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Thread: Thinking of buying a mirage

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    Thinking of buying a mirage

    So I'm looking to get myself my first car and its down to the 2018 Mirage GT, Honda Fit 2015-17 (used), and the Ford Fiesta 2015-17 (used)...

    I like the price right now for the mirage with dealer discounts I can get but i'm a little worried about reading about the rear axle problem it has right out of the factory. Is it that big of a problem that I should look elsewhere or should i still keep the mirage as an option for my first car?



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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    As long as the car is under warranty, the rear axle problem in the Mirage is more of an inconvenience. If it's bad, the dealer will replace it with a new one. Problem solved. You can always have it checked before you pay for the car.

    Be aware that the Fit can have the SAME rear axle issue the Mirage has. So if you get one used, make sure it's still under warranty OR have the seller provide you with a 4-wheel alignment printout prior to purchasing the car.

    What is your primary purpose of this car...and do you want a car with a manual transmission? You looking for cheap, reliable transportation? Is good fuel mileage the most important factor? Do you want something fun to drive? A Mirage GT only comes with a CVT. I've never driven a CVT Mirage, but something tells me that the last words you would use to describe it are fun and/or peppy.

    From a pure "fun to drive" standpoint, a 1.0 EcoBoost Fiesta with a manual transmission (a somewhat rare beast) probably wins hands-down of all 3 cars you mentioned.

        __________________________________________

        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)


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    Ditto to everything Top_Fuel stated. If spirited, canyon carving driving is a priority then the Mirage is not your car. If low cost, reliable and efficient transportation is at the top of your list consider the Mirage. 78HP can only do so much. I have a CVT and it’s pretty lackluster but that’s ok by me. If it were me I’d buy the base model Mirage with a 5 Speed. With the $5000 you saved compared to the GT you could buy a whole bunch of upgrades (tires, wheels, stereo, etc..) and still be money ahead.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2015 Mirage ES 1.2 automatic: 40.5 mpg (US) ... 17.2 km/L ... 5.8 L/100 km ... 48.6 mpg (Imp)


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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    What is your primary purpose of this car..
    mainly getting to and from work and driving places on my days off.... I'm not looking for anything fast or sporty per se i'm just a fan of the subcompact hatchback. I never learned how to use a manual transmission outside of a double clutch 10 speed on a semi-truck... So yeah I don't mind the CVT.

    lol TBH up till now i never needed a car and all my driving time has been split between semi-trucks and buses so i'm kind of use to slow vehicles....

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    Senior Member Cobrajet's Avatar
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    The Mirage has three purposes:

    1) To be quite inexpensive.
    2) To get really, REALLY good mileage.
    3) To be very, very reliable.

    If you are looking for anything other than these three things, keep shopping. If these three things are at the top of your list, then the Mirage is a perfect fit for you.

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    Considering a 2018 Mirage

    You are getting great advice from everyone. In my opinion, the Mirage is an affordable, reliable, & economical car that comes with a great factory warranty. While you are making payments, you will have a 5-years/60,000 miles bumper-to-bumper warranty & 10-years/100,000 miles powertrain warranty. Other than normal maintenance items, you don’t have to worry about any added costs. If you have a particular car in mind, I would ask to have the alignment checked on it by an independent car shop that is nearby. The cost of the alignment check would give you a piece of mind prior to purchase. A good dealership should be willing to allow that. If the Mirage isn’t or can’t be perfectly aligned, I would just pick out another one & repeat.

    If you plan to keep the car for number of years, I feel the Mirage is a great option. Cars are not an investment. Cars are money pits, and one has to determine how much money you want to throw in it. I also feel the Mirage ES (manual) is the best buy, & fewer people want to borrow your car when it's a manual. You, however, seem to know what you want. There is nothing wrong with that.

    I really like my 2017 Mirage ES (manual), & my car just turned over 13,000 miles yesterday. Some complain about the depreciation of these cars. If you plan on keeping a car, it’s really hard to beat a highly discounted Mirage in my mind. It’s an economy car, & I never lose sight of that. If I drive my Mirage for 10+ years, the most it can depreciate is what I paid for it. I paid $9299 (window sticker was $14,200) for a new Mirage last October. The $10,153.73 “out the door” price (including tax, license, new plates, etc...) made me stop looking at used car options. Insurance costs may be something you may want to consider, but all cars cost something to insure.

    The most economical car on the road is one that is paid off and not worth much. You can drop your comprehensive/collision coverage and just carry liability. When that day comes, I will like my Mirage even more! In the meantime, I really enjoy driving the darn thing!
    Last edited by Mark; 07-10-2018 at 06:13 AM.

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    just read the answers and agree 100%

  9. #8
    If it makes you feel any better I maintain close to 40 15-17' mirages and have only had an alignment checked on one car and it was fine. I just keep the tires rotated regularly and don't see any weird tire wear on any cars. Most of our cars put on 6000kms(4000miles) a month so anything wearing out tires would show up pretty fast compared to others that barely put that many miles on in a year. Though I guess it is still possible we have a few out of spec and regular rotation is masking it pretty well??

    I used to recommend the cvt cause I had one here last 300k kms(186000miles) before failing. But have since had another car have a failure at 200k kms and around 80k kms. There have been a couple others on this forum who had failures way before 60k miles So who knows how long one will last. Otherwise the cars are pretty bulletproof and I wouldn't hesitate to get one. Every car has problems the mirage seems to have very few.
    Mirage videos:

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)


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    This is some great info guys! I do have a follow up question. Trim level between the 2018 SE and GT, what is the gain from the GT model? I've seen a lot of dealer discounts in SoCal that put the SE and GT price only $1000 difference if that between the two trims. The color that I really like (sunrise orange) seems to be a little harder to find in the GT trim so would going with the SE be a better choice?

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Matchstick View Post
    Trim level between the 2018 SE and GT, what is the gain from the GT model?
    As best I can tell from the Mitsubishi website, they both are "loaded" with all of the usual convenience options. It looks like the GT will get you 3 additional items over the SE (someone correct me if this is wrong)...

    1. 15" alloy wheels (as opposed to the 14" alloy wheels on the SE)
    2. Heated Front Seats
    3. HID headlights


    There's only a $500 difference between the base price of the GT and the base price of the SE ($16,595 vs $16,095). You could certainly argue that getting the 3 things above for $500 is a pretty good deal. FYI...The replacement cost of one HID headlight assembly from Mitsubishi is almost $1,000.


    The color that I really like (sunrise orange) seems to be a little harder to find in the GT trim so would going with the SE be a better choice?
    Well...you probably don't care about heated seats in Cali, right? So now it's down to the HID headlights and 15" wheels. Don't let the bigger wheels push you into a decision. The GT has 15" wheels, but they are only 4.5" wide (the same width of the SE's 14" wheels). If you want nicer looking wheels, there are plenty of aftermarket alternatives that look a lot better than anything Mitsubishi has to offer.


        __________________________________________

        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)


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