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Mitsubishi Lancer 2007 and earlier

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Comments

  • evo_frkevo_frk Member Posts: 1
    what do you think would win performance wise:

    2003 us lancer evo vs:

    1) 2002 infiniti g35 coupe
    2) 2002 nissan 350Z coupe
    3) 2003 Impreza WRX
    4) 2004 Mazda RX-8
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Edmunds drove both a WRX and an Evolution, and they liked the WRX better I think.

    Will Mitsu really bring this car over? It seems they have to offer 0-0-0 to sell everything lately, which means they can't be making much money on deals. I wonder if they can really afford to bring the Evo here.

    I am sure it will be a heck of a C&D comparison test between those mentioned above though. :)
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    It is definitely coming. We have 3 set up to be shipped to us on 2-25. Blue, silver, and black.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I just question their financial stability lately. Eclipses are not exactly flying off the lot, and they have been doing 0-0-0 as long as I cam remember. So how are they staying in business anyway? Do they have money trees somewhere we don't know about? :)
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Well, before the current 000 deal, they were making plenty of money on the high interest rates of the old 000 deal. My interest rate is 9.9%, and that was the best rate you could get under the 000 deal. That is considerably higher than what most were offering during the same time frame. I also believe that the dealers are a little less willing to sell the car real cheap when the buyer is approved for the 000, or maybe the customer ins't as driven to getting a great deal since the car isn't costing them a dime to buy initially. And than there's the fact Mitsubishi is being advertised as the fastest growing Japanese nameplate, which means Mitsu must be selling plenty of cars. In 2001, out of 37 car makers, Mitsu was 14th in sales, above Mercury, Olds, and Mazda.
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    Mitsu sales are dropping way off from what they were last year. At least in this area. That's why they are offering deferred payments for 1 year AND 0.0% financing. They do have the new Endeavor coming out and the EVO should generate some interest but most of their models are now up against strong competition. The Galant now has to compete with the new Accord, new Camry, and new Altima. Montero Sport is up against the Pilot, Highlander, 4Runner, etc. The Montero has the MDX, RX300 to compete with. The Lancer is up against the Civic, Corolla, and Protege. The Diamante is an also-ran and is on a 6 year old design and I don't know of any immediate plans to redesign it. And that's just competition within the Japanese brands. Hyundai is coming up strong too. They have Daimler-Chrysler behind them but eventually the parents will get tired of the 30 year old kid living off of them. Maybe their new products will be enough to get them out of the house.
  • gator_28gator_28 Member Posts: 14
    I hope the Lancer is a much better car than the dreadful Mirage. I owned a 98 Mirage and a 95 Eclipse and these two cars were the worse cars that I have ever came across. My Mitsubishi cars were in the shop much of the time with oil leaks, valve problems, you name it.. Mitsubishi makes great designs on their cars but they have far to go to equal the quality (especially mechanical) of a Honda or Toyota. I traded my Mirage in for 2001 Honda Civic and it hasn't been near a shop (except for oil changes) yet. The resale value of Mitsubishi cars is very poor as I have found out when trying to get rid of my 95 eclipse. Make sure you do some REAL SERIOUS research on mitsubishi (or other car manufactorers) before you invest in a new automobile. It will be well worth it!!
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    I promise I didn't post that.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Wait a sec. You profile says you own a Hyundai. Do you own both a Hyundai and a Honda? That would be an odd mixture. You either love Honda and hate Hyundai or vice versa. Hmmmmm.....
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Actually, Mitsu sales are up quite a bit overall. The Montero Sport, Montero, and Diamante saw sales decline. The Galant, Eclipse, and Eclipse Spyder each saw sales increase between 1-4k. The Lancer saw a huge increase in sales over the Mirage (63975 compared to 29465) and the newly introduced Outlander has added to their sales as well. These sales figures are based on November 2002 totals. It appears Mitsu is doing just fine in sales.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    One more thing: I wouldn't say Mitsu is living off of Daimler to stay afloat. If anything, the Mitsu/Daimler bond will continue to grow stronger now that the next Neon/PTCruiser is to be built off of the Lancer's platform. Daimler needs Mitsu as much as Mitsu needs them.
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    I said in this area Mitsu sales were down. I have access to every dealership's sales in this district and as a whole this area is not doing too well.

