Hi, advice on 2014 ES out of state

[Basic]

I just skimmed through this thread, and I cant believe I am telling you to do this as I always hoped I would end up with this car, but I think you need to look up the member on here named Loren and see if he is interested in selling his Mirage. He threatens to all the time, and he is in FLA. Plus it has all kinds of goodies...

[MetroMPG]

Ooo - good idea.

[MetroMPG]

Better yet! I'll sell you mine for only $5000 Canadian pesos! And it has cruise control. Come get it!

[Casey]

I just skimmed through this thread, and I cant believe I am telling you to do this as I always hoped I would end up with this car, but I think you need to look up the member on here named Loren and see if he is interested in selling his Mirage. He threatens to all the time, and he is in FLA. Plus it has all kinds of goodies...

That is a lot of goodies. I had to Google Autocross.

[Casey]

Better yet! I'll sell you mine for only $5000 Canadian pesos! And it has cruise control. Come get it!

My wife's family is from Parry Sound, Ontario. I don't know the exchange rate on pesos though haha

[MetroMPG]

Hey, I have an aunt & uncle with a cottage close to there. Beautiful part of the province!

It'd be around $4100 USD. I don't know anything about importing a car from Canada to the US, though. Probably a big headache.

[Top_Fuel]

It's a DE but the history looks really good and the dealer says it is pretty mint. He said I can walk out with tag, tax and title for $6300.

It looks pretty clean in the photos. It's got Mirage accessory floor mats and those body colored "mud guards" were an extra cost accessory item, too. The original owner must have wanted to preserve the car.

Let me throw out a few random observations from the CarFax report. I'm going to be a critical SOB here so don't be offended. I don't trust used car dealers so don't let your guard down with these guys...


#1:

The heater core was replaced in March 2018 at 32,000 miles. Not a huge concern. It wasn't common but a few Mirages back then had heater core leaks. This was a $1,000+ repair likely done under warranty. I actually see this as a good thing.

"Coastal Hyundai" is also "Coastal Mitsubishi." Whenever I see that Hyundai dealership on the CarFax, I assume it was the Mitsubishi dealer doing the work. That's good...I assume some things listed on the CarFax were warranty related.


#2:

This car had 2 alignments done within 18 months...

04/14/2017 18,093 Dealer alignment
08/03/2018 36,891 Dealer alignment

I'm not saying that means there's a problem. It's just something to keep in the back of your mind. Most Mirage owners are too cheap to pay for 1 alignment...but this guy paid for 2? When you test drive this thing, make sure it goes straight down the road if you take your hands off the steering wheel. If it needs constant steering correction to keep it going straight ahead, something may be up.


#3:

The car hasn't been titled by its current owner. The second owner traded it in to a Toyota dealer in February and they sold it on 3/16/2021. But nobody has titled it since then. I'm not saying that's a problem...but it tells me that a dealer/wholesaler (the guy selling it now?) probably bought it from the Toyota dealer. Doesn't mean anything bad...but I wonder what the story is there.


#4:

The selling dealer has a couple of bad Google reviews that don't sound very good. I can't find a licensed used car dealer listed as CFA Motor in Florida. Is CFA a curbstoner or operating without a dealer license? CFA Motor looks like it might be in an part of town where there are a lot of low-rent car repair/used car dealers. Not saying that means something is wrong. Just throwing it out there. It's Florida so you can't trust anybody. At least that's what my in-laws tell me who live there.


If you go check it out, be sure to report back. Good luck!

[Eggman]

My wife's family is from Parry Sound, Ontario.

Hey, I have an aunt & uncle with a cottage close to there. Beautiful part of the province!

Just looked this up - looks very scenic & beautiful from an online map. Are there any good campgrounds in the area?

[Casey]

I got it!

Top_Fuel. No offense and thanks for all the information! I had never heard the term "curbstoner." I think he was a legit dealer. If not, he was certainly compliant with all the state paperwork. He said he bought it at auction. I think he also said he didn't realize it was a manual when he bought it.

The car is very good condition. There is a light stain on the passenger seat, the finish on the spoiler shows some weather and it is going to need new tires before long. Dunlap tires on the rear and Federal tires on the front. They have okay tread all around with the rear tires being more worn. But the wear is perfectly even. The rear tires also have a little dry rot cracks like they are older. The car tracked perfectly straight down the road and drove smoothly.

Otherwise it looks great. No scratches or bad paint, engine compartment looks nearly like a new car. It got a new battery along the way. Underneath the motor and frame looked fine. Interior very clean. Fluids all looked clean. Window sticker indicated it had an oil change within past 1000 miles or so. But the wrench icon wasn't reset on dash.

Driving review:
I think the car is great! Compared to the other two vehicles I regularly drive (worn out 86 S-10 truck and 107' ladder truck for the fire department), this thing is like a luxury vehicle. Like I heard someone else say, the complaints from the online professional reviews are really first world problems. Road noise a little loud on older highway surfaces, but heck, I am used to driving with the windows down so this was a treat with AC.

It is hot as hades in Florida this week and I ran the AC at a comfortable 78 with medium fan. The tire low pressure light was on and dash meter said I averaged 47.5mpg on the two plus hour drive home!!!

Anyways, time will tell, but I think it is going to work out great for my commute. I enjoyed driving it and found it comfortable. Some big trucks gave me a little wind push but I never thought it felt "rolly".

I do still wish I had the cruise control, but something about the position of the seat or something made it easier on my bum leg than my truck. I'll consider adding the rostra cruise control someday. At least two new tires pretty soon and some kind of roof rack as I like to carry my surfboard/bike to work sometimes.

Thanks everyone for all of the advice and support!

[Casey]