Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
I went to the Nissan dealership to look at the Altima, but it felt and looked tinny. Perhaps, that's the reason for its marginal safety ratings.
Additionally, I have side-impact airbags on my Galant.
I am unsure of your criticism of the Galant's handling and ride. Many auto journalists from leading auto publications (Car and Driver and Consumer Guide) have applauded the Galant for these exact characteristics.
Also, the Altima is not as fast as my ES V6. This engine is also much smoother than the coarse 4 banger in the Altima. The 4 cylinder Galant that I test drove was very smooth.
The Galant offers 16" tires, as well. Perhaps, you test drove models that didn't offer the 16" tires.
The past body style of the Altima was decent. But the current design of the Altima is worst than the blandmobiles from Toyota (Camry) and Honda (Accord).
The Galant is hard to beat.
http://www.edmunds.com/edweb/news/messages/878.html
http://www.edmunds.com/edweb/editorial/features/mitsubishi/index.html
I've driven the Galant at Edmunds Live and thought the car was a great performer, great alternative to Camry and Accord, and the styling is much better than Camry and Accord. But now I'm wary of Galant and Mitsubishi.
By the way, the transmission on my wife's LRV first malfunctioned at @105K miles. The first problem occurred while on a trip and while attempting to accelerate up to speed getting on the expressway. Suddenly the engine reved and the transmission disengaged. The splines inside the torque converter completely stripped out. We had to be towed and repaired on the road. By 125K miles the same problem occurred again this time requiring a complete rebuild. Right now this vehicle needs another brake job, AGAIN! Other than these two problems, the LRV has been wonderful. It has the all practicality of the PT Cruiser only with more room, with a better engine, but sadly without the style. Despite the problems, if they still made them I would buy another LRV tomorrow.
What was good about my Galant: Luxurious, comfortable, quiet, roomy, and long wearing interior, easier egress than many larger cars, cup holders/controls perfectly located, smooth ride, 26 mpg everywhere, excellent cruise control, dependable - though not necessarily overly powerful - air conditioning, lumbar support, relatively powerful and dependable engine, better looking than the competition, and a trustworthy and skilled service department at my local dealer. If the still made them in red there would already be one in my driveway problems and all.
-Timing belt, water pump, and hoses around it : $260
-Brake pads (front) and turning rotors: $60
-Change the rotors (front): $90
-Computer in the transmition : $400
-Head gaskets and rebuilt of head: $650 , or $800 for ORM parts.
-Radiator: $250
-front Axles: $120
For those of you that have had the new model galant (post 1999), can you give me your thoughts now about the good, the bad, and the ugly (I already know about the nasty wood trim).
If you were to do it again, would you reconsider?
Thanks.
Yes, I have some minor issues but EVERY car does. And at least I have a car with spankin' personality, not a lame looking Camcord
Hope this helps if you are considering a smooth-to-drive car, with nice safety features, and don't want to spend more for the higher-end luxury cars.
so for every complain, I'm sure there is 1000 compliments .. It's like car accidents on the freeway .. You will never hear on the radio about Cars running SMOOTH !!! only when cars break down !!
btw, I bought my ES last Nov 99 , 4000 miles so far...
If you really want proven realiability, go get a camry or accord that every one and their dog drives.
but this time do your homework before going into the dealership, don't make the same mistake you did last time with the galant ... Good Luck.!
so unless you go marry Bill Gates' daughter (if he has any) LOL !!! :-), then it may be of your best interest to stick to the galant for some more years..
Mitsubishi refuses to budge (surprise, surprise) to cover any costs of my transmission replacement. Customer service is useless. To recap: the first replacement was at 62,000 miles (at which time I had a Mitsubishi service center put in a Mitsubishi-factory transmission), now 39,000 miles later the new transmission is inoperable. The dealer wants $650 to diagnose it! Customer service wants nothing to do with it, and were rude in my phone conversations with them. So much for customer care and reliability...
My father has a 99 Mitsubishi ES. It has warped rotors all the time. It seems like they only last about 3,000 miles or so. And his car has < 15,000 miles. Interior construction is cheap also. Both front door handles have cracked already and are in need of replacement. On my 95 Galant, I leaned on the door armrest once while driving and cracked it. I'm not THAT big (195lbs).
