Mitsubishi Galant

sean3 · October 2004

I was never aware there sister company ever did provide funding for Mitsu motors. but with DCX pulling out its gonna take some good minds and lotsa cash to save a "non-profit company". Hope they do. the only thing I canpersonally say about owning a new mitsu i know Its value has drastically dropped.who cares cars a rarely an investment. Mitsus problems arent strongly tied to build quality and durability, BAD LOANS-MASSIVE RECALLS-HORID MARKETING. seems like mitsus mareting peeps would do better at mrketing Toothbrushes and tap water.
though I must admit there ads appealed to me and my 20-somethings.
I heard somewhere that Mitsu forecasted 100,000 galant units this year do you know where they are in that?
thanks sean

sean3 · October 2004

In my opinion mitsu was plain stupid in covering overseas defects, that cost then tons more in long run. One lawsuit resulting in a death on a Fuso truck cost mitsu 33millin alone. I hope they put that bailout package to good use. There actual Products in north am are generally well made and durable.They just made numerous Bad "business decisions" that dont really reflect on there actual products.
mitsu just doesn't make enough presents in the market, I live about 60 miles from the Mitsu plant in Illinois.
but dont see to many mitsus here, but lately alot more endeavor suvs

sean3 · October 2004

that covering defects that killed 2 people is of course not measurable in dollars, but for the company bottom line it sure hurts Reputation & trust.
I have not received 1 recall for my galant....does anybody know If a recall is only safety related or does it include non-safety issues? thanks sean

portknoxxa · October 2004

I've had my GTS since January, and I opted gor it instead of An Accord, Mazda 6 Camry, or Altima, because it was so different from the rest of the pack. Styling is kinda "Banglesque", and for me it was the sportiest and most aggressive family sedan out there, and that powerful V6 is 1derful. I was also pleased with the interior, as far as styling, comfort, and overall layout. I definitely wanted a car that stood out from the rest. This is my first ever Galant or Mitsu for that matter, and i read somewhere that the next 3.8L V6 is going to be 250-260hp 1st to show up in the next gen. Eclipse and then the Galant in 2007 or 8. I'll definitely trade in my '04 for the next Galant. P.S. check out the Mitsu web site under company news for auto sales. They might make 50,000 Galant units.

elgatoloco · October 2004

If anyone is going to check out the up-coming SEMA show MMNA is going to feature a Ralliart inspired Galant and Endeavor. The drawings (front view only) are at the Mitsubishimotors website. the Endeavor looks to be lowered quite a bit. Unfortunately there are no solid details on equipment, yet. This would be a smart move for MMNA as we could produce them at the factory at Normal plus it would offer the so-called "niche" autos Mitsubishi has built thier rep on to the North American buyer. Maybe MMNA is waiting for some feedback from the show so I guess I'll just have to cross my fingers & hope.

malibu_jack · November 2004

I am looking at the used market, and I am wondering how reliable the 2003 models are....I have seen a lot of them in the local auto trader...and seem like a good value...but it also seems like they have a poor resale. this is not a huge concern for me, moreso the quality of the car.

Any thoughts or comments? Is this a decent vehicle? Any problems I should be aware of?

anonymousposts · November 2004

03 Galants are a good value. Should be able to pick up a ES with less than 15,000 miles for around $10,000-$11,000. Resale is horrible due to the number of Galants that were sold to fleets (somewhere around 30-50% have been the numbers I have seen). They seem to be fairly reliable. A few people have reported problems with brakes. Otherwise they seem fine. You can get a lemon no matter what brand you buy. Chances are obviously higher with some but I would not put the Galant in the "high-risk" category.

