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Thread: Thanks all!! Almost a Mirage owner

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    Thanks all!! Almost a Mirage owner

    My insurance agent closed at 5PM. I can't legally drive it w/out insurance. I'll get it tomorrow, barring something majorly unforeseen.

    I didn't get the trade value I wanted for my car. I lost my wazoo on that puppy. Nice car, but terrible MPG. That's all on me though. I was going to rent one for a day. That was a great idea. Instead I did the test drive. Driving into the dealership, fuel was $2.72. By time I took it for a test drive, $2.99. I can't say that didn't make a difference in my thought process.

    I loved the comfort right when I sat in it. I knew if it drove even halfway decent I was getting it. Skinny tires. Yipes!! LOL!! I almost put the thing on 2 wheels when making a turn. I'll adjust for that.

    Got the 5 speed. $13,500 for the car. $3,000 for trade. Ouch. Paid $5300 for that about 2 months ago. Ah well. The savings in this should recoup that.

    Thanks again for the help, videos, suggestions, etc. This forum played a nice part in me buying it. Otherwise the trade in value of my car would have been a sticking point.



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

    Fummins (05-04-2021),inuvik (05-03-2021),Top_Fuel (05-04-2021)

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    Moderator inuvik's Avatar
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    Give us a update after driving it for a day. I bought my 2015 without a test drive other than going down the block and back because the dealer insisted I drive it before I signed lol. I wanted a inexpensive econobox that was reliable and economical. The Mirage delivers on both fronts. I'm almost at 100000 miles / 160000 km's with 1 set of front brakes, couple of headlight bulbs, 2 sets of tires, 2 front end alignments, oil changes and air / cabin filter changes, wipers and of course guzzoline. That's it over the course of 6 years. Who cares what everyone else thinks, I'm laughing all the way to bank as I keep my money in my pocket and not have a $600 a month car payment for a vehicle that gets 20-30 mpg's.
    Last edited by inuvik; 05-04-2021 at 12:05 AM. Reason: Additional info

        __________________________________________

        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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    Alex1a1f (05-04-2021)

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    The sales process was an experience. The first place I talked to, the manager called me and said "you want 3-3500 for your trade?" The way he said it, after I had told the sales guy (he was fine) that I was hoping to get $4500 for it- it was an odd conversation. I didn't hear from em for 2 hours, so I thought they blew me off.

    I went to another place, which was in my town- and bought. I told em about the first place. I found out they're sister dealerships. When the manager of place 2 asked me what went on, I kinda felt like I was getting someone in trouble. Then the guy calls and says they'll give me $4500 for the trade, and the total was about $300 less than the one I bought. I think they just move numbers around. It almost makes me think place 2 called place 1 and said lets mess w/ this guy.

    Anyway- buying locally is probably better. The dealership is right on my way to work. They close at 6, which is when I need to leave. They said to bring it in by 5- walk in, no appointment- for oil changes. I think I get 3 free from the dealership and then whatever Mitsubishi adds. After that I'll change my own.

    The pep is more than I expected. It's more than my mini van. Less than my Fusion. A bit less maybe than my HHR. All in all not bad. I was expecting a lot worse. Sticks are more fun to drive. Ya catch more green lights that with em. Ya can slow down w/out hitting the brakes, so ya can kind of cruise into those at 20MPH or what have ya. You can do the same thing on an automatic, but it's not as convenient.

    If I'm able to average 40MPG, and have it be as reliable as yours is, I'll be a happy camper. Anything over 40MPG is gravy. When I fill up, I'll figure out the MPG, then figure out how much fuel I would have bought had I gotten 20MPG. The difference will go into a little savings account. So if I go 320 miles, and put 8 gallons in, I'll put $24 ($3 gallon X 8 gallons) in the Mirage Piggy Bank.

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    The first 2 things you should get done (in my opinion)...

    1) Find a local Krown dealer and spend $150 to get your car treated. Can these cars get rusty? Click HERE for the answer

    2) Find a place that will do a 4-wheel alignment check for free. The front ends of these cars are not aligned very well from the factory, and the rear axle can have a potentially bad alignment that can eat tires. Don't assume the car has a good alignment because it's brand new. Spend a few minutes now to find out. With the amount you will be driving, you could end up needing new tires before the end of the year if you have an alignment problem.

        __________________________________________

        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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    Danny (05-22-2021)

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    Senior Member Dirk Diggler's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Top_Fuel View Post
    The first 2 things you should get done (in my opinion)...

