Regardless of what you purchase I can recommend a very good wrench in the SE MI area that is extremely reasonable....

 

There is a guy on here who tracks his car and has over 200,000 miles on it and never had an engine problem. However. I don't know if he has modded his engine or not.

 

I agree that the term stage 2 is very ambiguous. Find out what turbos, who the tune is from, etc. Get a thorough PPI from a reputable, independent shop. These cars are very, very robust. I have a 18g car and it hasn't given me any problems. I bought my car basically stock except for a flash dv and an intake. Then I spent a lot of coin on a K24/18g setup. If you can swing a car like Woodtster's it's THE way to go.
About the only thing you need to think about with a car that has 50-60K miles is the 60,000 mile inspection and maybe a clutch depending on how the car was driven.

 

And it's really about the install and proper set up.... ( including a complete boost leak test).
markski

 

Thanks guys.

Is there a thread on here somewhere that tells me all the things I should make sure are checked out at the ppi (eg: boost leak test as MASKSKI pointed out)? I searched, but did not come across any.

What did most of you end up buying - assuming a 2001 Turbo unmodded, a car with low miles (<25k) or one with higher miles (>45k)?

Is 45k on a 2001 considered high miles assuming it was:

a) not tracked
b) tracked

 

45k on a 2001 is around average from what I've seen lately. Tracked is tricky as most won't tell you it was unless it was seriously tracked on a regular basis, in which case I would probably stay away from it - you just can't know what might break.

I found a car with 37k miles and was looking primarily for one with 20-40k miles, keep in mind the cost of the 30k service if buying a car just under that, and also keep in mind a 2001 with less than 20k miles means it was driven less than 2500 miles a year - really low miles can be something to think about as it means the car probably sat a whole lot which isn't great for it either.

 

It seems that this is the case with most cars, but it all depends on what mods you go with (remember, you get what you pay for), and as usual, maintenance, maintenance, maintenance.

 

The simple answer is YES, had it with my supercharged E39 540 and now the P-car, that is the nature of the game. Just make sure you develop a thick skin and some mental fortitude and you will be fine...., also helps to have some extra $$$

 

I put 65,000 trouble free miles on my car the first 4-5 years of ownership...at stage 2 (chip and exhaust) with PSS-9 suspension. It was when I took the next step and went to K16/24 turbos that I needed a clutch within months. Then, I decided to try some 1/4 mile days, go with larger turbos once again and immediately began to see parts like the transmission mounts, rear CV joints and front shaft rubber coupler begin to go. At 75,000-80,000 miles, it could have been the milage and age, but I think the 1/4 mile launches played a role, as well...I think if you stick to a chip, exhaust and suspension for mods, the car will run a very long time, without any mod related problems.