sean3 · November 2004

hi fleet sales yes, plus the 58% of galants bought under the 0/0/0 program were later repo models mostly '03 mitsubishis, There are alot here to in chicago area '03 for around 11-12K most seemto be ES models I looked at one before I bought my '04 and if not for complete redesign of the 04 I would have gotten the 03. And remember also fleet sales are way way down I dont know if that affects older ones or not, so it shuld level out soon, incidentally my galant got hit last week, pretty hard in the front corner and really took it well compared to the thunderbird that hit me, any way its in process of getting fixed, his insurance co sent me to enterprise and they had zero '04 galants.and dude said Mitsu has cut way back to them, so i guess its true, I found the '03 compared to my 04 just as good in driving and actually found it a little quieter. They are good cars, Just Mitsu's self inflicting wounds. later sean

sean3 · November 2004

Does anybody know why exactly why fleet sales drive down prices? if its numbers then why doesnt the accord or camry go down to considering they are everywhere? my galant is in the body shop and they got all the parts needed to fix, exept some tiny little cheap part, on backorder for 2 /12 weeks so i guess ill be driving this cheesy little olds alero later peeep sean

carguy58 · November 2004

"Does anybody know why exactly fleet sales drive down prices? if its numbers then why doesn't the Camry and Accord go down to considering they are everywhere?

To answer the first part of your question fleet sales drive down prices because if a vehicle is selling to excessively to fleets its basically not in demand. As far as Camry and Accord go the Camry fleet sales account for 12% of its sales while fleet sales only account for 2% of Accord sales. Also, Honda and Toyota do not have to use as many rebates to get Camry's and Accord's off their lots as Mitsu's does to get Galants off their lots. Although I have read of late Toyota discounts per car have gone up drastically to compete with the Domestic Big 3 discounting. If Mitsu just put better interior plastics and fixed the front end look of the Galant a little bit I think that would help sales alot. I;m interested with Mitsu does with the next generation Galant.

elgatoloco · November 2004

I'm not sure if the concept by the Ralliart skunkworks at the SEMA show will have an affect on future models but I sure hope so!

This Galant carries a 3.8 Mivec V-6 running 260 hp coupled with a 6 speed manual transmission. It also has tuned Ralliart exhaust, Brembo 4 piston brakes & numerous other ground effects.

Anyone hoping to see something like this on the market...Please raise your hand.

portknoxxa · November 2004

I'll be 1st in line to trade my GTS for the Ralliart Galant.

sean3 · November 2004

Ya the front end on my galant while not stunning is growing on me, its more the hood scoupe looking bend in the metal that looks different, I have received nothing but compliments on my galant, always guessed on a more expensive model, i got my '04 galant in oct 03 they had just been released, 17,000 miles already no rattles/problems, The interior is a take it or leave it, I actually like it, its deffinetly more trendy night club looking,i read somewhere that the fella why turned hyndai around is now with mitsu, so he is cleaning house hopefully.He already cut way down on fleet sales, actually Im renting a new alero olsmobile now(galant got hit in front

and the alero was a car i was considering before i got my galant, glad i didn't this thing is nasty for a 04? car, decent but nothing special, GM sells them like crazy, low price i assume like cavalier.decent cars but Old-tech by the time they were introduced,already outdated 1st year in. hope mitsu turns it around, There problem wasnt realy quality/durablity it was recognition in the brand, hyndai was well known for extremely competitive prices but low quality product, Not anymore. You can comfortably buy a hyndai and drive many confident miles. Ive gotta get my windows tinted, +rims..Im riding on some [non-permissible content removed] now. later sean

slc · November 2004

I was wondering if anybody knew which of the factory warranties carried over to purchasers of used '04 Gallants. I think the balance of the 3 yr/36k bumper-2-bumper and part of the drive train warranty carry over. Anybody know precisely?

sean3 · November 2004

I warranties stay with the car 3-36&5-60, As I have also bought a '04 galant with very low miles 1,400miles, But as you may know Mitsu recently added and almost doubled the basic and drive train to something very generous, 5/60 & 10yr 100k! and they are Retro covering already purchased 04 mitsus, which is cool, but I think you had to be an original owner, but we are talking about '04 cars and a plan they put in to place in '04 to extend coverage, so at the most we are talkin about a few months and a few thousand miles, So most buyers naturally bought an 04 mitsu in 04, its just the few like yours and mine that were purchased in 04 and already traded in the same 1/2 of the year, If i ever get the chance I'd like to know if they would retro cover mine, I realized I coulda gotten a BRAnd new galant (zero miles) for apx $800 more 30 miles away, oh well. Anybody else notice na gap in your glove box?

silverae · December 2004

Hey, I've posted a couple times here in the past, but it had been in the Dodge Stratus forum. I've been reasearching for about seven months now on what car I want to get (this will be my first), and I have been working oddjobs since I was almost 15 (I just turned 16 in November this year), so I have saved about $3500 on my own, and my parents said they would pay for the other half, so I'm looking in the price range of about $7000, maybe $7600.

