Is buying a 1998 Eclipse RS a good idea?

personally i wouldn't buy one. why buy a painfully slow RS and try to make it fast when you can just buy a GST or GSX thats comes stock 210hp. it will save you money if you go through the trouble of turbo charging a RS. maintenance is not expensive for either one cause its Mitsubishi Cheap parts. But it is a DSM which means you will always be doing something to it

yea dont buy one..ther JUNK. and i love mitsus but only ones with boost. i have a 99 eclipse GSX. I LOVE THAT CAR. you could but a GST but they have touble getting traction, as do most front wheel cars... if you want something to mod get anything with a factory turbo, you cant go wrong

Ok thanks guys. Its just that nobody's selling anything other than a GS or RS around here. And I want to try out a NA FWD, else I would have gotten a 300ZX instead. I figured I could just try to get more power out of the RS myself, but maybe that isn't so smart either.

if you want to do any work on the car yourself i would avoid the nissan, there is no room for your arms or any mods under the hood

Buy a GST or GSX, I had a GS then bought my GST; the difference is night and day. Well worth the extra $2k, insurance will be higher though..As far as maintenance goes most DSM's have tranny issues but if you upgrade the clutch and flywheel you should be alright. Very easy to make power for cheap too.

Nah, if you could, get atleast a GS, Rs [ "Rally Sport" ] is the BASE model of the eclipse, the 420a motors never lasted in the rs for some strange reason, Most of them (That i know of) dont have power locks, power windows, AC, or a MOON ROOF lol, Correct me if im wrong on those xD A GS has a 420a motor, which those normally are great, but you can get a GST, which is a turboed 4g63, or a GSX, which is a turboed 4g63, all wheel drive.. Thats the best choice.. you really need to try a turboed one before you go and get a RS or GS, lol but i guess some people dont always have the luxury of having the extra 1-2K$ to get a higher up model =D

i have a 97 that is now putting down 320 whp and weighs under 2700 pounds... sure the gst or gsx are capabl of way more hp but i decided to se what i could get out of the 420a motor and it has alot more potential once i have the tranny and axles to handle it

Lol this is an old thread now. I sold my eclipse for a 300zx.

Dode the gst and gsx come with stock turbo

Lol everyone talking bad about the rs don't know that they were abused to death, as was the case with most of the gs, gst, and gsx models. The only reason why people remember the rs and the problems that it suffered as a result of owner's abuse and neglect, is due to there having been more of them than the other models and more people chanting the same thing. They were all vastly superior to any other Japanese car, and even the European cars. Their power to weight and ease of modification made them really popular, but there was more to it than that. I had an rs and it was my favorite, yes I drove the gsx and it feels more like the lancer evo and I don't like the feel of those cars. It's so light because it doesn't have anything electronic other than the radio that it's like driving a go kart. Now take into consideration it's shape. It's really aerodynamic. The 5 speed manual is a must. It's a lot stronger than that of Honda, Toyota, and Nissan. I tell you this because I never had transmission or engine problems. Everyone hates on them because they either never owned one or they killed theirs because they beat it up and never took care of it. The only problem you are going to deal with is that parts are really scarce. How much is the best rs you've found selling for?

Everyone wants to argue about what's best. For some its on thing for others its something different im sure we can all agree on that... My 17 year old son found this rusted 97 Mistubishi GS parked in a guys back yard where it had sat for over 5 years. As a parent I'm all for him working on this car. It's a lot of metal not stupid fast and let's face it it does look cool. He has all kinds of plans on putting a new exhaust on it a performance chip and some other stuff.. with his own money of course.... For him its about saving along with driving and owning something no one else has at his school. It has that sports car look and even when its sitting still it looks like its doing 120mph. All of his friends have gotten new cars with all kinds of bolt on crap that sound like pissed off bees but none of them have the style his car has and they know it... So with this being a old post the conversation is a mute point Dive what you want. Drive what feels like an extention of yourself. Make whatever car or truck you drive yours and don't let anyone tell you any different.....