Results 1 to 9 of 9

Thread: Hi! Metro to Mirage for me?

  1. #1
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NC
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    2
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    Hi! Metro to Mirage for me?

    Hi from NC! I've been driving a Metro for over 2 months now and I love the car! Great MPG, like the size, the price, ease of maintenance(oil change and a belt), even bought a spare parts car just in case! But I hate driving a manual transmission! It hurts my old skier knees and I really can't stand that! The Mirage seems like the next best option really, so I've been poking around here, still trying to decide and looking for some input. I've read some bad things and I've read some good things.

    Also, I found a good price on a clean low miles Mirage, that was salvaged for flood damage. To look at it in the pics you'd never know it! Any ideas of problems to look for? Can there have been a hydro-lock that caused a bent rod? Used to happen on some old carbed motorcycles. Or anything else?

    Nice to meet you all, looking forward to getting to make some new friends and thanks in advanced for any input!



  2. #2
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,694
    Thanks
    2,572
    Thanked 2,532 Times in 1,467 Posts
    Welcome! Lots of Metro fans here.

    Quote Originally Posted by Putting Along View Post
    ...I found a good price on a clean low miles Mirage, that was salvaged for flood damage.
    If this car isn't priced at least 50% off of what you would normally expect to pay for it, just walk away from this one. This is a car you will probably never be able to sell if you buy it. And it won't have any factory warranty as a salvage vehicle. There are so many good deals out there on used Mirages, this one needs to be nearly free for it to be a good deal. Do you know anything about the flood damage? Was the water up to the floor...or was it up to the bottom of the dash?!?

    Check out this thread for some of the latest deals people have found...

    http://mirageforum.com/forum/showthr...or-sale/page46

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  3. The Following User Says Thank You to Top_Fuel For This Useful Post:

    MetroMPG (05-10-2017)

  4. #3
    Junior Member
    Join Date
    May 2017
    Location
    NC
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    2
    Garage empty: add car
    Thanks
    0
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

  5. #4
    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2015
    Location
    Olympia, WA
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,126
    Thanks
    1,197
    Thanked 1,848 Times in 1,101 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Putting Along View Post
    Looks like a decent car, actually. If I were seriously considering it I would have it professionally inspected. But honestly I'd probably spend a few dollars more or get one with a few more miles that has a clean title.

    If you like the Metro, you will like the Mirage. My Mirage replaced a '97 Metro, and there are a lot of Metro refugees on this forum.

    Honestly, the Mirage is just a 21st-century version of that car! I have 63k on mine and not a single problem.

  6. #5
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2015
    Location
    Cleveland, Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    10,120
    Thanks
    4,030
    Thanked 2,781 Times in 2,100 Posts
    Quote Originally Posted by Putting Along View Post
    Hi from NC!
    Hi Putting Along and welcome to the forum.

    The Mirage has been derided by the majority of the automotive press. Here you will find owners who have decided against that and love the car. In today's car market, it is very affordable to purchase and operate. Many owners have logged thousands of trouble-free miles.

    Regarding the Craigslist listing, I would pass. I think they are asking too much for a salvage title. I'm sure that car was bought for thousands less than what they are asking. Maybe the price will come down?

    But keep looking. As has been said, there are others out there at a lower asking price. I would take a look at it with you if I were closer. Signs of water damage usually include some form of rust, easily spotted with a visual inspection. If you really want to pursue this, press the seller for details and proof of the water damage.

    In your search, keep this in mind. The one recurring problem to look for is rear axle alignment. The Mirage originally shipped with Dunlop Enasave tires which make a big contribution to it's fuel economy numbers. The Enasaves could be expected to last 40,000 miles, give or take. Some forum members noted their rear tires wearing quick and found the rear axle is both misaligned and not adjustable. If caught early, Mitsubishi has been making warranty replacements under their 5 year 60,000 mile warranty. Read more about it here: Rear Wheel Misaligned?

    All that to say check the tires. If it has two new tires at 15 thousand miles, I would suspect the owner (of any used Mirage) found a problem with alignment and didn't want to deal with it.