Originally I was going to get a Dodge Stratus, but after seeing a few of their auctions on eBay and autotrader, and almost getting one, I have decided to look at others, and I have looked at most midsize sedans, but I have never looked at the Galant before, and now it looks like a better choice overall, in looks, features, and its safety is about the same as the Stratus, but the cost is cheaper.

Anyway, my question is what would be the best value on a Galant? I'd like to get a 2000+, and by looking on eBay and autotrader, I primarily see 2002-03 ES' going for about $7800 as the listed price (however, I'm sure the owner would go down). There's one that is a 2003 ES with 44000 miles in Lake City (near Seattle, where I live), for $7950 as the listed price. How low would I have to get this person to sell it for, for it to be a good deal for the money? There are some others on eBay which are GTZ, and they sell for more, however, there is one with 79000 miles, 2001, for an asking price of $7850 - but, it is in Illinois, so I would have to ship it.

I like the front on the 2003s the most, but I really don't care about that much because they all look good. What should I try to go for - or should I go with one of those above?

EDIT: Here's the ES: http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.jsp?car_id=172356951&dealer- _id=1393758&car_year=2002&make=MIT&distance=300&m- ax_price=8000&model=GALANT&advcd_on=n&end_year=2003&a- mp;min_price=0&certified=n&address=98110&search_type=- used&advanced=n&start_year=2000&color=&cardist=11
And the GTZ: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4509048169&ssPageName=STRK:MEDW:IT

chuck1 · December 2004

It doesn't look like your comparing Apples to Apples. With the ES you have car with lower miles, with the GTZ it has higher miles. I am sorry, but I am one person who wouldn't dream of buying a car on ebay. I know it's done...it's just not for me. Let me kick the tires and take a real good look for covered over accidents. What ever you buy, see it before you write the check. There are many, many, '02s and '03s (ES) that are coming off rental, all usually have some warranty left, you should look in to those.

sean3 · December 2004

I agree with former post, no matter what deal you can get on ebay or similar may look good, but buddy please do it thee old fashioned way with your own eyes physically looking at the car and get your own impression in person, My ex bought a car on ebay a seemed to be nice 2002 Intrepid, later found out it had an insurance record for the whole passenger side and was repaired but from the moment she had it it had odd noises fron that side and from a very fine angle you could see the doors and front fender were so slightly gapped in variuos places, WE did a carfax before purchase and it was never reported, But when we insured it with state farm, so happens whomever had it before also used state farm, they wouldnt tell us much exept that they made a Collison payment back when the car was 6mos old, for full repair, we had them inspect it and they concluded that there insured had cashed the check and had it fixed substandard and pocketed the rest up tp $3,000 there guess. On another note fairly new galants are a great buy, because of high fleet sales, but they drastically cut fleet sales recently, get it why you can because they are pretty decent cars, I own a '04 Galant and had experince with a 1991 galant with 195K+ miles hand me down and treated it very roughly and never really took care of it, but it never left me stranded, based on that I Went for the '04 Which I get nothing but compliments on,not trying to preach but get one Locally or surrounding area, Im in the chicagoland area and when i got my 04 galant there were alot of '03's for around 11-14, But as far as now I hardly see any for sale anymore they were all bought and on the road. Have fun and be carefull, the GTZ is a looker with the wheels+body kit=spoiler v6. though Daimler chrysler products have greatly improved they are still a little shady especially the pre-2003 models. sean.

sean3 · December 2004

Not sure which year they messed with the front end of galant, I think the 99-thru 02? had a slightly better looking grill and if u notice they puffed out the rear lamps also in '02 or '03, Don't fall for the Accord camry do no wrong bull, I had friends and family with thoses models and yes generally good cars they had more problems with thoses than my 1991 galant, my sister had a 2000 camry which required a engine overhaul at around 40K miles due to an engine defect that many toyotas had during that generation, Similar honda had a problem with there Tranny's also, A mechanic I once talked to said generally Mitsus engines are real workhorses, and just as trustworthy as toyota etc.

