My Lemon: Exception or Rule?

[Willskyline]

Replaced in the past year alone: Exhaust Valves, New Clutch, New Transmission, New Axle and both CV Joints, New Slave Cylinder, New Master Cylinder, New Alternator, Catalytic Converter.

The drivers seat broke today, and the stock turbo is starting to lag. Oh, and it also has occasional "oil-splosions" from the right of the block near the belts. It's a lot of fun to clean, and my mechanic has no idea why my car is so messed up.

So, fellow Eclipse owners, is my 1995 GST 5 speed the exception or the rule? Considering I've spent far more to repair my car than I spent purchasing it I was considering simply getting another one... but I don't have the patience or finances to do this again.

[Black99GST]

the 95 IS a 14 year old car... i mean... come on!

EDIT:youve been told this before, Put your car info in your sig so we know what you got, and list any mods, or anything else you would like to share with us that is relavent! :ranting:

[MazdaX]

Lemon laws are only applicable for 3 days unless under a warranty contract stating otherwise. The parts you have replaced are parts ruined by abuse and over judging the cars ability to handle 'extreme situations'.

My car is 9 years old and the only thing I had to replace purely from comfort stand point is the transmission then again I was going to tear it out either way to have it built up and a master cylinder rebuild kit. Everything else was for aesthetic reasons and mods.

I would say make sure all your chassy points are lubed , the cv sockets have grease , your boots are sealed , your exhaust ins't plugged , your o2's are good , and fluids topped off and you should be alright for now. Also in the future before you buy a car either runa carfax or pay the dealership to inspect the car and get a print out. The $65.00 ( varies from dealership to dealership ) can save you a lot more in the long run.

[Willskyline]

Originally Posted by MazdaX

Lemon laws are only applicable for 3 days unless under a warranty contract stating otherwise.

I was using the more general meaning of the word lemon, meaning "defective, imperfect, or unsatisfactory", as opposed to the legal term.

Originally Posted by MazdaX

The parts you have replaced are parts ruined by abuse and over judging the cars ability to handle 'extreme situations'.

This not only assumes that I drive my car in a manner that it was not designed for, but also assumes that the only time a car breaks down or has any kind of mechanical problems the blame lies solely on the driver. Neither of these strike me as accurate assumptions.

Originally Posted by MazdaX

My car is 9 years old and the only thing I had to replace purely from comfort stand point is the transmission then again I was going to tear it out either way to have it built up and a master cylinder rebuild kit. Everything else was for aesthetic reasons and mods.

I had a 1994 Ford Escort for like 4-5 years and it never had so much as a hiccup. Everything worked perfectly from the day I bought it until the day I sold it. I used good parts and fluids in the Escort, just like I do in my Eclipse. The difference, despite this, is clear.

Originally Posted by MazdaX

I would say make sure all your chassy points are lubed , the cv sockets have grease , your boots are sealed , your exhaust ins't plugged , your o2's are good , and fluids topped off and you should be alright for now. Also in the future before you buy a car either runa carfax or pay the dealership to inspect the car and get a print out. The $65.00 ( varies from dealership to dealership ) can save you a lot more in the long run.

I did all of that and more. The car is very well maintained, despite it constantly breaking down. I absolutely did a carfax before purchasing; it was clean.

I'm a little surprised at the judgmental nature of the response, not to mention that my question really hasn't been answered.

[Black99GST]

i think that on a 15 year old car (almost) that you should expect to replace a few things... i mean, the car has how many miles on it!?! could just be time to do a little maintainence... IMO...

[Willskyline]

Originally Posted by Black99GST

i think that on a 15 year old car (almost) that you should expect to replace a few things... i mean, the car has how many miles on it!?! could just be time to do a little maintainence... IMO...

This doesn't strike me as unreasonable, but it's the sudden frequency of the problems that surprises me.

So what you're saying is that I don't have a lemon, just a basically normal 15 year old vehicle. I guess I can buy that.

Edit: In my previous post I mentioned an Escort. I did have minor tranny problems but they were minor and easy to fix.

[defiancy]

Originally Posted by Willskyline

I had a 1994 Ford Escort for like 4-5 years and it never had so much as a hiccup. Everything worked perfectly from the day I bought it until the day I sold it. I used good parts and fluids in the Escort, just like I do in my Eclipse. The difference, despite this, is clear.
d.

A 94 Ford Escort is a far cry from a turbocharged DSM. Also DSM's and reliability don't exactly go hand in hand.

[Willskyline]

Originally Posted by defiancy

A 94 Ford Escort is a far cry from a turbocharged DSM. Also DSM's and reliability don't exactly go hand in hand.

Ah, now we're getting somewhere. So they aren't necessarily reliable.

I'm asking because I don't want to make the same mistake twice. If my eclipse was an exception, then I might get an Evo. If it's not an exception, then an Evo may not be right for someone not willing to have his car in the garage/shop all the time.