    I bought mine new knowing about this problem, and was assured by my salesman that the car had no problems. When I brought it in for it's first free oil change, I mentioned the steering wheel was not centered. My dealer put it on their alignment rack, adjusted the front alignment and noted the rear axle was out of alignment. I got a new replacement rear axle installed free of charge under warranty.

    Some dealerships are better than others on this, but it is fixable. Now, I enjoy driving a simple, reliable car that gets fuel economy on par with hybrid designs without all that complexity.

    Take a look around the forum, and let us know if you have any other questions. We'll be glad to help.
    Last edited by Eggman; 05-07-2017 at 12:20 PM.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 49.6 mpg (US) ... 21.1 km/L ... 4.7 L/100 km ... 59.5 mpg (Imp)


  7. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Eggman For This Useful Post:

    Cobrajet (05-07-2017),MetroMPG (05-10-2017)

  8. #6
    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
    Join Date
    Feb 2016
    Location
    Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    3,694
    Thanks
    2,572
    Thanked 2,532 Times in 1,467 Posts
    Whenever you see a salvage title car for sale, always Google the VIN number. You might get lucky and find photos of it before it was cleaned up. I found this car at the link below. Looks like you can spend $8.99 to buy the pictures of it from the auction company that sold it as salvage...

    https://www.easyexport.us/vehicle-fi...age-nc-raleigh

    In my opinion, this car is overpriced for a salvage-title Mirage. You could buy that same car with a clean title for another $1,000...and you would still have some warranty.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 52.2 mpg (US) ... 22.2 km/L ... 4.5 L/100 km ... 62.6 mpg (Imp)


  9. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to Top_Fuel For This Useful Post:

    Cobrajet (05-07-2017),MetroMPG (05-10-2017)

  10. #7
    Business Up Front Johnny Mullet's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2017
    Location
    Ashtabula, Ohio
    Country
    United States
    Posts
    694
    Thanks
    54
    Thanked 521 Times in 269 Posts
    Welcome to the forum. I run the Geo Metro Forum and ended up buying a Mirage. I kept all my Metro cars too, but it's nice to have a new, reliable, fuel sipping car that you can drive without worries.

  11. The Following User Says Thank You to Johnny Mullet For This Useful Post:

    Cobrajet (05-07-2017)

  12. #8
    Senior Member
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Country is Europe, state is Germany
    Country
    Germany
    Posts
    1,699
    Thanks
    232
    Thanked 1,149 Times in 667 Posts
    Me also had a few Suzuki Swift (Metros), and I agree to most of the previous posts.

    May I point out two things.
    If a Metro clutch needs a lot of force, it is usually the fault of one certain American brand of clutch plate that was OEM equipment for some years! The springs are much too stiff. Replace the clutch plate with a well known quality brand such as LUK, Sachs, or Jurid, and then you will need no more than than half the pressure. That makes an enormous difference. BTW, it took me no more than 90 minutes to replace a Swift's clutch, from jacking it up to driving away. Its really an almost trivial task.

    Please note, the clutch of the Mirage is so feather light, you may want to try it first before deciding if you want to go manual or not.
    Last edited by foama; 05-07-2017 at 11:42 PM.

  13. The Following 2 Users Say Thank You to foama For This Useful Post:

    Cobrajet (05-07-2017),Ranny (05-08-2017)

  14. #9
    Welcome, Putting Along!

    Another multiple Metro owner here. I agree with foama - go try a manual Mirage before you commit to the CVT. The Mirage's clutch is the lightest, easiest to push I've ever driven. Much easier than my Metros.

    Added motivation: despite the CVT's higher EPA ratings, the manual will return better real world fuel economy in the hands of an attentive driver (no extreme hypermiling tactics required, just careful driving and getting into top gear as soon as reasonable).

    Please keep us updated what you decide to do.


        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 63.2 mpg (US) ... 26.9 km/L ... 3.7 L/100 km ... 75.9 mpg (Imp)


  15. The Following User Says Thank You to MetroMPG For This Useful Post:

    Top_Fuel (05-10-2017)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •