Thinking of buying an Eclipse or Talon

I'm selling my SC2 because I need a car w/some pep as a daily driver. It's driving me insane.

Among the cars I'm considering are the 95-99 Eclipse GST & GSX & also 95+ Talon TSI.

Anything in particular, besides the normal things to check when buying a used car, that I should check out when looking at these cars?

Are there any specific problems with these cars?
How reliable are they?
Anyone have 1/4 mile times on stock a GST, GSX & TSI? Manual & Auto tranny times, please.

I've heard many bad things about the manual trannies in the Talons. I assume the same tranny is in the Eclipse, correct?

Are there any differences, besides body style & the name, between the GSX & the Talon TSI??

I'm not going to be modding it a whole lot anytime soon. I want to try to not mod it at all, but I doubt I will be able t control myself.

I don't know much about these cars so any input is appreciated.