noleasegalant · December 2004

Well greetings good people I'm back...I know it's been a while--took me some time go get over 1) The Red Sox, yes I said the Red Sox!! winning the world series and 2) My brother, yes my baby brother trading in his Ford Explorer for...are you ready for this,,,an 04' Galant ES!!!! I could not believe it. He knows all too well the horror I went through with my Galant, but God bless his heart(I can say "God Bless" here, can't I) he decided to "go against the grain" and take the ultimate chance. He's had it for a month and so far I must admit he has had no problems, yet! Mitsu stepped up big time with their super duper warranty coverage which my brother got along with a couple of free car washes at no extra cost. Like I said in my post way back when I was at the Mitsu dealership in Philly, Mitsu has made some strides, but they need to step up their quality BIG TIME if they want to play with the big dogs...

cracovian · December 2004

...for trading the SUV he obviously doesn't need for a much more efficient and, probably, safer 4-cylinder car no matter what its make.

I think he'll also do better reliability-wise, and if Mitsu is still around, save some money on maintenance (free for 3 years) and repairs.

noleasegalant · December 2004

A little more $$$ in his pocket and wifey's blessing did not hurt either. And I think Mitsu will survive.....

zup · December 2004

Hi, everyone. My family is looking to buy a mid-sized sedan and had almost decided on the Accord. But we also found the Galant, and right now in Canada the well-equipped base trim (DE) is $2000 CDN cheaper than the well-equipped Accord trim (the Galant does not have ABS though). Mitsubishi has recently added 10 year warranties to all their new cars and 0% financing for 60 months. With all this, is the Galant worth buying over the Accord? My main area of concern is the Galant's long term reliability and maintenance costs. Can anyone offer any insights?

chuck1 · December 2004

I own a 2003 Galant ES. That being said, there is a very real possibility that Mitsubishi won't be around in ten years. The Honda will give you a better resale value. However, the base Accord (DX-here in the U.S.) does not have the resale of the upper models. Just make an informed decision, whatever you buy.

Good luck!

fushigi · December 2004

If you plan on keeping the car for <4 years, go Accord. If 5+ years, the depreciation hit that Mitsu's have should be a much smaller factor. My 99 Galant LS has 96K miles on it and has been the most trouble-free car I've ever owned. Based on my ownership experience I'd have no problems buying another Mitsu. It was EPA rated at 19/27 with the 3L V6 and I still average 24-25MPG in mostly city driving. Other things to consider to help you decide: - Insurance costs: Is one dramatically more expensive to insure than the other? - Operating costs: How many miles/year do you drive; about how much per year will the two cars cost to operate? Edmunds has a tool you can use to help evaluate, although it shouldn't be difficult to do on your own. - Style: Purely subjective; which do YOU like better? - Relative importance of warranty, etc. The Mitsu has roadside assistance, for instance. Also, would you do an extended warranty on the Accord to equalize it against the Mitsu; if so, add that cost in. - Dealership experience: Which brand has a better delaership network in terms of geographic coverage where you're likely to be driving? Which has better staff (what are their reputations)? Which is known as customer-friendly vs. customer-hostile? - Content: Does one car have features that, while not a necessity, would make it a nicer ownership experience in the long run?

sean3 · December 2004

when in fact i have read more positive things about mitsu motors that analysts predict mitsu will make a moderate way by 2006. and that there plan for a turn around will be sucessfull. really remember Hyndai motors when they came to North Am, they had problems from every angle, Lousy cars, Korean, and so on. and look at them now, and they are fairly new to US, and so happens the guy credited for most of the turnaround there is now with Mitsubishi Motors. Mitsu lost a load of there assets on bad loans, not bad cars, bad business/marketing decisions, I do own a '04 Galant and i tried the '04 accord, and I am picky with cars, and the galant drove better, handled better, while the accord was just so so, Before I bought i spoke to an old time independent car mechanic and in his opinion he said Mitsubishi builds some real work horses, every bit as capable as honda toyo,and has seen several 200,000mile mitsus with solid

engines and trannys in for regular maintnance items, and also stated toyota and honda quality has gone down in recent years, and sees more tranny and head gasket repairs on those then the early 90's models, While they are all good cars mechanical reliability is no better or worse with any. remember that mitsu powertrains are still developed and made in japan and exported here to the illinois plant, its not like your buying a chevy corsica. imho. sean