    Mitsu is in trouble and they know it or they wouldn't offer deferred payments for 1 year AND 0.0% financing. No other manufacturer is doing that to my knowledge. Not even Hyundai.
  • gator_28gator_28 Member Posts: 14
    I also own a 2001 Honda Civic LX with my wife (she drives it most of the time). My 2000 Hyundai Elantra is a very big improvement over my 98 Mirage and I absolutely love it! I have 25600 trouble miles on the hyundai and I would pick a Hyundai/Honda over a Mitsubishi product anyday!
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I think the only reason the Galant is selling a little better is because of the huge rebates and free financing Mitsu offers on them. The same with the other models. And Lancers are placed in rental car fleets as well (they are with Enterprise, that's how I got to drive one), so that will up the sales considerably as well.

    I liked the Lancer when I drove it, except for the seat comfort. The maneuverability was pretty good, although I wished for a heavier feeling steering gear and more power (of course). :)
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    My problem with the Lancer is the engine. It has good low-end torque but that's not where I prefer my power to be. Also not crazy about the looks although some colors are better than others.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    The one I had was a dark red color, it wasn't too bad. I liked the storage cubby under the radio, fit my cell phone perfectly. :) The radio was hard to reach for me a little, because it's slanted it seems. I also hated the power, but I am used to a turbo and 180hp so I knew I would feel that way. I would compare its power to the Protege, but it's been too long since I drove it so I can't really compare them there. They are both adequate, that's all I can remember.
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    The Protege has the better interior hands down. I also like the sportier feeling of the Protege.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Glad you are happy with the Elantra. I sort of had the opposite experience. My 00 Hyundai Accent was reliable in that it never left me stranded or gave me annoying check engine lights, however, it did need mechanical warranty repairs way too early in its life. By 17k, the Accent had the water pump replaced, the horn started working erratically, and the transmission was making an odd whistling noise (at 21k, the clutch and throw-out release bearing were replaced; it still makes the noise at 32k and the horn quit working again for a short time). By 17k, the Lancer hasn't needed one single repair. No annoyances and no mechanical problems.

    I used to own a 93 Diamante. Sold it with 173k miles. Everything electronic was original and still worked, including the AC. The car was very reliable and gave only a few problems (it sometimes stalled at idle and had an annoying sputter when acclerating, but I don't consider those reliability problems since they were attributed to a cracked distributor cap and worn out plug wires, which are normal maintenance items). Even at such high mileage, the 3.0 V6 that was known to burn oil due to weak valve guides only burned 1/4 quart every 3k. The car was amazingly solid and rattle free too. I would venture to say it was more reliable than my mom's trusty 92 Honda Accord. I even happened to see the car a year later at a gas station and asked the woman how she liked it and has she had any problems. She told me it hasn't given her any trouble and she loved it. It had 184k!

    Past and present experiences leads me to believe Mitsu makes a solid reliable product and I don't see where Honda and Toyota are any better except in resale. I no longer believe in the almighty Honda either, especially after my sister went through a year of hell with her 00 Odyssey and forced them to buy it back and after reading all the complaints of rattles and suspension quality in the current Civic. I don't know which model Eclipse you had, but if you had the RS or GS model, you can blame your engine trouble on Chrysler since the engine was simply a tweaked version of the Neon engine. Mitsu wasn't at fault there. Not sure what problems you had with the Mirage, but that can't be excused since that was a Mitsu design.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    Actually, most of the Mirage's sales in its last few years were to rental companies. The Lancer's big increase in sales is due to consumers being more interested in the car. But, yes, some of its sales are to rental fleets.

