Hello there! I am not "new" to cars at all and know quite a bit. Im looking into buying an eclipse to be used as a daily driver. I would really like on with the turbo. My main question with them are:

Gas mileage
how to maintain the car with a turbo
how to check if there are issues with one before I purchase one
good on long distances because I will make trips from MI to TX which is a 15 hour drive
Maintenance on the vehicle

I really do appreciate the help! Sorry if its alot to ask. Any other advice would be AWESOME! Thanks again, Brandon

 

~Gas mileage isnt bad at all, around mid 20s, but the only thing is with a turbo you wanna run PREMIUM fuel, which can get expensive.
~The main extra care for a car with a turbo is the oil. Since the oil from your block is also keeping the tutbo lubricated, you gotta stay on top of that making sure youre oil psi is not too high or too low, or that the viscosity is off. It may be expensive, but Ive heard good things about using royal purple for turbo'd dsms.
~Checking for issues should be the same as any other vehicle, Then again when I got my eclipse I opened up a can of worms so youll probably want a 2nd opinion
~Theyre built more towards performance than luxury, but they can handle a 15 hour trip with no problem.
~I cant really say anything as far as maintenance goes yet, Im still restoring my own dsm. A few of my friends have turbos, one awd, and thats where I get my info from.

 

everything he said is spot on.

Couple things ill add to check...

1. Check under the oil cap for a white sludge and look for smoke from exhaust. Burning oil and headgaskets are common problems that this can check on

2. ask when the last time the timing belt was changed. Being that these engines are interference motors the last thing you cant to happen is have the timing belt slip or even worse break which could end up being $2k to fix.

3. check for rust and suspension issues like clunking on bumps. Being that these cars are old its only inevitable that they will rust and have suspension problems with age. But i have seen some really bad cases where rust literally threatens the structure of the car and stability.

Also like he said with maintenance the oil changes are very important. But one thing i would suggest is dont bother with the royal purple or that stuff. You can just stick with mobil 1 or just any oil. But one thing you may notice when going from a car that has always had normal oil to sythetic is you will get leaks in places you never had. Reason for this is that the sythetic is a thinner oil and may get though weaknesses in gaskets where standard oil would not have.

everything else is pretty much like any other car. General maintenance is the same and things to look for are the same.

 

Thanks for the added info TE, I didnt know that about the synthetic. Ill probably still end up doing the synthetic switch, I saw a big difference with my dads trailblazer when we did it. Just gonna have to be careful for leaks.

 

Sweet! Thank you both for your help and taking the time for the input. A lot to think about I suppose! My last problem is coming by the cars. I live in MI, I use autotrader and craigslist but these puppy's are hard to come by! The good news is, my father in law has his own shop at his home and that's who im taking with me to look. If any one knows of where to look for them I would appreciate the help. I am willing to make the trip out of state if need be and not too far. I really do appreciate all the help!