sean3 · December 2004

i like the mazda 6 too untill i started research, while nice looking, it seems it is the worst of the bunch, many major failures, People are blaming it on fords influence and infact the Mazda uses fords engines in the 6 i beleive, Thats when I went with Galant, I needed a decent size sedan for a young family, and the Galant looks better anyways, mitsu did a great job with the body lines, It has a really hi beltline which makes us feal safer with a car seat back there, more metal, less glass. people have actually mistaken my galant for the new caddy sedan, i assume bacause of the profile, it is roughly the same size as the caddy, and does share a kind of angular chisled look,Mitsu has deffinetly Matured.

carguy58 · December 2004

The Mazda 6 had its first year issue's no doubt. As for the Ford Influence the 4 cylinder 2.3 liter engine in the Mazda 6 is a Mazda engine(not Ford.) The 6 cylinder engine in the Mazda 6 is based off of a Ford block but Mazda puts their own spin on it. Remember the Mazda 6 has no relation to the old 626. I suspect the first year bugs in the 6 can be attributed to it being an all new car not Ford's influence. I ad a 98 Mazda 626 that was made out of the Flat Rock plant and the build quality was alright but not great. By the same token build quality wasn't that horrible either.

Alright getting back to the Galant here...the crash tests on the 05 Galant are awful good. I wonder if the cuurent Galant will see a mid cycle refresh for the 06 or 07 model year. Last time Mitsu did a refresh mid cycle on the last galant was for 02: its 4th year of the last generation Galant bodystyle. 1999-2001 Galant had the chrome grille on the front end while the 02-03 Galant's had the beak on the front end. In conclusion we will probably see a mid-cycle refresh for the 07 model year for the Galant then right?

a_l_hubcaps · December 2004

It's nice to see some interest in the Galant finally...I've started seeing more of them on the road in my area (PA/NJ) lately, though nationally sales are still in the crapper...around 2,000 units a month. I think Mitsu needs to bite the bullet and lower the price a bit. They got so scared by what happened in the aftermath of the "zero-zero-zero till we go bankrupt" fiasco that they are afraid to offer any good incentives or price cuts now. For better or worse, that's what is needed to move cars these days.

By the way, I'm a bit puzzled by all the anti-Mitsu sentiment I'm seeing on the net. By reading some forum posts, you'd think they were selling rebadged Yugos. The Lancer could use a refresh, but other than that I don't see anything too negative about any of Mitsu's current products. I think there is a bit of a pile-on effect going on because of the gloom-and-doom news articles that have been written about the situation. People need to stop ranting and get a grip, IMHO.

-Andrew L

sean3 · December 2004

hi hubcaps were you saying 2,000 galants a month nationally? if so that sucks bacause i really enjoy my 04 galant, and am starting to see more around in fact here in chicagoland area i am seeing quite a few more over the last month, and as far as professional reviews from what ive seen have been pretty positive on the new galant, The eclipse is due for a makover in '06 i beleive and plans for an actual full size pickup? the pictures of it look good, it looks very muscular, kind of what nissan did with the 05 titan,but more dodge ram looking, so it seems as mitsu expands its lineup they will hopefully get more notice, I also understand the plant here in Illinois is one a the most advanced in the North am industry,Seeems mitsus problem is Marketing and Advertising not the quality of the vehicles,I think the current Galant blows the camry and accord out of the water on style. I did carefully consider all 3, but the other 2 did nothing for my soul, the Galant actually had some attitude and spunk, As far as Mitsu making it in the Us, it seems very rare for an established car maker to leave the us market unless there quality is absolutely horrible or an unknown maker such as daewoo, they never had a good plan in place, If hyndai did it mitsu can, I dont know if there problems are similar but hyndai is korean and there quality was terrible and look at them now, I dont beleve mitsu has the quality issue like hyndai, and the dude that turned hyndai around is now with mitsu, im no expert by any means, but it seems it would take a few years to start seeing a good plan pay off in such a competitive market? Mitsu builds some damn good cars and utes suvs, I beleive Nissan motors was in the same shape and i see them all over here Altima Altima Altima every turn, the altima is nice but it doesnst look as clean lined and aggresive as Galant, granted its a Couple year old design, If you look at a current year Maxima you will see common design cues on the 04 Galant but you wont mistake the two, I think the endeavor looks great, in fact I think mitsu styling is very good compared to the competition especially, Mitsu did cut way down on fleet (rental sales so there numbers dont look so hot, the camry and accord share about 800,000 sales a year but alot is fleet business, but alot is not, honda and toyo have deep advertising pockets and a reputation, but imho product alone they have nothing on Mitsubishi Motors, Later sean