    I'm sure the 000 deal is helping increase sales. At least they are showing an increase rather than a decrease. If sales were plumeting even while offering the special financing, than Mitsu would be in trouble. You were concerned with how they are making money. I was just showing that despite the shaky economy, Mitsu sales continue to rise.
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    Mitsubishi's problem is that for the most part it's not a "destination" car. Meaning people who want a Honda/Toyota KNOW they want a Honda/Toyota whereas there are alot of people who hear the 0/0/0 commercials or just stumble across the cars. Up until recently Mitsubishi hasn't spent alot of money on advertising which is something they need to do. The people who liked the 95-99 Eclipse have moved on to better things and that was about the only "move-up" car Mitsu had. They are going to need better cars than the Eclipse and Lancer to make them a powerhouse.
  • cpocpo Member Posts: 23
    I commute 20 miles one way to work, so enough hiway time to notice some things: Can't get comfortable, though having been spoiled in SUV comfort my expectations may be a bit high. I'm still trying to adust the seat/tilt wheel to optimize this and perhaps in time I'll have found a sweet spot. As I recall it took me several months in the SUV to find my sweet spot, so we'll see. Again, I bought the car not for me but my teen daughter for a college car in a couple years. The talk about being underpowered - to me - is bunk. There's plenty of power in both city and hiway driving. I can merge onto a 70 mph freeway lane easily enough. NASCAR events, probably won't shine there. C'mon.. This is an econobox, not a formula one racer, right??? How far one can urinate is important to some folks, I guess. Whatever.. Overall, I'm still proud of my purchase and hopefully will become more satisfied when I get comfortable and long-term reliability questions are answered. More later..
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    I think it depends on your body size. I'm 5'6", 130# and I tend to slouch. I have yet to find a comfortable position in the car. My roomie, who is 5'10", 200#, finds the car comfortable. However, I finally found a solution to my comfort problem! I got a back and butt massaging pad with heat for xmas that can be used at home or in the car. I installed it on the driver's seat and lowered the seat as far as it would go. I than drove for 5.5 hours straight. I was finally comfortable in the car! The extra padding flattened out the shape of the backrest and raised my butt high enough that the annoying lumbar was no longer sticking into my back. I was amazed at the difference the pad made. So, if you have trouble getting comfortable after awhile, try getting one of these. It was only 19.99 at walmart.
  • bbf65bbf65 Member Posts: 29
    glad to see a lot of you enjoying your lancers.
    i had 2 galants personally, and 3 other mitsus within the family. all of them were very reliable and comparable in durability with the toyotas and hondas which we also had in the family.
    among my close friends, there are about 10 mitsubishi products - all of them proving to be reliable.
    (the earliest of these mitsu's was a '87 lancer/mirage and the latest is an '03 galant).
    imo, mitsubishi makes good, reliable, affordable automobiles.
    will see the lancer evo at the LA auto show on monday!

