Considerations before buying a Mirage

[inuvik]

As I mentioned earlier, I owned a 2007 Toyota Yaris through last summer, and the look of this car reminds me of it. The rebate on the Mirage caught my attention. I'm not considering any other cars. And I refuse to spend $20,000 on a new car that will only get occasional use. Also, I don't want to pay $16000 for a new base Yaris. Not that I can't afford just about any car, but I don't need to try to impress anyone. I like to impress myself, with an efficient, fully equipped, somewhat neat looking car. Simply put, the Mirage will fit my needs in very sensible way. The price doesn't hurt either.

As far as concern about resale value, the Mirage probably won't maintain it's value like my Yaris did. NOT that I'm worried about it. I purchased the Toyota in 2006 for $12000 OTD. I typically like to sell a car when it's still worth something. That's just me. I sold it last June for just under $7000 after owning it about nine years. That's a pretty good return on my money. Admittedly it looked like new and had low miles as at the time, as I lived close to work. I probably could have kept that car going for another five years, but I like selling cars when they are still worth something. I just like new things now and then.

Now that I'm pretty much retired I just want another small car to get me around here and there. We tried getting by with just one car (Chevy Cruz), but I realized a back-up vehicle was still needed when the Cruz was in use elsewhere.

In regard to the rear alignment issue, as I understand it then, if I go ahead with the Mirage purchase, I should first insist on an alignment check and a printout copy of the results if I can get it. Also, when on the road checking it out, the car should go straight ahead, not veer to one side or the other, with the steering wheel centered. Is that pretty much it? I hope all is OK with the car. We shall see.

Yup, that about sums it up. Resale on the Mirage won't be that great but it's only an issue if you plan on selling it. Many of us here on the forum intend to drive our Mirage's until the wheels fall off and then glue them back on. I knew this going in and it didn't bother me. Someone on the forum described themselves as frugal the other day. I think that's the best adjective to use to describe the Mirage. Efficient, inexpensive, reliable. It's a frugal subcompact and I like frugal. I think most former Metro, Festiva, 121, 323, Colt etc... owners would think the same.

[Daewoorolet]

Just an update for anyone interested. . .
Well, the Mirage purchase is on hold. I was about to go ahead with buying from my closest dealer who is about 15 minutes away from home. In my obsessive search for the best price, I called the second closest dealer, who is about an hour away.
The salesman told me the his dealer was “authorized" to sell the Mirage for $1000 dollars less than some other dealers. Does anyone know if that is true in some cases? So my SE CVT purchase was going to be about $12,200 as opposed to $13,200 OTD. I was sort of confused at that point, so I told the original dealer about the price difference, and he said he couldn't match it. Alluding to the possibility of a less than fully represented transaction. However, I really wanted to buy from the closest dealer. But I wasn't going to pay another thousand bucks to do that. And I would have felt guilty only going back to his dealership for any warranty service.
That being the case, the whole car purchase is on hold. Big rebate or not, I'm going to wait. So I got my purchase deposit on the car back. The updated model appears to be significantly improved from the 2015 Mirage. I like the idea of better brakes and improved suspension. These issues probably should have been addressed earlier. The 2017 looks more appealing, and I certainly didn't want to have to get into installing my own suspension improvements; sway bars, springs, etc. on a 2015 model. Hopefully these mechanical updates with improve the oversteer and make the faster freeway driving more tolerable and safe.
Does anyone know if these improvements will officially address all of the major design concerns?

[Daox]

Does anyone know if these improvements will officially address all of the major design concerns?

We will only know with time as more and more people drive them. If you're looking for a sporty drive, OEM suspension will never be good enough as its made for the 'average' driver (whatever that actually is). If thats the case, you might as well go with the 2015 and get springs and a sway bar. If you think you could be happy with a stock 'average' suspension, then wait and see. IMO the brakes are a non issue. OEM material might not be the greatest, but in normal driving I haven't heard any complaints from members here.

Reminder, if you're wanting to use the $3500 rebate, it ends at the end of this month.

[Daewoorolet]

Reminder, if you're wanting to use the $3500 rebate, it ends at the end of this month.

That may be the case, but if there are enough of these models still left on hand on dealership lots, I can't picture them just stopping it.
I don't know if they can increase the rebate, but I'd be willing to bet that they will continue in some form.

That being said, I could be completely wrong. Just my two cents.

[MetroMPG]

Question: have you test-driven the 2015 Mirage?

No one has driven the 2017 model yet, so there's no comparative info available.

I've also read that some dealerships are offering $1k discounts on top of the $3500 factory rebate.

I agree with Tim: if your main concern is the suspension, personally I would buy a 2015 and use a small fraction of the $3500-4500 saved (vs. buying a 2017) on aftermarket upgrades.

[MetroMPG]

And I think you're probably right about the rebate continuing on leftover 2015's.

[MetroMPG]

Hopefully these mechanical updates with improve the oversteer and make the faster freeway driving more tolerable and safe.

Clarification: the problem isn't with oversteer.

Some owners feel the 2014/15 suspension is tuned too softly. More body roll/lean than wanted. I count myself in that group; it's too wallowy for my taste.

Other owners don't mind it at all. A soft suspension means a surprisingly comfortable ride for a little car.

[uheym]

I don't really like the soft suspension, but i dont wanna mess something up. So i can live with it as it is.
The option to mount the sway bar, is even not here.. only if I let the dealership install it and I have it noted in the car papers and checked by at a car inspection (when the car is going to get new plates)

EU laws are very strict at this point.
So everything you do to your car has to be registered and it has to be accepted by the car inspection.. so this could mean it would make more sense to buy a car with better suspension first..

The car insurance would be woid if I touch the car (modifications almost all kinds) ....

[cyclopathic]

Clarification: the problem isn't with oversteer.

Some owners feel the 2014/15 suspension is tuned too softly. More body roll/lean than wanted. I count myself in that group; it's too wallowy for my taste.

Other owners don't mind it at all. A soft suspension means a surprisingly comfortable ride for a little car.

It seems the people who don't mind are either use it as a city car or live in the flatlands with straight roads.

[fc321]

I cant belive that the dealer actually let you get your deposit back and did not offer to just lower down the price. It is very rare for them to just have you take your money back and have you walk out the door.

They almost ALWAYS try to offer you another incentive (like a price break). The more you wait I can only see the price getting even lower. Maybe call the dealer back in April and see if they are feeling more "motivated" after March has ended.

If the dealer you like would be willing to give the $1000 discount would you buy the 2015 from the dealer you like?

I was in the same situation with dealer #2 offering me exactly a $1000 price reduction (but I didnt like that dealer) and when I told delaer #1 about it at first they said they couldnt match it but after 3 days they called me back and said he had talked to the OWNER of the dealership and that the OWNER had agreed to match the price of the lower priced dealership.