sean3 · December 2004

I was under the impression the mazda 6 used the same powertrain as ford 2.3l,not knocking fords but that was my deciding factor in The Galant. Its funny the mazda sales guy stated that the mazda 6 uses fords powertrain.I just didnt want to deal with a rebadged ford, my previous ford was a nightmare on wheels (or the lack of).although i find fords far more appealing than they used to be, same for chrysler. GM seems to keep the same platform and engines way to long.the big three seem to be making head way though, its funny awhile back i drove a 1990 Chrysler Lebaron coupe for my hi school years and when i got it had tons of miles and i added about another 60k or so a total of 200,000 miles plus, and the engine never gave me a problem, whicjh for chrysler back then seemed odd, No overheating always started and ran fine, come to find out it was powered by a 6cyl Mitsu motor i found out from a mechanic, he said thats the only reason it ran as long as it did, I miss treated that thing bad to but it never complained. a strong mitsubishi engine.so who knows what drivetrains they are using in any given car??

oskwi · December 2004

Before my current car (2001 Mazda Protege ES), I owned a 1996 Mitsu Galant. I had ZERO problems with the car in 185,000 miles of driving. The only issue I ever had was a leaking transmission fluid gasket that was not tightened correctly after a dealership fluid flush. Mitsu makes a very impressive engine. Currently, my neighbor owns it and is still driving it...no major malfunctions to date and I would assume that it has well over 200,000 miles on it!

Regarding the Accord...I also looked into the Accord and Altima when I purchased the Galant back in 1999. The Accord was expensive to insure and the Altima was not as responsive as I had been led to believe. Recently, a couple of friends have had serious early mileage tranny problems with their Accords and some of my friends have had some serious alignment and engine problems with their Altimas. Problems like these were UNHEARD of from these car companies only a few years ago.

As far as my Mazda, it is almost 100% Japanese parts content and had a phenomenal reliability record. So far, I can't complain about its performance! However, the new Mazda 3's that replaced the Protege are somewhat problematic...and my plans to replace my Protege with a M3 hatchback have been put on hold after reading the forums and personally test driving one. I wasn't impressed.

In closing, if the new Galants are only half as good as mine was, you should have a great car that should stand the test of time. Good luck with your purchase.

oskwi · December 2004

Funny you should mention the Mitsu engine in your 1990 Chrysler. When I was in high school, my friend's mother bought a 1993 Lebaron...at the time it was only a year old and traded in by an elderly lady who drove it nowhere. Anyway, over the years, she had her share of the typical Chrysler A/C problems and the like, BUT the engine was a Mitsu engine and gave her ZERO problems. One mechanic told her that the Mitsu engine was the "saving grace" on the car! She is still driving it today!

chuck1 · December 2004

. "Mitsu lost a load of there assets on bad loans, not bad cars,"

That may be true, but where are the sales numbers? The domestic market (where talking Japan) for Mitsu is horrible. They have been plaque by scandal after scandal. The only thing keeping them a float are the Japanese banks (with the unofficial blessings of the Japanese gov't.) They are not selling enough cars here or over there to keep them out of the red. Like I said, I own one, and the facts are the facts. The competition is brutal, and there is not anything on the drawing board that will sell in enough numbers to help. My prediction is that they will join a long list of car companies who couldn't make it in the North American market. I give them no longer than 5 years, and that may be too hopeful!!