    happy motoring!
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I am 6'3 and weigh about 270, and I had trouble with back support in the rental Lancer I drove for 3 days (about 300 miles or so). I couldn't get comfortable either. When I first got the Jetta, it took me about a week or 2 to get comfortable, but I finally did. It has heat built in to the seat, so that helps when driving long distances. :)
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I commented about the power, because I am used to my car, which is a 180hp Jetta turbo. Of course the Lancer is gonna be slower. I prefer the turbo and have grown accustomed to it though. So the Lancer feels like a slow economy car to me. Just like my Protege felt. That's why I said the Lancer was adequate in respect to the Protege but not my current car.
  • cpocpo Member Posts: 23
    You are correct. Adequate best describes the throttle in this car. I guess I knew this going in, so I'm not necessarily disappointed. Gas mileage is great so far. Damned sure better be, huh?
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    That mileage will continue to get better too. On my last tank, I got an impressive 30 mpg. This was with an automatic and all city/suburban driving.
  • cpocpo Member Posts: 23
    Nearing 500 miles on the odo, so far so good. I've been rather gentle on the pedal during break-in, which - according to the owner's manual - ends after 500. After that I'll be more inclined to have more fun with it. I just this morning found somewhat of a comfort spot. Whew! Lng, thanx for the info, btw.. I picked up my daughter from a friend's place a couple nights ago and noticed the dome light fades to off when ya close a door. Cool touch, huh?! I had to open then close my door to watch this event many times since, I was so amused at this. LOL What a dork! (It's been awhile since I've been in a new car, can ya tell???) Other likes so far include the "hump" in the center dash where the radio/heater controls reside.. They're easy for me to grasp and operate. PW/AT/PDL/Keyless entry all nice to have things I'm glad I included. Dislikes include: Too bad I wouldn't have had to pay an extra $3K for cruise control - N/A in the ES. I wonder if there's a practical aftermarket unit I can have installed and still conform with the dash board design w/o lookin' all jury-rigged.. I said I'd found my comfort spot, but sometimes I gotta stretch my arms a bit to keep my hands on the wheel. Not an issue for those less taller than me, I s'pose. (I'm 5'9") Next week I may be writing about any get-up this little motor may possess. See ya'll then.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    I love the fading out too! My 03 Suzuki Aerio SX doesn't have that feature (it just stays on for about 30 seconds and than shuts completely off, but that's only when you first unlock the car. If you reopen the door and shut it, it just turns off right away). Did you notice the other neat feature of the dome light?? It fades on the second the key pulls out of the ignition, so you can see the door handle in dark areas. My Suzuki dome light doesn't do that either! Little neat luxury items like this make the car seem less like an economy car.
  • asa0526asa0526 Member Posts: 26
    Bought my Lancer ES (auto with conv. package) as a commuter car. Here's my comments:
    1. Good dash/layout/hues - don't feel like I'm in an econocar - nice wood paneling.
    2. Good low end torque - good for city driving.
    3. Great transmission (auto) - no lag... unlike my Altima, MPV or previous Civic (95) and Sentra (98). Test drove a Protege before --- the Lancer has better transmission.
    4. Great leg room - front and back.
    Minuses:
    1. Low HP - I need HP as I do mostly freeway driving (95%). It does tend to get noisy on the freeway ---- but my guess is the stock tires is part of the problem. Will upgrade to better tires.
    2. Mileage - not as good as the Civic and Corolla but comparable to Protege and Sentra. I am currently getting 29.5, 30, now 31.5 (third fillup). Wish I could get 34 or 35 mpg!
    Question :
    1. What's a better tire to buy to replace the stock tires ? The stock tires are noisy and offer an unrefined drive.
    2. Are the spark plugs platinum tipped ? Meaning I can go between 100,000 before replacement ?

    Thanks!
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Like the dome lights coming on when I pull out the key too. Also like that all my doors unlock automatically upon removing the key. Very cool when I have to get the kids out of the back (my best friend's kids, not mine!), cuz I used to always forget to unlock them with the switch.

    The one thing I hated about the Lancer was the smallish radio controls. I got used to them after driving the car for 3 days though.

    Economy: I only got like 26-27 in the Lancer, but I drove it pretty hard as I am used to a 180hp turbo. :)

    Cruise: You can have cruise put in, I have seen systems for $4-500 or so. Check with your dealer.
  • lngtonge18lngtonge18 Member Posts: 2,228
    First of all, Congrats on your new car! I hope it serves you well. I totally agree with you on the transmission. It shifts so smoothly and yet lunges off the line with more authority than any 4 cylinder automatic I have driven. It definitely is better than the automatic I had in my 97 Altima.

    As for the tires, I would suggest upgrading to a slightly larger tire if you want to stick with the stock wheels. You could upgrade to 195/60 R14 without affecting your speedometer and improve the handling of your car . Good tires would be the Bridgestone RE950, Dunlop SP Sport A2, and Yokohama Avid H4.