[MazdaX]

Originally Posted by Willskyline

Ah, now we're getting somewhere. So they aren't necessarily reliable.

I'm asking because I don't want to make the same mistake twice. If my eclipse was an exception, then I might get an Evo. If it's not an exception, then an Evo may not be right for someone not willing to have his car in the garage/shop all the time.

Not exactly true. A car is only as reliable as you are willing to treat it. People may not think they are beating on the car and doing general up keep but can easily over look many things and assume what they are doing ins't considered beating on the car.

My 1992 F-body never gave me a problem even with one of the worst GM motors ever made. The car was pushing 200,000 miles and still had the original motor and transmission when I purchased it from the original owner. Who in fact turned out to be someone who likes to buy cars and change the oil and that's all he'd do.

One of my buddies has a 1995 TSi and it's got 178,000 miles on it with original motor and transmission ( 5 speed ) and all he ever does is oil change and spark plugs.

With all the problems you have been encountering , when I said being beat on I didn't exactly mean by you so you can stop jumping to conclusions. Somebody else may have beat on the POS before you. If you don't like the answers you recieve , ignore them instead of being a douche.

[Willskyline]

Originally Posted by MazdaX

One of my buddies has a 1995 TSi and it's got 178,000 miles on it with original motor and transmission ( 5 speed ) and all he ever does is oil change and spark plugs.

That's fantastic and I'm very happy for him, but if something went wrong on it tomorrow what would you say? "Oh he did X wrong and thus X went wrong"? I hope not. Upkeep is not the only variable in the equation. Fully synthetic AMSoil (basically the best oil for the Eclipse GS-T) over the entire life of the car every 5k miles, regular spark plug and wire changes, occasional treatments, regular maintenance, and responsible driving can still lead to a burned exhaust valve, as is made clear by my predicament.

Originally Posted by MazdaX

With all the problems you have been encountering, when I said being beat on I didn't exactly mean by you so you can stop jumping to conclusions. Somebody else may have beat on the POS before you. If you don't like the answers you [receive], ignore them instead of being a douche.

Really? Name calling? If you don't like a thread or thread starter, maybe it would be better to simply hit the back button instead of making a personal attack. I'm no stranger to the online forum, but this place is about cars, not ego.

The problems that I am encountering don't seem to be a direct result of the driving or maintenance habits of myself or the previous owner (whom I know well). He was as good to the car as I have been, and I've been very good to it. If the car was driven by a 15 year old with a lead foot before me? Yeah, some of this would make sense. That's not the case, however.

[SilvrEclipse]

Come on guys, no reason to argue about this...

Your car is old and you should expect to replace parts, specially with an eclipse, like said earlier they aren't known for their reliability. However some people dont have a single problem with thier car at all. I think it really just depends on how it was takin car of and if it has some luck.

[Black99GST]

Originally Posted by SilvrEclipse

Come on guys, no reason to argue about this...

Your car is old and you should expect to replace parts, specially with an eclipse, like said earlier they aren't known for their reliability. However some people dont have a single problem with thier car at all. I think it really just depends on how it was takin car of and if it has some luck.

never had a problem with this 99... but MY 95 is another story... lol maybe picking up a 98 gsx soon... hope i get as lucky as i did with the 99...

[david-b]

Usually with DSMs when it rains, it pours.

When things start going wrong, they go wrong in bunches. For my experience, I'll get one little problem, then ends up turning into many other problems. Mine's a 95, so it's old and it's showing it's age, but basic upkeep and maintenance will keep most of it running for a long time. You are bound to have a freak problem, like dropping your tranny while driving or something a long that line. But shit happens.

[JoeShmoe]

Yeah our cars are old but I have not had too many large problems. And dave is right when shit happens, I mean it really comes at you. But upkeep is really good when trying to hide your cars age.

The reason I got my 98 is because I've always loved the body. I could have easily afforded a brand new car but it just wasn't the same as my DSM. So if you want to keep it, fix minor things and also replace anything that goes hand in hand with what you are replacing anyway.

[Willskyline]

I'm trying to make this car last, but the car gods just don't seem to be smiling on me.

I'm sure you can see from my mod list (cone filter, blow off valve, turbo timer, exhaust) that I want to make sure that I'm not putting undo pressure on the engine. There is a reason I don't have a t25 or something and chose to stick with the underpowered stock turbo: it's not as rough on the engine. Don't get me wrong, I like having gobs of power but not at the expense of reliability. There's a reason I use $11/quart premium oil instead of just using Castrol or something. I want this car to last.

I'll be going to a pick and pull this afternoon to look for a new driver's seat. I can't afford to go out and get Sparcos or anything.

Maybe I should ask this: do you fellow DSM-lovers have a complete list of things that you do to maintain your cars? Maybe I am missing something.