First Time Car Buyer - 2023 Mirage ES

[allyayealex]

Hi there! I'm so happy that I able to join this forum after getting my Mirage! I am a first time car buyer and was working on getting a 2023 Toyota Corolla because the car that had been passed down to me when I first started driving was a 2010 Toyota Camry, so I liked Toyota a lot, but then a friend of mine sent me the link to the 2023 Mirage and four days later, here I am!

I spent quite a bit of time researching the Mirage to see if it would be suitable, and this forum was a big help in me making my final decision so a big thank you to everyone here because I love my car!

She is a grey 2023 Mirage ES that I have named Artemis - or Artie for short! I officially got her yesterday and I can't wait to see what's in store!

Thank you again!

Ally

[defensivetackle99]

Hi there! I'm so happy that I able to join this forum after getting my Mirage! I am a first time car buyer and was working on getting a 2023 Toyota Corolla because the car that had been passed down to me when I first started driving was a 2010 Toyota Camry, so I liked Toyota a lot, but then a friend of mine sent me the link to the 2023 Mirage and four days later, here I am!

I spent quite a bit of time researching the Mirage to see if it would be suitable, and this forum was a big help in me making my final decision so a big thank you to everyone here because I love my car!

She is a grey 2023 Mirage ES that I have named Artemis - or Artie for short! I officially got her yesterday and I can't wait to see what's in store!

Thank you again!

Ally

Congratulations!

I have to ask. What made you choose the Mirage instead of the Corolla? Obviously it incomparable as apple vs banana and the Corolla is what the majority or car shopper look for a-b car; not other lesser known car.

[allyayealex]

Congratulations!

I have to ask. What made you choose the Mirage instead of the Corolla? Obviously it incomparable as apple vs banana and the Corolla is what the majority or car shopper look for a-b car; not other lesser known car.

So as I mentioned, I really like Toyota but I do have a preference of the Camry over the Corolla and the Camry was out of my budget. I also have an issue with the brakes used in Corollas, I don't like the feel of them. And while I was going to overlook that and still get a Corolla, I had an issue of finding a dealer that had any new ones on their lot. In all honesty, I probably would have gotten a Corolla still but there were multiple instances where we had it planned out and scheduled for me to go in and get one but something happened each time that prevented me from getting the car. Along with that, I'm not a fan of fancy gadgets in vehicles - I like the basics and that is more than enough for me. So after spending months trying to get a car that I wasn't really sure I would be 100% happy with, I was still open to other options and that was when my friend sent me the link to the Mirage.

At first I was unsure about the horsepower, as the 78hp is wayyyy less than the 179hp of my Camry, but I went in to test drive the car and I loved it. It was kind of a love at first sight situation, and everything kind of fell into place for me to get this car unlike the situation with the Corolla. The fact that it's not so high tech but still has decent features was a big plus for me, as well as the folding seats in the back. The cabin was a LOT roomier than expected, and I found the car to be so cute. Steering away from Toyota was a scary move, but as I mentioned, this forum really helped me to believe going with the Mirage was the best decision for me, especially as a college student. I did the math and the cost for gas per month is a little less than half that of what I would have been spending, and have been for that matter. My sister tried to get me to stick with Toyota but the car absolutely won me over and I couldn't be happier.

[7milesout]

Congratulations! It sounds to me like you made a really great choice. The reason being, by your description of what you prefer (a lower tech vehicle, etc), the Mirage REALLY IS right up your ally. It's a lot of the reason most of the people on the forum like the car too.

I'd have to say that it's maybe not quite as quality as a Toyota, but it's going to last looooong time, if you just do basic maintenance. So long in fact, you'll probably sell it later just because you want something new / different.

I'm 31k miles into my Mirage, and I have no issues. Good luck to you and hope to see you still contributing here on the forums.

[Wallythacker]

Congratulations! It sounds to me like you made a really great choice. The reason being, by your description of what you prefer (a lower tech vehicle, etc), the Mirage REALLY IS right up your ally. It's a lot of the reason most of the people on the forum like the car too.

I'd have to say that it's maybe not quite as quality as a Toyota, but it's going to last looooong time, if you just do basic maintenance. So long in fact, you'll probably sell it later just because you want something new / different.

I'm 31k miles into my Mirage, and I have no issues. Good luck to you and hope to see you still contributing here on the forums.

I'm 50K miles into my 2017 and 150K miles into my 2014. No major issues with either. Solid reliable little cars (that attract stones like no other, I jest, only my 2017 is a rock magnet for some reason.

I think when it's a Corolla vs. Mirage scenario it strictly comes down to money. Period. I think for their respective classes both cars are at the absolute top of their field. History is already established the Mirage is solid, reliable, low maintenance, great of gas, peppy enough for 90% of the populace and the all around best economy car available. (I know with the dead Spark, Festiva, Yaris, Micra, Mazda 2 there's nothing to compare it to. I'd like to think the Mirage killed them off but the sale figures don't support that. Only Mits had the brains to stick it out in the sub compact field. It will lead to many more sales of RVR/Outlanders for them.)

[rohoGames]

I'm not surprised that as a first time buyer you gravitated towards the Mirage.

I mean, gosh, a quick scan of the market will tell you that you would have paid at least 5k more for a Corolla, possibly upwards of 10k more. I'm always surprised when folks (even on these forums!) forget just *how much more expensive most other cars are,* although I do think part of that is financing (I try my best to pay cash only for cars, which of course limits my options, but I'm ok with that!).

Ultimately with any tool or thing the newness of novelty factor wears off and then it becomes "just a thing you use." So I think you were very wise to find something that appeals to you, but didn't cost as much. I had a similar experience, incidentally, in terms of just kind of stumbling onto these cars and loving them!

[Mark]

If I wanted a Camry, I would buy a low mileage used one. I would lean towards an older one with low miles that has zero accident reports attached to it. Like this one -

https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/e...-a34b0264e7a2/

A Toyota Camry with less than 28,000 miles for under $12,000 will have a lot of life left in, and those vintage vehicles are made much better than today's vehicles. Dependable automatic transmission, too!

I'm not knocking anyone buying a new Mirage. I've just never had that mindset that I have to buy new vehicles. A loan placed on something that depreciates is never good. Yet, owning a car is necessary for most!