    I believe the spark plugs are to be replaced every 30k. It may be as long as 60k, but definitely not 100k. Look in your manual and it will tell you.

    Again, congrats and give us updates now and than on how your car is doing.
  • asa0526asa0526 Member Posts: 26
    I am on my fourth fillup. Just checked my mileage - am now averaging 33.4 mpg (up from 31.5, 30, 29.5 respectively). I also am more gentle with accelerating and driving. My average speed is now at 60-70 mph (down from 70-75 mph).
    I think if I maintain at 60-65, I could easily reach 35 mpg... the problem in the Bay Area are the bridges... the bridge traffic here can be so horrendous !
    I'll also put Mobil1 Synthetic based on schedule. That should help my mileage reach 34-35 mpg.
    I still hate the stock tires - will definitely replace them when they are worn out. They are noisy on the freeway ... and on some grades, not stable.
  • arowaksarowaks Member Posts: 3
    I AM LOOKING TO PURCHASE A 2002 LANCER ES.
    WITH 11800 MILES FOR $10.495
    IS THAT A GOOD DEAL ?
    AND ARE THESE CARS RELIABLE ?
  • regfootballregfootball Member Posts: 2,166
    sounds like a good deal.
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    First of all, take off the CAPS LOCK key. It makes your messages harder to read when all are in caps, and is also considered "yelling" when posting.

    Secondly, I think that is a pretty good price for a used Lancer. Where are you getting it from though, and think why the person got rid of the car at only 1 year old. Go to www.carfax.com and do a title check on it (you will need the car's VIN# from the base of the windshield). It's $15 (or $20 for unlimited changes - a good value if you're shopping for a used car).

    Also, you might check out new Lancers. If you can find a new 02 on the lot, you will get a screaming deal on it. Plus Mitsubishi offers 0-0-0 deals, no finance charges for 5 yrs. if you qualigy, and no payments for the first year.

    Good luck!
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    I know we have alot of 2002 Lancers that we bought as program cars. Ask for the history of the car. More than likely if the dealer has several 02 Lancers they were purchased at a rental fleet auction or Mitsu program cars.

    $10,500 is a pretty good price if it's an automatic. I would try for $9500 for a manual and $10,000 for an automatic.
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    I showed the wife a Lancer in a silver or light brown color and it looked very nice. Have you driven one yet? We plan to purchase a '04 car and right now it's between the Corolla, Lancer, Civic, or Protege. Sat in a freinds Pro last week and was quite impressed. I know you've owned a Pro and a Civic and that you have very STRONG opinions about Hondas in particular.
    So, from the above list, what's your pick for the optimal small car?
    Thanks.

    The Sandman :-)
  • regfootballregfootball Member Posts: 2,166
    I would toss out the Civic and look at the others

    The Sentra and Focus are also worthy of consideration. You could even make a case for the Elantra GT.....I really don't think the Neon 5 speed or SRT is a bad deal either.

    The Lancer compares well, but it may not be first in class in any one thing. Overall it stands up better than more recent Mitsu compacts....Here is some things about Lancer that is good

    spacious
    attractive dash
    good looking in the right color
    big trunk
    japanese quality
    gauges not in center of dash like I*n
    can be had for good deals as compared to Civic
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    I owned 2 Proteges (a 99 and an 01) and rented a Lancer for a couple days. The Pro has a sportier feel than the Lancer, and I also liked the interior of the Protege better. The Lancer was larger inside and was more maneuverable. They had about the same power (all were automatics). And from the looks of the 02 used prices, it looks like they both hold their value about the same too...
  • asa0526asa0526 Member Posts: 26
    Now at 1500 miles... great car!
    I have averaged 29.5, 30.5, 32.5, 33.5 then more recently, 29.5. The higher mileages are due to less traffic (less city driving, bumper to bumper) - plus, little hard driving (75-80+mph). Overall, I am pleased.
    I wished I had bigger tires (than the stock which is 185/R14. As soon as the tires go, I'll upgrade to 195/R14 or maybe R15. The R14 tires are noisy on some highway grades.
    The stereo controls are too small ... I guess I am so spoiled with the Mazda's (have an MPV and driven Proteges in the past).
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    Corolla: Nice car. Driving position isn't that great, especially for taller people. And they use a semi-independent suspension instead of a fully-independent suspension. Otherwise, great car. Nice interior, good engine, and I like the outside. And it's one of the faster economy cars.