Anyway, my advice is to avoid the Galant like the plague. Mine is sitting in my driveway with it's 2nd broken transmission in ~100,000 miles and I still owe a lot of money on it.
I've spent over 6,700 dollars in repairs to it (including a the parts bill for a rebuilt transmission now) in the past 2 years, since 60,000 miles. If you plan on keeping the Galant over 60,000 miles, you might as well buy a Mercedes Benz, financially speaking.
Actually the Chevy Impala is looking good right now: ~23,000 loaded (much less expensive than the Galant), it's a full size sedan, 200 hp, and you get to deal with honest American service stations and dealerships.
If you're not convinced with the mitsus , try toyota, honda, or nissan .. or any german car.
I’ve been reading and enjoying your comments for many months now, albeit it’s been mostly in the Nissan Sentra group. I’ve been delaying a purchase of a Sentra SE for roughly a year now, just waiting for the right moment to come along.
Two months ago, I purchased a 2001 Galant “ES, V6” for my wife. Quite by accident, I fell in love with the car and the idea of settling for the Sentra SE was all but history.
Well, I’ve put all of my eggs into one basket as of today. I put a deposit down on a low mileage, one owner (verified via CarFax), used 2000 Galant, also an “ES, V6”. I’m sure hoping that I don’t experience the same troubles some of you good people have encountered. A double whammy of this sort would be crippling.
Now on to my question, “Puzzling Options?”
Since I researched the purchase of my wife’s car, I was somewhat familiar with the options that are available on the 2000-2001 ES V6. Normal options for this trim do not include LEATHER INTERIOR or CASSETTE/CD stereo, however the car that I place a deposit on has these items and they are factory. It does not have anything else outside of what come standard on the ES V6 trim. The car was originally purchased in Texas.
Does anyone have any ideas how these unusual options made it into this car? I’ve searched Edmunds, CarPoint, and Mitsubishi sites and these aren’t even listed as being available for this trim. I noticed that post #31 referred to purchasing an “ES 4-cyl” with unusual options as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
MSN
in that you can switch to sport or normal
suspension and I believe it's got air/gar shocks
that automaticaly adjusts. My problem is that if
I
were to replace these shocks, they costs $350 or
so a piece. For a car this old, I really don't
want to spend this much money. Does anyone know
if
I can replace them with regular shocks? I've
contacted mitsubishi and a local mitsubishi repair
shop and they haven't been helpful. The car rides
as if it doesn't have any springs or shocks. It's
like riding a go-cart when you hit bumps. It just
bottoms out.
does anyone have any ideas what is causing this vibration, (I don't want to keep on buying stuff for the car that It don't need), could a warped rotor (that a lot of people are talking about)cause this vibration.
any help will be appreciated.
regards
Sounds like the glass rattling, but then you go back there and you can't duplicate it. Is it the deck moving, the child safety locks
Just some quick thoughts on some of the items mentioned on the forum:
Automatic transmission durability - change the fluid every 15k miles. Transmissions are like people, some die young and some very old. In some cases there is a cause (poor diet, lack of exercise) and sometimes not. If you change the fluid every 15k miles and drive like an adult, you are statistically much better off.
Front end vibration - the most usual cause is tires. Make sure they are BALANCED and ROTATED regularly. There are a host of mechanical problems that can also cause this. You can eliminate some of them if you jack up the car, grab one of the front tires 180 degrees apart, push with one hand and pull with the other. Depending upon where you grab and whether it moves, you may be on the right track.
Rotor wapage - rotors typically warp because they are unable to appropriately handle the heat generated while braking. Looking at my 2000 GTZ, I can say the brakes are not underdesigned. Nobody with a 1999-2001 Galant will have enough miles to have worn a rotor thin yet. This leaves us with a more unusual cause for rotor warpage - improper torque on lugnuts. This is a common problem on my other car. Try to make sure that mechanics do not use an air-wrench to but your wheels back on!
Thanks
Cary
How much did you pay?