    1) Find a local Krown dealer and spend $150 to get your car treated. Can these cars get rusty? Click HERE for the answer

    2) Find a place that will do a 4-wheel alignment check for free. The front ends of these cars are not aligned very well from the factory, and the rear axle can have a potentially bad alignment that can eat tires. Don't assume the car has a good alignment because it's brand new. Spend a few minutes now to find out. With the amount you will be driving, you could end up needing new tires before the end of the year if you have an alignment problem.
    It could just be barely out of spec though and acceptable. You taught me that, Top Fuel, after looking at my alignment sheet. Yours is slightly out of spec too IIRC?

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    Senior Member Top_Fuel's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dirk Diggler View Post
    Yours is slightly out of spec too IIRC?
    I had my alignment checked (for free) before my car had 700 miles on it. The front end toe was out of whack. The dealer aligned it for free under warranty. If I didn't have the alignment checked/corrected when my car was new, I probably would have been one of those guys on this forum complaining because their original tires only lasted 15,000 miles.


    It could just be barely out of spec though and acceptable.
    Your rear axle can probably be slightly out of spec and you can live with it (as long as you rotate your tires consistently). My rear axle is within spec (not by much) and my original tires lasted 90,000 miles. But that's another story.

        __________________________________________

        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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    Dirk Diggler (05-04-2021)

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    Thanks!!! I called the Krown folks. They're appointment only on Mondays. Basically drop it off Sunday night and it will be ready by Monday afternoon. That part was simple. I'll have to do that next week.

    The alignment thing- Yowza!!! Thank you!! I set up an appointment with an independent shop for tomorrow to check it out. Then I thought maybe it might be better to get things taken care of BEFORE it left the lot. If I buy it, but come back tomorrow after it's been in my possession, there may be a different mindset towards me.

    I was going to go to the dealership and bring it up. Instead I decided to call. I felt a bit awkward, like maybe I was putting it in their head I was going to be a problem customer. Plus, I didn't really want to sit around a dealership for a few hours while this got figured out.

    Anyway, she was agreeable to having them check it out. I was pretty specific in that it had to be checked by the machine. That it was the rear axle that the line of cars had problems with. They have 2 on their lot. If one has an issue, I'll just buy the other one. If both have issues, they're going to have to replace the axle before I'd feel comfortable taking it off the lot.

    Dang guy, huge help here. Thanks again.

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    It will be interesting to see if this is still a ongoing problem. This was a pretty significant issue for the '14's & '15's but since '17 onward it has been far less of a issue. Let us know the results!

        __________________________________________

        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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    Danny - Was it a Fusion you were trading in? Just curious. My parents had one, now it is my sister's. My dad would get in the upper 20's with it. My sister will probably get about 3 mpg with it.

    Skinny tires - Yes. They are skinny. I've fallen in love with the skinny tires ... because they're skinny to serve a purpose (or multiple purposes). Skinny tires bleed off less energy, they are lighter, and they're generally less expensive. I like things done purposefully, which makes me respect the car, even with the skinny little tires. I actually like the way they look now. They look effective / efficient.

    I wouldn't beat yourself up too bad on the $5,300 - $3,000 difference. People blow A LOT MORE MONEY THAN THAT, on cars every hour of every day.

    I think you made a wise decision going with the 5 speed. I'm enjoying learning the car. What I've learned is that no other car has rewarded me for low rpms (I shift at 3,000 rpm if in no hurry) as effectively as this car does. Even on around town errands I can get the display to read 50 mpg. Of course it has error. A 50 mpg reading is approximately 46 mpg. It's fun to try to hit 50+ mpg on the display. And you're right. Everything above 40 mpg is gravy.

        __________________________________________

        click to view fuel log View my fuel log 2020 Mirage ES 1.2 manual: 42.4 mpg (US) ... 18.0 km/L ... 5.6 L/100 km ... 50.9 mpg (Imp)


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    Yea, it's a Fusion- but it's the all wheel drive version. I checked the MPG and it said 23/32. That would have been fine. That wasn't for the all wheel drive though. I figured all wheel drive would take a mile or so per gallon off. Oops.

    Now I'm concerned about the rear axle of the Mirage. I'm not great at negotiating. I'm one of those who when they give a price, I basically say "yea, sure." Or I just say no thanks and walk. I don't haggle a whole lot. I don't want to have to get tires every 10k miles. It's easier to do this before I buy the car.

    I had no clue about the axle issues. I've read a fair amount on this forum- at least as much as ya can in a few days. I thought I knew the car pretty well. I guess maybe not.

    ---- pause--- They just called while I was writing this reply. She said they hoisted it up, did the check, and everything was good. I asked for a print out. I want to keep immaculate records. I'm putting about 1k miles/week on this puppy. In 4 years it will have 200k. It will be nice to show I've kept my car in tip top shape.

    I'm off to go buy it!!



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    inuvik (05-04-2021)

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