sean3 · December 2004

what japan car company has actually left the states in the past? do you think there New products will help, the eclipse is going to be a major redesign,and they have a truck coming, Do you think the banks and investors would have uped the cash if they werent confident in there turnaround plan? I guess im coming rom the notion that if an unknown korean car company can do it in the 90's then a japan copany like mitsu can to, and mitsu doesnt have the inferior products hyndai did. Mitsu knows they will be in the red for awhile untill they clean house, its a shame bad busimess decisions are giving a fine car a bad name, bu they do have the guy who help pave hyndai to sucess, I beleive Nissan was in similar shape and they seem fine now also? any ideas,,Sean

sean3 · December 2004

i stopped by the local mitsu dealer tonight and i noticed that all there es model galants had the alloy rims, regardless of diamond package or not, and it listed the single alloy package as $300, can this be right, does that mean I can get a set of 16"mitsu alloys for $300 at the parts department?or is it some kind of discount deal..later sean

chuck1 · December 2004

Well-Diahatsu ( not sure about the spelling!) for one. When Mitsubishi Heavy Industries gave them their last loan-the Corporate Officer said they wold have to go it alone from here on out. Their parent company "washed their hands" from this division. It was too costly to let them borrow any more money. As far as the new Eclipse is concerned, that's great-but since when is a sport coupe a big seller FOR ANY CAR MAKER? As far as the truck is concerned-You have the Ford F150 (always the best seller), the Silverado from Chevrolet, and the Tacoma from Toyota. Then the Titan from Nissan. It's got to be one great truck to compete in this area. And then we are not even talking about the effect of gas prices on the sales of all trucks and SUVs. I am sorry, I am not too hopeful!

chuck1 · December 2004

Since the Galant ES has the worlds ugliest wheel covers, I guess the dealer has decided to include these for $300.00. The dealers I have talked to have said the wheel covers are by far the biggest complaint!

a_l_hubcaps · December 2004

They ought to just redesign the stupid things! It's not that hard. The Nissan Altima and the Mazda 6 both have decent-looking wheel covers.

-Andrew L

sean3 · December 2004

I just hate wheels covers in general, the mitsu 10 spoke for the galanr es and ls look good though, and the tire size is the same with hubcap or 16"rim, I dont like the gts rims,although they are 17"the dealer wans $203 each for the 10spoke cash n carry, what tou dais about a sport coupe not being a big seller i see, like toyota is done with the legendary celica, replaced by scion i guess, I really like my galant (wheelcovers aside) I hate the thought of having a fairly new car with a car company that is no longer, not even so much the steep depreciation , but parts avialablity, warranty, and so on. it doesn't seem like mitsu ever sold a large numder of there cars since they have been here, makes me wonder if i should have gone with camry or trade for one? or a slightly used '04 camry going for $17,500 I really like galants looks but im getting paranoid now, Should i pay the piper and trade or have some faith that mitsu will slowly turn things around for the better? i payed jst below 19000 for galant,it already has 19K miles.I am scared to hear a trade value for it! what should i do? sean

a_l_hubcaps · December 2004

sean3-

I would keep the car. I think it's very, very unlikely that Mitsu will leave the US market. And even if they do, the parts and warranties will not just disappear. Heck, even Daewoo owners can still get their cars serviced, and that company completely collapsed. If you like the car and there's nothing wrong with it, keep it.

I actually like wheel covers because I'm in the hubcap business. I sell center caps for alloy and styled wheels too, but wheel covers are just cooler :-) There is a wide range of styling possible with wheel covers and it doesn't make sense to call them ugly in general, just because the '04 Galant's look like trash can lids. Here are a few much better looking ones:

'05 Nissan Altima

'05 Mazda 6

Even the ones on the previous-gen Galant were not too bad:

'03 Mitsubishi Galant

Compare to:

'05 Mitsubishi Galant

I have no idea why they settled on such an awful design. It's not like it would cost more to mold the same plastic in a different shape.

-Andrew L

sandman46 · December 2004

One can always put hub caps on from another car to change the look of the car. If the clips on the back fit...why not? I did this on my last Corolla, and it definitely helped the look of the car...much nicer looking than the plain old Corolla hubs.

