What's to become of the 3S platform?

**CoopKill** · 07-21-2015, 09:06 PM

They are a fucking virus! They infect you, suck the soul clean from your body, and by the time you realize it you have 3-4 with 10's of thousands expended! Try it they said, you will love it they said, great value they said!

**stealthee** · 07-21-2015, 09:11 PM

Why have most of you guys stayed with these cars considering all the problems the OP mentioned.

For me it is love of the car, learning experiences, and friends. When I was 10 years the Stealth and the 3000GT first appeared and I was in love. I broke my neck to look at them every time I got a chance. I still remember to this day being 12 and going with my parents to a Dodge dealership, because they were looking at the new Dakotas. I walked into the showroom and there sat a Firestorm red RT/TT. I begged my parents to buy it instead of the truck, but they didn't want to spend 20k more than they were on the Dakota.

When I got old enough to drive, I still wanted one, but knew there was no way I was going to be able to afford one. I started the process of trying to get into the military at 19 and had a lot of promise to get a big bonus thanks to my test scores. The recruiting officer asked what I was going to buy with my bonus money and I threw a magazine at him with a 98 VR4 for sale in it. Unfortunately, the military thing didn't work out due to medical hold ups, but I still had that dream.

After a few cars I bought my first import in a 93 Eclipse. I drove it for a year, learned a little more mechanically, and started to look at 3s's. In 2002 first gen NA's were still going for 10k. After searching I found my Stealth, got the loan, bought the car and sold the Eclipse to my brother.

A year after having the car I had my first issue (the IAC) and found 3si. From there the rest is history. I've never been to a NG and have met over 50 members/owners over the years, with 20+ members having been to my home for various reasons. I've made so many friends its ridiculous.

I broke the car several times, and kept at it. I did park it the last time it broke, and that was only due to buying a newer car and just not having the funds to give it the love it needs.

4.5 years the car has sat, and 4.5 years I have missed driving the car. At the beginning of this year I started buying a few things to help motivate me to get it going. Unfortunately, I lost my job in May, but that has given me all the free time I need to work on it and I have been putting a lot of time in it.

My car is a 94 SOHC Stealth with 195k miles on it. It's probably worth $1500 book value, but to me, it's priceless.

**j2k4** · 07-22-2015, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by Spyder95VR4

Why have most of you guys stayed with these cars considering all the problems the OP mentioned. For me it was the only car that I could afford that had my bucket list of features. Twin turbos, awd, all wheel steering, potential for big power on a budget, and I got the convertible too. Also considering how many they made it's still rare to see one on the road. I've been asked over and over what is that, what year is it ect. Always get a fun reaction when I tell them it's a 20 year old car.

This ^^.

They aren't worth much, but the value is definitely there.

They made what name they have on the advanced features and technology - thank God they're cheap, cuz consider what you could drop on any similarly-equipped performance car.

Those of us who have running examples of the marque get to enjoy what is still one helluva car - I feel pretty lucky to have found the car I have, but I appreciate it all the more because of the stories people have to tell about spun bearings and the various other ailments common to the platform.

I've always been able to do more driving than wrenching on my car - knock on wood.

Bottom line, though - if they didn't have a risky rep, the likelihood is I wouldn't have made the leap to ownership because it wouldn't have been the tremendous deal it was.

Even when I was 'without car' I knew what they were, and I remember thinking at the time there was no other car that brought as much to the table.

Of course, I also have had the pleasure of the money-pit experience, but that is another story...

**futurevr4man** · 07-22-2015, 09:54 AM

Originally Posted by CoopKill

They are a fucking virus! They infect you, suck the soul clean from your body, and by the time you realize it you have 3-4 with 10's of thousands expended! Try it they said, you will love it they said, great value they said!

Well I've got nothing to worry about...

**sergechronos** · 07-22-2015, 10:35 AM

Originally Posted by futurevr4man

Well I've got nothing to worry about...

**MDoe8** · 07-22-2015, 12:32 PM

Originally Posted by Spyder95VR4

I did the only thing I thought I could do with these cars getting harder and harder to find in good condition and parts getting scarce, I purchased an entire car for a parts car. I have a 26k stealth rt/tt that may not really be worth it to restore but was complete and everything obviously low miles. Great barn find.

Why have most of you guys stayed with these cars considering all the problems the OP mentioned. For me it was the only car that I could afford that had my bucket list of features. Twin turbos, awd, all wheel steering, potential for big power on a budget, and I got the convertible too. Also considering how many they made it's still rare to see one on the road. I've been asked over and over what is that, what year is it ect. Always get a fun reaction when I tell them it's a 20 year old car.

There are a ton on the road. They are all complete pieces of crap though that they are not noticed lol. When people see a clean one, it is a standout for sure! It's almost as if there are two different cars that mitsubishi made....POS that blends in like a Camry or a nice one that really stands out lol.

**stealthee** · 07-22-2015, 01:37 PM

I even notice the pieces of shit and I still am lucky to see 10 a year while driving. They have a distinctive shape and characteristic about them that are hard to miss. When I was still working I drove around 60k miles in a 12 month period. I still only saw about 15 total.