Upgrade 2015 Mirage or trade for 2011 Golf TDI

[shadowtuy]

Over the time that I have had this Mirage there are a few things that bother and ruin the car for me.

Number 1 The suspension: Any time there is pressure on the suspension, the car slams on its bump stops or it fights me to stay on the road like it wants to be totalled out. I'm not expecting Need for speed at the rally X games (haha.) All I want is to give my friends a ride or not have to go slower than 20 MPH trying to get on the entrance ramp...Which brings me to me next problem. (Yay segue!)

Number 2 The acceleration: Trying to get up to speed past 40 feels like the engine is towing an anker. I'm not putting the pedal to the mitsu rubber mat or anything just trying to merge and grab my exit. Its an i3 I know but I would love a little enthusiasm when driving.

I can't tell if these problems are fixable or if the car is even worth modifying considering its worth. At writing this i owe 8.6k and the highest I have been offered is 4.6K with light scratches and 30k miles. I have been admiring the Golf TDI tho and might want my first manual car (depending on how my training goes with the dealer.) So thoughts on my situation? Should I reset on payments back to 60 months and get the golf? Or does this car deserve the effort and money?

[Top_Fuel]

Trying to get up to speed past 40 feels like the engine is towing an anker.

A manual transmission Mirage would fair a little better than a CVT. But there are ways to get a little more acceleration out of a CVT I think. The CVT guys will have to help you out here.

...I owe 8.6k and the highest I have been offered is 4.6K with light scratches and 30k miles.

$4,000 of negative equity puts a damper on any of your options being a good idea fiscally. The Mirage is cheap to operate and it's pretty much bullet-proof. So while your payments will continue, you won't run into any expensive repair surprises. Which brings me to the topic of a used VW diesel...

I don't have any reliability info on a Golf TDI, but a guy I work with has a Jetta TDI and it's wearing the camshafts down (apparently a known issue) and his automatic transmission is acting up. He bought his Jetta used at the same time I bought my Mirage new. He's facing some expensive repairs...but he wanted that diesel for fuel economy and reliability. Meanwhile, my Mirage is getting better mileage than his Jetta and is running trouble-free. And I'm still covered under warranty while everything that happens to his car at this point is out-of-pocket for him.

So if you do go down the VW diesel road, just be sure to surf the web and make sure that year of Golf TDIs isn't know for some bad problems. This guy didn't do his homework and it's going to cost him thousands before it's all over.

[shadowtuy]

I haven't been able to find any modifications for this car for CVT performance.

I don't know, I guess I'm just tired of being passed and the "the golf cart" comments. I do still have the warranty so that's a Pro.

[Cobrajet]

Top Fuel pretty much nailed it. Every time somebody comes here with a "thinking about buying a Mirage" post, I offer them the same warning: do not buy this car new if you feel like you are going to want to sell it or trade it in after a year or two.

You will almost certainly lose your shirt. I will say that a coworker's son bought a new Jetta a year or two ago and it was an absolute piece of sh!t. Would just randomly die in traffic regularly. VW couldn't find the problem, and eventually they just didn't want to look anymore. He started getting so much push back from them that he just wound up trading it in on a used Lexus. Lost a lot of money on the deal.

His was a gasser, but I doubt the TDIs are any better. Another thing about TDIs is that if they need any work it requires some kind of expensive special tool, or an expensive mechanic who has those tools. The Mirage is at least reliable, and it may be a 'golf cart', but it is going to get you there...especially since it is still under warranty. Probably the worst thing you could do right now financially is trade a reliable car for an unreliable car and an extra $4,000 more in debt.

My advice? Accept that the Mirage is not fast and not glamorous, but IS reliable and fuel-efficient. Grit your teeth and enjoy another year or two of trouble-free driving until you have more positive equity, and then trade it in on a not-VW.

[Cobrajet]

I haven't been able to find any modifications for this car for CVT performance.

Are your tires aired up to 35 psi? Check the maximum allowable pressure on the sidewall, and if possible air them up to 40-45 psi.