The Sandman :-)

sean3 · December 2004

really look at other car makes there hubcaps arent exactly the face of beauty, Saw you pic of the '03 galant here are so many of those running around here in the last months, dealer quoted me nearly $900 to install the 10spoke factory alloys, I think its one of the few things you can do to a car that doesnt look cheap or to un factory looking, wheels can do alot for a cars profile, Man the 04 malibu is but, they messed up the window frames and used a funny molding around them that is crooked and last minute glued on look, Next time your next to one look at the rear door upper molding it looks out of place and fragile, ithink the '04 galant blows the 04 malibu away on body stlye, a few people told me my galant looks like a 4 door coupe, the rear 1/4 on the 04 maxima looks more like a saturn ion. i think mitsu did a better job on the galant, being maxima and galant have a similar shape, I loved the '93 maxima for its time it was one of the best lookin Japanese sedans under25K, Daewoo came way to late to the us market and there cars sucked and had really Lousy marketing ideas, I think the next couple years Mitsu will crawl up fron the trenches of the car industry, they have no dilusions, Mitsu says they will play a very important place in the niche market untill it makes a stronger presence in the mainstream, i was almost wondring if mitsu put alloys on theere 05 galants every one exept the DE model had them, not that hubs are ugly, but i like the fact of having something bolted to the car and not fall off (potholes), though honda and some others use to bolt there hubcaps behind the lugs, seems like a cheap good idea. maybe not for the hubcap business, IMHo, sean

a_l_hubcaps · December 2004

sean3-

"honda and some others use to bolt there hubcaps behind the lugs, seems like a cheap good idea."

Yeah, the bolt-on covers do work well if you install them correctly. It's amazing how many people pound them down over the lugs and then lose them all. As the saying goes, make something idiot-proof and they will make a better idiot!

Actually, I find that about 90% of hubcap losses happen because people install the caps wrong...break the clips, strip out the locking nuts, etc. That goes for wheel center caps too...they make up about half my business these days. I usually recommend that people take their hubcaps off before taking the car for service and put them back on later, to be sure it is done properly and not by some mechanic who is in a hurry.

Re Malibu: The new one is kind of weird looking, especially the front. It almost looks good, but not quite. GM can't quite seem to figure out what the styling theme for Chevy is supposed to be. The Cobalt looks completely different from the Malibu (but equally mediocre, IMHO).

-Andrew L

sean3 · December 2004

andrew, is cobalt replacing a current model? Pontiac G6 is a looker for a GM product exept the back end looks a little to saturish, is the cavalier holding on for dear life or what, its current design is nearly 10 years old!

sean3 · December 2004

Andrew , what do you think of the spinner hubcaps from a box a target for $30 my little brother has them on his chevy beretta, i get a good laugh at them, there actually kinda cool for a spin, they look right at home on a ragety beretta//sean

a_l_hubcaps · December 2004

sean3-

The Cobalt is the replacement for the Cavalier. 2005 is the last model year for the Cavalier (I think it has already gone out of production; they might be still cranking out some in Mexico).

Spinner caps: Whoever thought of that was pretty clever, but I think they look kind of ridiculous. Also, most of the generic caps from discount stores fit very poorly.

-Andrew L

chuck1 · December 2004

On page 74 in January 2005 Car and Drive it states that through September Mitsubishi's retail registrations had plunged 31.5 per-cent. with ALL MODELS EXCEPT the Montero Sport suffering double-digit declines.

During a shareholder meeting in Japan a shareholder said "It's like the Titanic. The rats are leaving this sinking ship. Not only the rats but also the cats and the cockroaches".

A company spokesman said the Mitsubishi's only salvation may be to mimic Isuzu of America's business plan, where dealers dealers shortly will only have one model, a rebadged Chevrolet truck. Ha-ha. A little black humor, there!

Like I said....5 years tops!!!

a_l_hubcaps · December 2004

chuck1-

You know, if everyone had thought like that, the following car companies would be out of business today:

Hyundai

Kia

Subaru

Mazda

Nissan

Suzuki

Volkswagen

Chrysler

Every one of those makers went through a major financial and product crisis sometime in the last quarter-century, and every one of them pulled through. Mitsu has a new Eclipse, a new pickup truck and a new Lancer coming within the next year. Why write them off as unsaleable junk before you've even seen them?

-Andrew L

chuck1 · December 2004

Hubcps,

Go over to "The News and Views" Board-

Under "You are the Mitsubishi Marketing Manager".

I'm sorry Hubcaps---it really, really does not look good! I own a '03-it may be an orphan soon, and there goes the resale. (Worse than it already is!!)

Mitsubishi Galant

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