    Civic: I am a little biased here. But this is the only small car I would buy personally. Roomy, safe, smooth transmission/engines. Only thing I'm not crazy about is the rear-end styling on the sedan.

    Lancer: Decent car. I'm not a big fan of the engine though. Low-end torque is good for commuting but at highway speeds the engine will start to feel out of breath.

    Protege: Nice driving car but the engine is it's downfall for me. Another engine with low-end torque but it's a pain on the highway. You don't get any more power, just more buzzing from the engine bay. Otherwise it's a terrific car.

    Pricing: Civic LX - $14,364, Corolla LE - $14,394, Protege LX - $14,690, Lancer ES - 14,306. All of these prices are at invoice which should be easily attainable on all of them. The Civic is available with 1.9% for 60 months, the Corolla has no incentives, the Protege has 0.0% for 60 months, and the Lancer is 0% up to 36 months or 2.9% for 60. So as you can see the prices are very close with the Lancer having no significant advantage over the Civic or the Protege.

    Safety: The Civic and Corolla are the safest cars. The Lancer does well only giving up one category to the Corolla and Civic. The Protege isn't too impressive. And the Neon and Elantra are absolutely horrendous so there is no reason to choose a Neon or Elantra when there are MUCH better choices available right now.
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    When we get ready next year, will be a hard choice, really. Am biased towards the Corolla though, have 1 now and had the last 1 for 10 years. Many of my customers have them also and just love 'em. The interior of the Pro was a real winner also, so...decisions, decisions!
    But will almost definitely wait till the '04's are out.
    Again, thanks for your help and I will be calling on your counsel when the purchase time gets closer.

    The Sandman :-)
  • anonymouspostsanonymousposts Member Posts: 3,802
    If you are just going to drive your car to work and back and aren't too tall the Corolla is a winner. I would've seriously looked at one had my fiance been able to fit. But I ended up with an SI for about the same price as a loaded Corolla or Civic so I'm not going to complain too loudly :)
  • sandman46sandman46 Member Posts: 1,798
    I'm only 5'8" and the wife and kids are all about the same so don't forsee a problem. Just replaced the O2 sensor on the Corolla and with 65k miles on it, hate to get rid of it now.

    The Sandman :-)
  • arowaksarowaks Member Posts: 3
    Thanks for the advise, I checked it on carfax and it's clean. I am getting it from a car dealer
    they have it on the lot since November and they lowered it from $11,900 to $10,500. I took it for a test drive and i was happy.
  • arowaksarowaks Member Posts: 3
    I want additional bumper to bumper warranty, 4 years or 100,000 miles.
    they are asking $ 535 plus tax. Is that a good price. 2002 lancer with 11.000 miles
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    That's a great price for a 100K warranty. Jump on it!
  • vocusvocus Member Posts: 7,777
    Actually, I was just looking at the IIHS website the other day. It turns out that the new Suzuki Aerio is their highest rated model right now. Big surprise to me, but it's true. It beats out the Lancer, Civic, Corolla, Jetta, Protege, and it beats the Hyundai/Kias by a mile.
  • alpha01alpha01 Member Posts: 4,747
    really doesnt BEAT the Lancer, Civic, and Corolla-I mean, c'mon they are all rated as "Best Picks" with a top ranking of good.... I would never buy that car over the Lancer just because it scores marginally higher. I seriously hope that people dont look at crash tests like that and think "oh well the Suzuki and Corolla are 1st and 2nd, but the Lancer and Beetle are 6th and 7th, so they must not be as safe.."
    ~alpha
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