If I thought the Mirage was going to be an "endless money pit", I would have never bought one. I plan on driving my 2017 Mirage for 10-15 years (& maybe more). I have zero concerns about part costs. Aftermarket parts exist for the Mirage. Unless they are doing warranty/recall work, a dealership would never touch my Mirage.
Here is a Mirage story of one that had 414,000 miles on it before the dealer bought it back from the original owners and sold them a new one. This Mirage had wheel bearings done around 150,000 miles and a starter replaced somewhere between 200,000-300,000 miles. Outside of general maintenance that's about it. I would assume brake work was done, but it wasn't mentioned. Here's the story (& several different automotive sources also covered it) -
https://media.mitsubishicars.com/en-...ready-for-more
Fummins takes care of a fleet of Mirages, and he is not doing expensive repairs on them. His input on this forum assured me these are dependable cars before a dealership delivered a new one to my home from 4 hours away for free.
Compare some basic aftermarket part costs (using rockauto.com as a comparison) -
2020 Toyota Yaris
wheel bearing/hub = $100.79 Centric brand/1 other part choice in stock - no wheel bearings alone offered
front disc brake pads = $14.81 - $32.89/ 22 different choices in stock
A/C compressor = $385.99 Four Seasons (only choice in stock)
Radiator = $80.79 - $118.79/2 choices in-stock
starter = $74.79-167.79 (4 in-stock to pick from)
2020 Mitsubishi Mirage
wheel bearing = $21.99 Quality Built (front)/$33.79 NSK (rear)
front disc brake pads = $13.28 - $28.79/19 different choices in stock
A/C compressor = $382.79 Four Seasons (only choice in stock)
Radiator = $63.79 - $91.79/4 choices in-stock
starter = $152.79 (after $34 exchange credit)/3 other choices are currently out-of-stock
I see nothing here that's alarming. Keep in mind the Mitsubishi Mirage is still be sold in the North America & has a much better warranty. The Toyota Yaris has been dropped from our market.
The Mitsubishi Mirage hasn't changed much since its introduction here. The 2017+ Mirages especially haven't changed much at all. Even the current 2021 update isn't much more than new front/rear bumpers slapped on the car. As far as parts go, that's a good thing in my mind.
I paid less than 66% window sticker for a brand Mirage in 2017. ES manuals were selling for $9000-9,500 (@ White Bear Mitsubishi) at the time. If I had qualified any of the other $500 rebates (loyalty, VIP, or military) @ the time, I would have paid less! I don't consider my Mirage to be an "endless money pit" BMW!
If I could have bought a brand new manual 4-door Yaris hatchback for under $10,000 OTD at the time, I would have consider them, too! Same goes for the 130 hp Honda Fit.
At a discounted price, the Mirage is an affordable/reliable/economical car that no one can compete with in my opinion. The Mirage will not "wow" anyone during a test drive, but its simple 3-cylinder engine sort of grows on you over time. I really like the 5-speed manual powertrain of these cars! I wish they offered a small wagon version with the same powertrain, but my Mirage compliments my older 2011 Forester very nicely (saving unnecessary wear & tear/mileage on it).