idle rpms. It may cost $40-50 at a dealer and, like all parts, can be obtained used for a fraction of the cost. The $600 he quoted was for the Throttle Body which the screw is located, but that was a pretty blatant attempt to rip you off.

continued below...
Ken

urge361

Continued from above

Your idle problem is strange, but no doubt has been seen before and been answered a hundred times over (see the digest). Typically surging ocurrs at idle and can be adjusted for 'free' by 'you' with a flat head screw driver by turning the BISS. See the digest for the procedure with pictures (VFAQ). Do you have an automatic or 5 spd? The motor he was referring to is the ISC, idle speed controller and can also be bought used for cheaper. A new one should cost around $200 at a "reputable" dealer (see the club website for a list of dealers that offer discounts on parts). There is also a simple procedure for cleaning it which may fix it.

I think it might be something as simple as some cables getting caught on your throttle switch. Check under the hood near the windshield in the middle, there is a cruise control box that has some wires looping around. Make sure they aren't interfering with the throttle switch (the thing that the gas pedal moves up and down -- its located on the back of the intake manifold, the grey thing that says "ECI MULTI" on it). They can even adjust it for you for $30 labor. Of course, they'd rather charge you $1000 instead. See now how the auto industry works.

Good luck.

Ken
'93 Eagle Talon TSi AWD

benwah93awd

I own a 93 Eagle Talon TSI AWD (140,000 miles as if it made a difference) myself and I hate to see people get screwed like that and then end up giving the car a bad name when in all reality they are pretty nice but nothing is perfect. www.dsm.org is an excellent but a new one that I found recently is www.machv.com, they have an excellent message board strictly for DSM cars and the people that own them. I have fouud a lot of new information there as well. Anyway I just wanted to say HI and throw in my 2 cents, I hope mnicks got her problem taken care. BTW dealers are the devil I had a little run in with them looking at my clutch pedal where the lever was worn that pushes on the hydralic cylinder. They said it was fine and charged me $35 so I bought the part for $20 and fixed it myself and got my money back. The problem was that it wouldn't shift until you mashed the pedal to the floor but it's all good now. So from that I have talked to satan and have reserved these people a place in hell for giving me crap and who knows how many other people. Alright I'm done now, I promise!

SPYDER98

I would personally never own one again without warranty coverage. My spyders a 98 with 77k miles. I've already had almost $3k in extended warranty work done to it.
I love my car still, but I'm starting to get a little worried about taking 3 hour ski trips to vermont with it. I would hate to break down in the middle of no-where!
My goal is to reach 150k miles and then sell it privately. I'm praying I can make it that far...