[Daox]

There are numerous handling mods available, though I'm not really sure what your issues is. I'm guessing its just when you have passengers? Otherwise, you should never be hitting bumpstops.

The power thing is a bit more difficult to address. The engine is small, this is why we get such great fuel economy. There are a few things you can do, but the cost goes up really quickly here.

[Eggman]

Have you turned off Auto AC? Not having your AC compressor running is like a turbo boost for these little engines.

This nicely illustrates the importance of fully understanding what these little cars are designed for, and using them towards that goal and not for one's ego.

[Mark]

At writing this i owe 8.6k and the highest I have been offered is 4.6K with light scratches and 30k miles. I have been admiring the Golf TDI tho and might want my first manual car (depending on how my training goes with the dealer.) So thoughts on my situation? Should I reset on payments back to 60 months and get the golf? Or does this car deserve the effort and money?

I would not allow yourself to be taken by a dealership. I did a 250 mile search on cars.com for 2015 Mirages with approximately 30,000 miles on them. I came up with four 2015 Mirages, & these were their listed prices-
32,803 miles for $9900
30,901 miles for $9817
32,721 miles for $8995
33,893 miles for $8996 @ White Bear Mitsubishi

I realize these cars may go for way less, but these are the listed prices for low mileage Mirages. When I realized that I could get a brand new Mirage for $9000 @ White Bear in 2017, I jumped all over that! Why mess with a low mileage used one? Thus, your car may be a little bit of a hard sale for dealers. I wouldn't give your car away & take that much of a loss.

Quoting a source - "While different cars depreciate at different rates, it's a good rule of thumb to assume that a new car will lose approximately 20 percent of its value in the first year and 15 percent each year after that until, after 10 years, it's worth around 10 percent of what it originally cost."

It is a little unclear what the 2011 VW Golf is going to cost you on top of a trade? The thought of having to do a 60-month used car loan on 2011 vehicle seems a little depressing to me.

Every person & situation is different. As a general rule, I don't buy any vehicle that I can't pay off in a year or two at the most. I don't let somebody tell me what I can afford in car payments, because I am not interested in having car payments to begin with.

If a 2011 VW Golf is worth 10% of its original value in two years (2021), how much would you still owe on a vehicle like that? I really think you need to look at it this way. If you bought your Mirage new, you are giving up a 10-year/100,000 mile power train warranty. If something major happens while owning the Mirage, your risk is still quite low in keeping it running. If something major happened to a 2011 VW Golf, your financial situation with vehicles could become even worst!

I am just thinking out loud here. I don't know all the details of your situation. Regardless, I wouldn't take a 60-month loan on any 8-year old vehicle, unless it was really something special.

[kzelisko]

I can believe he's hitting the bump stops with any load, most small cars are on the bump stops way more often than you might think they are anyway, and the mirage, particularly the early ones, are comically soft, both in spring rate and damping. The rear sway bar helps some in the cornering department, but the mirage is still narrow and top heavy, and outside of coilovers, there are few spring options, and no options for dampers.

As for the tdi, only the pumpe duse diesels had the cam issue, an 11 would come with the newer common rail engine. They are actually pretty reliable as long as you use quality diesel fuel and change your fuel filter when you're supposed to. They also have a ridiculously long warranty now after the dieselgate thing. All that being said, they aren't especially fuel efficient anymore after the emissions update unless you cruise on the highway for long distances, and diesel fuel is expensive in most parts of the US.

[A-Aron]

What about the air lift, air ride,, suspension helpers.
I have never tried them but liked the concept.
Pretty sure some one posted about them before?
Think they said they were like $179 on amazon?
I have not had mine hitting bump stops but have thought about a set just in in case.
Pretty sure you just install them and inflate them as needed.
Maybe bags and a sway bar could cure your ride with less than 400$ investment.
Personally I run a manual so I have no suggestions for the cvt.
But, better gas, and don't carry extra weight in the car can help acceleration.
Ps, anyone running the air bags in your mirage,I would be interested in your experience with them.