I thought the Turbo on the V6 front bank is in fact the very same GT17 that is prone to failure, so certainly pull that intake tube and check for play/// smoke on start up, seen a few failures in the last month. Its a fairly easy swap and a v6 with a bad turbo is a good buy :devilgrin:
The timing belt is a big issue, but the interval is 60k, belt and tensioner, 750-1000$ at a shop. MAKE SURE IT IS DONE, interference motor = game over if the belt goes! Also the waterpump pulleys are a big job and the shaft gets rounded out. If you do the maintenance its a great car otherwise.
Nice motor, drives very well even with the auto, 200 hp down low and 29.5 mpg on the highway is no problem with me. I've really come to like their torque curve...
The SAI system is prone to failure, water gets into the pump, then it grounds, then it blows the fuse that is shared with the cabin fan, very annoying. Make sure there are no CELs, because even more then the I4's it can be an expensive fix. They are also very sensitive to having the OEM cat, good o2's and NO exhaust leaks... terrible gas mileage, misfire, lean... I've seen it all. Also same throttle body issues as the I4, but a v6 specific part, hard to find and $$$$$$$.... make sure they run at least 91 octane
Let me know how it goes, I'll check back, I've been doing a lot of V6 service lately, really come to respect that motor... just a little more maintenance intensive.