I will definitely be getting a FSM, and will also continue to follow this forum as it seems like pretty much every question that could be asked about our simple Mirages has been answered here at one point or another.
As far as rustproofing: The amazing rust resistance of these cars is another reason why I decided on this purchase. The pictures posted by Fopeano of his 2014 (oldest possible in the U.S.) with 145K miles (very high) that is from upstate NY (rust belt) showed a car that looked almost like new. Very impressive!
But I have also followed the other rust threads indicating the spot on the rear fender and the license plate hardware that will rust eventually, so I do plan on doing some rustproofing. Based on the YouTube video series on rustproofing materials done by Repair geek, I think I'm going to go with Blaster Surface Sheild. Repair Geek claims that it's the best of all he's tested.
Thanks! And good luck on your search. I find that it's just a matter of being patient and looking at as broad of a market as you can. For me, direct flights to Chicago, Minneapolis, and Denver are very cheap and fast since there are airlines that have hubs in those cities. Being able to broaden one's search really increases the chances that you'll find what you want. It's also nice that all the search sites (Facebook Marketplace, Autotrader, CarGurus, iSeeCars, Edmunds, etc., etc.) allow me to set a 500 mile search radius, so all those markets are included.
So, I just set the search on each of those places for 2017 Mitsubishi Mirage with under 30K miles, bookmark them all, and then every day open all the bookmarks is hope for a hit. It takes some time, but eventually you'll find what you want.
Yes, as a kid in the '70's, every weekend my dad and I would work on some carburetor issue on one of our cars. Poor starting, hesitation, misfire, too rich/lean-- there was always some problem. We'd put a kit in it and it might help for a couple of weeks, but then the same (or other) problems would return. Total PITA! So, I do prefer FI.
I grew up driving/owning cars from the 80's and early 90's. 79 Plymouth Horizon, 81 Plymouth Reliant, 85 and 87 Chevy Cavaliers, 1990 Dodge Daytona Shelby (that I still own today!). I really like (and miss) the simplicity of those cars.
For some reason, I really have an aversion to screens in cars. That was much of the appeal of the 17 Mirage-- any earlier year and I had to accept auto climate control. Any later year, I had to accept a screen.
Here is my current fleet of vehicles:
1990 Dodge Daytona Shelby: Bought new. Love these '80's Mopars, and the VNT (that I have) is a rare car. Less than 700 of them made. OHC, but still easy to work on. Unfortunately, it looks that I'll be selling it soon to make room for the second Mirage.
2x1985 Corvettes: Bought both in 2011; one with 56K miles, the other with 29K miles and both completely stock and like-new condition. (The story of how I got two of them is very similar to how I just got two Mirages!) 1985 is a very special year as the is the only year Corvette that has no tech (e.g., air bag, ABS, traction control, security system, auto climate control, pre-cats, electronically controlled transmission, etc., etc.), but does have FI. Has the last Gen I SBC (L98) engine-- the engine (and the whole car) is a marvel of performance and simplicity that is easy to work on.
2002 F150: Bought new for really cheap (huge promotional savings at the dealership I bought it at). Base XL with not one single option other than 4WD. 4.2l pushrod V6.
2009 Dodge Grand Caravan C/V: Just bought last summer, using the same method I bought the Mirages and Corvettes. Total stripper, and it's the second to last year of the venerable pushrod 3.3l V6 (another throwback to the late '80s, early '90's). Only 42K miles on it; it was owned by the federal government (FBI) and it is in absolute pristine, like-new condition.
As you can see, I have a strong preference for low tech, simple cars with no screens and compact, easy to work on pushrod engines. Every vehicle I own was carefully selected for these features, and I really enjoy them. Some were bought new, most were bought used. But these days, it seems easier than ever to find pristine used cars of almost any era.
Yes-- as you can see above, this approach has worked out great for me many times. It takes some time and patience, but the search (for me, anyway!) is half the fun!
I agree- this is a great forum, and I'm happy to be part of it and also to finally be a Mirage owner!