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I love my LS.....I like the 6 cyl...
Mitsubishi has a sloppy, inefficient product lineup, the Outlander should never have been born and the Endeavor should be about 10 inches shorter, its current size is too close to the Montero. Thankfully, Montero SPort and Diamante are gone.
Mitsu can also learn from mistakes made by Pontiac with the slow selling G6 which replaced the moderately successful Grand Am. Mitsu must pinch every penny till it screams, it must become more efficient with product placement and design.
I just sold a 97 Mirage with 79k, that first year of final generation of Mirage did not have power steering or even remote, non-power side mirrors or tilt wheel in base DE version. Really hurt resale value. Mirage was reliable but could not justify taking huge depreciation hit on buying new or nearly new Galant. Hope Mitsubishi makes it....
Cons: You'll have a grin on your face and people will wonder why...
Bought a new 2004 Galant LS (MSRP $21,992) for Civic or Corolla price with $5,000 Customer/Loyalty rebates got it delivered below invoice for $14,800, that evens the playing field with Camrys and Accords. Resale then becomes a non-issue. V6 zoom, 0-60 in 6.8 seconds(MotorTrend), 23 mpg "city" is amazing, other fine features are Select shift auto, Red Pearl paint, ABS/Traction control, European handling, Free maintenance for 45,000 miles, Hypnotic Blue dash lights at night.
Not alls well, Premium fuel, Door plastics hard Dash difficult to armorall, ABS pedal feel and noise, No folddown rear seats, Steel wheels with ugly hubcaps, Just 25 mpg hwy, Zingy high frequency stereo, Poor FM reception, Sports coupe freeway ride, No techy bling like Projetor lens headlights or LED taillights or Electroluminescent dashboard or DVD audio or Steering wheel stereo/cruise controls.
Overall, It's not boring, it has attitude. It has a 5 year bumper to bumper warranty and 10 year drivetrain warranty longer than Lexus or Benz. And you'll enjoy placing your right foot into the floorboards transforming a hoh, hum commute into an amusement park ride. Ahhh a Smile forms on your face....
Thanks
Thanks, Mike
I disagree. I own a '03 Galant and love the looks of it. However, the '04 is one ugly car. The sales numbers of the new Galant speak for themselves. They are WAY DOWN when compared to the old model. And the Camry and the Accord sell in far greater numbers. Yes, marketing plays a role-but that's not the problem here......
I'm seeing Galants, ES, being blown out in Portland Oregon for $14, 499 this past weekend. And if you took the $1,000 Loyalty, $13,500!.... Amazing deals....
I love my ugly duckling... The styling is growing on me slowly, even the front is looking better. I've seen the '06 pics and all they did was take the Diamonte front end and attach it. So it will be years before they get this Galant looking better.
BUT it's the drive, it's the V6 motor, it's the handling, it's the smile it brings to your face when you pass 5 cars tapping 100 that really makes you enjoy this car. Where else can you find this power for this price point? Nothing selling for $15,000 comes close.
Drive the V6.....
Drive the LS...
You'll be happy....
Is there an advantage of using a higher octane fuel?
Also is it bad for the engine to keep using the 87 fuel?
Thanks
Michelle
the 99-03 Galant was nice for it's time but it was a dated design, if you notice alot of newer cars follow the basic design of the '04 Galant,
Pontiac's G6,Chrysler's 300 series, Nissan's maxima and Altima, Passat,and somewhat the New 2005 Avalon...they all share a blocky side profile, especially in the C pillar,rear quarter window 90 Degree angle..I will Agree the front end could have been softened up, but the rest of the car has a fresh new look...where alot of new design's are going, I receive nothing but compliments on my 2004 Galant....:)
Who do you think is really going to come up to you and be all "Wow, that is one butt-ugly car?". Certainly not strangers, and probably not friends.
Sean, you can make all the excuses you want about the Galant's sales, and no longer going to fleets, but I recall reading recently that Mitsu is still doing about 20% fleet sales of Galants, higher than Camry and far higher than Accord. The new Galant hasnt helped Mitsu, and it will continue to be hammered in the marketplace, especially with the introduction of the new Hyundai Sonata. The 2005 Galant has a great service package, a good warranty, and standard side airbags (And clearly, Mitsu is playing the options game, sure side airbags are standard, but to get ABS on a 4 cylinder model you have get it fully loaded- at an MSRP of over $24 grand). Otherwise, its nothing more than a good, unexceptional vehicle whose current supply far outstrips demand because it brings nothing new to the class, while unfortunately suffering from poor resale, poor reputation, and an uncertain future for Mitsubishi Motors in America. In today's market place, good isn't good enough.
Just for fun, here's my thoughts on the Galant when it first debuted in Fall 2003.
alpha01, "Mitsubishi Galant" #1310, 17 Nov 2003 10:40 pm
~alpha
I have to agree with Alpha. I have been to a Mitsu dealership-and there were several redesign '04's that were "off rental" (not dealer loaners) for sale on their used car lot. They were your standard ES models with the typical equipment. Asking $13,999. I bet you could get them "out the door" at $12,000.00 Talk about poor resale......But that's why I bought a '03 ES-it was CHEAP!!!
You're right if you buy right like I did '04 LS for $14,800 (V6 MSRP $21,992) you beat Accord and Camry which sell for at least $2,500+ more for the 4 cylinder versions, V6 would be at least another $3,500 more. Soooo, if I were to sell my '04 LS after 5 years it will be worth $8,200 at Trade-in values. My depreciation, $6,600.... While the Accord or Camry with V6 will depreciate to $8,900 and one's depreciation would be at least $11,000 from what they paid..... These Trade in Values are from Kelly for 2000 models with 50,000 miles in Good condition. Sooooo, you see Buy Low Sell Lower and still beat the class leaders at there own game...
Happy Motoring!
What's a nice Isuzu/Pontiac guy doing in a place like this?
By the way, how much did you pay for your '04 GTO?
I've read folks buying them for $10,000 off MSRP..... using rebates and GM credit card discounts and secret slush funds that GM uses to push there product out the door.
Are you looking for another sedan or are you just thinking how can these guys be serious about this car?
Anyway, Happy Motoring!
Christmas eve I again had a chance to get that new Diamante (different vehicle of course) from another closing dealership for $20K OTD. I was torn between it and the other Australian-made vehicle 2004 GTO SE for $22K OTD... A two-year lease of $120/month (less than $3K total for 2 years) kinda sealed the deal for me, so I'm now driving my first "American" vehicle. It's true that incentives were unreal back then and I hope 2006 will bring something similar and I'll be able to drive 400hp for $20K for good :-)
http://www.cracovian.com/gto/
Get your GM card, spend $100 bucks, earn your five points, stop using it, and wait for the points to turn to $2000-$5000 each Nov/Dec...
Otherwise, I'll be back to my '92 Mighty Max that's sitting in my driveway collecting pollen right now - hehe.
I still average 23-25MPG in mixed driving and 25-27 straight highway, which is not bad at all from the 3L V6. I mostly use the recommended premium but sometimes use midgrade or even regular gas. Using regular I notice a slight decrease in performanace and maybe 0.5 or so less MPG but otherwise it runs fine; no engine knock or ping.
Everything on the car still works, from the AC to the sunroof to the CD player. No noticeable rust or cracks in the leather. Brakes were done as follows: fronts @ 22K (warranty), rear @ 60K, fronts @ 67K. Tires were replaced at 55K or so and are still going strong. Battery replaced after about 3.5 years. The muffler is original. I put in a K&N air filter to avoid buying one every 15K miles; no problems there.
Oh, I live in the Chicago area so it's seen it's share of road salt, cold weather, and hot weather. It's been garaged overnight the past 3 years but has never had issues from being left outside.
Really, while I like some of the new cars that have come out recently, I can't justify buying a new one when my Galant just offers everything I want (except traction control which wasn't available on the 99s) and has been paid off for 4 years.
Low mileage 03 GTZ's are being sold for as much as $17,000 in some markets. The cars were only about 25 grand new, and mitsu had a ton of incentives and rebates back in 2003. That's good news for Mitsu owners.
http://www.carmax.com/dyn/searchengine/searchresults.asp?NewUsed=1&SearchType=0&CityMarket- =1&CityMarketLabel=Atlanta&Location=7104&LocationLabel=Norcross&HasCookie=true&PageType=1&- Make=MI&MakeLabel=Mitsubishi&Model=GALA&ModelLabel=Galant&Price=5&PriceLabel=Any+Price
No, it's only good news if you own a GTZ. Let's face it---these were sold in realitvily few numbers. The bulk of sales (for any given year) for Galants were always LS 4 cyl. The resale value of the GTZ's have no bearing on the other models.
But that doesn't discount the upswing in resale value and market presence on some of the other V6 Galants. Back in 2003, Mitsu was offering 3k in rebates & and you could buy a brand new 25 grand MSRP LSV6 ot GTZ car for about 19k off the showroom floor. It wasn't like Mitsu didn't make any LS V6's or GTZ's. They weren't that hard to find new. But even 4 cylinder cars with LS package command a pretty decent resale value right now.
My point was that these cars were way undervalued on the used market, and it's rare that used cars are actually going up in value. But that's what old body style Galants are doing right now.
I have yet to see another Galant on the road around here and Enterprise doesn't use Galants in there fleet anywhere within 300 miles of me. So I don't expect to see the re-sale crash unless Mitsu folds and that is unlikely since they're sales are higher than those of recent past dead companies like Oldsmobile and Plymouth. Hopefully the '06 Eclipse and Raider pick-up are modest sales performers.
Also I find it interesting when reading reviews how everyone goes off about the Hyundai and Kia warranty being the kicker to buy one. YET Mitsu exceeds there warranties with free maintenance for 45,000 miles and no one mentions this or just barely says "Oh yea, nice warranty"...... Definitely Mitsu needs to step up and remind folks about this.
By the way have you noticed how the new Dodge Magnum copied the headlight shape of the new Galant? Thanks Chrysler....
Happy Motoring!
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Thanks, Mike
I know if you buy an ES with 10spoke already on sticker its only $300 more (alomost all ES's at local dealer have them)
BTW...the Accord has an awesome interior even in the homely LX edition..just cant get beyond the frumpy exterior..any ideas ,Thanks sean
Thanks for your help, Mike
http://media.mitsubishicars.com/detail?mid=MIT2004110239961&mime=ASC
Good luck on getting a good deal and let us know which model you get and which color.
1. The car has 48,000 miles on it, is their any remaining warranty on it?
2. Is there any trouble area's that I should be concerned with? (Tranny, engine, brakes...)
I am planning on changing all the fluids and doing a more thorough check. Who ever installed the new tires put the lug nuts on so tight I had to stand on the tire iron to remove them and then could not get the tire off so I am going over everything to see if that is a trend.
Thanks for the help.
I just checked Kelly Blue here and your vehicle in excellent condition is "trade-in" valued from $11,185 to $12,000. Considering in the Portland Oregon paper over the weekend ( no sales tax in Oregon) a Mitsu dealer had a new '05 ES with alloys for $14,989.... No sunroof or choice of wheels or exterior color but this provides a clue to how dealers are aggressively pricing '05 Gallants out here. Also it's a new month and new Loyalty and rebate programs may begin. You'll have to check the Mitsu website. You may want to consider an aftermarket sunroof to be installed. They're much better today and you can get some with huge openings. I saw one in a crew-cab pickup that had a huge sky view on Spike TV's "Trucks" show. Sunroofs run about $1,000 extra yet I'm not familiar with the package on the ES. And yes end of month does help with the deal. May is one of the best months of the year to get a new car deal because of Memorial day sales.. So if you didn't buy over the weekend don't give up. Have fun with the deal, shop early in the day, 8AM, you'll get a sales manager more likely to work with (you want the salesman to be at there morning meeting) and the deal will fly, no BS. Call ahead and get the internet or fleet managers price, show up and drive the car with the fleet guy, but don't buy it then, make them believe you have other cars to shop for like the Accord. And then come back at dawn on a Saturday morning and you should be driving out of there by 10AM.... They're extremely busy Saturdays, the fleet guy won't be in (they usually have 9-6 weekday hours), the salesmen are at a meeting, you've driven the car, a price has been bandied about, more than likely a Sales mgr. will take the deal as little has to be done except write up the deal. You'll love being first into the finance office no waiting and off the lot in less than 2 hours....