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Thread: New Member from the Cold North

  1. #1
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    New Member from the Cold North

    The wife and I picked up this little car last April 2019 for our son to learn how to drive a manual and be his first car.

    Here's how we acquired it:

    We went to go and pick up a rebuilt status Micra a province away. When we saw it, we backed out of the deal and left. We had a 12hr drive home so my wife started to look at something else we could pick up on our way home. We found this gem and called the owner. It is a 2018 ES Mirage Manual. It had 4100km on it and it had a rebuilt status. The price was right so we told the owner that we will come by and see it the following day. We re-routed our trip to go and see this little car. We didn't hold our breath because of how the Micra looked.

    We pulled up to the house and it was sitting on the driveway. It looked great. I couldn't figure out what was wrong. The owner came out and unlocked the car. It still had the protective sticker on the center screen and airbag placard. He showed me the damage and it was minor. Front bumper, front fender was replaced and there was still slight damage on the drivers door. The car had full 3m installed except for the front bumper and the fender. We took it for a drive. It was slow compared to everything else I have ever driven (that includes golf carts LOL) but in perfect condition. Had a back up camera which is pretty sweet for a little car like this. He wanted 5800 for it. He took 5200 for it and we loaded it up on our trailer and took it home.

    We cleaned it up and vacuumed it out and presented it to my son. He was super happy. I ended up daily driving the car back and forth to work for over a year now. I have put on over 15000km. This thing is a blast to drive as compared to my 16 Ram 3500 Diesel. Even with the added insurance, I'm saving money on daily driving this. I was a bit worried for winter because it gets cold here. I bought winter tires and this thing was awesome. No issues what so ever.

    Knowing I was going to drive it, I installed a car starter and auto door locks. Its a bit more complicated than one might think. Because the car came with manual locks, I had to find a VIN for a more optioned car with auto door locks. I purchases all 5 actuators from Mitsubishi and had my car installer install them. Now I have command start and power door locks. That makes it a lot easier to lock and unlock the car especially when going to the store.

    I also bought a set of 15" Enkei wheels with 195 tires. I soon realized I had to roll the rear fenders so that it didn't rub. Reading these forums I expected that so I rolled them. Car looked great but then the fender gap was getting to me. Sooooo, I order a set of RSR Springs from Japan. My son and I installed them and the car looks fantastic. It handles way better and the car is less bouncy. Anyways. Onto the pics.

    R.K.


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  2. The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Radride For This Useful Post:

    dspace9 (04-25-2020),inuvik (04-26-2020),Top_Fuel (04-26-2020)

  3. #2
    Senior Member dspace9's Avatar
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    Those rims look great.. nice looking Mirage. Sits nice with the new springs.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.2 mpg (US) ... 17.9 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.7 mpg (Imp)


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    Awesome first post! It's always fun to read how others acquired their Mirages.

    I've said this many times - A Mirage is not a car that impresses you during a test drive. It's more of an acquired taste & pretty soon just find yourself liking the darn thing. It's especially a great second car or daily driver that may save some wear & tear on something else you may have parked in your garage.

    When you get a great deal on one like you did, I think it makes the car even more enjoyable. Even though it had a rebuilt title, you got a heck of a deal on a Mirage with only 4,100 km.

    From everything I have read on wheels/tires, anything wider than 185 may have some rubbing issues on a Mirage. Sounds like you may have suspected ahead of time. It's good to hear your suspension modifications have a positive impact on handling. All good stuff!!!

    Once again, great first post!

  5. The Following User Says Thank You to Mark For This Useful Post:

    MetroMPG (04-28-2020)

  6. #4
    Moderator Eggman's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Radride View Post
    The wife and I picked up this little car last April 2019 for our son to learn how to drive a manual and be his first car.
    Hello Radride and welcome to the forum. Thanks for sharing your Mirage and how you got it - looks great.

    I hope you make a forum Garage entry:
    Garage empty: add car

        __________________________________________

        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)


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    Senior Member ed100's Avatar
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    Looks great!

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2014 Mirage DE 1.2 manual: 43.1 mpg (US) ... 18.3 km/L ... 5.5 L/100 km ... 51.8 mpg (Imp)


  8. #6
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    Thanks guys. The only thing I wish the car had besides AC (which isn't a big deal because you get pretty good air flow with the windows down) is defrost on the side mirrors. I park in a heated parkade and when I pull in, the side mirrors fog up and its a pain to see out of them when you're trying to back into your stall.

    R.K.

  9. #7
    Welcome to the group, Radride!

    Glad you're enjoying your car. That's an amazing deal, rebuilt status or not.

    FYI, you can retrofit heated side mirrors. See
    Thread: DIY: Heated Outside Mirrors Retrofit

        __________________________________________

        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)


  10. #8
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    I've read that thread before and people are saying that those wires don't exist on the ES models.

    R.K.



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