Also a salvage title isn't necessarily a bad thing. It can mean a major discount for minor structural damage that you would never even know about. Lots of folks get a salvaged title checked out and the car is fine and they thousands knocked off the price.
It sure isn't a good thing.
$4900 might be a reasonable retail price for that car if it had a clean title. With a salvage title that is more like a $3500 car. The problem with most salvage title Mirages I see is that often they are priced at/near retail prices...like this one.
You seem to be attracted to vehicles which have the potential to become a money pit.
If you are willing to travel you can buy a brand new Mirage for $10,000. That car will come with more features, a 10 year/100K mile powertrain warranty and a 5 year/60K mile bumper to bumper warranty. I would do that before I would spend $7000 on a 13 year old hybrid vehicle of any kind.
Last edited by Top_Fuel; 06-10-2020 at 01:27 PM.
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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)
I looked within 200 miles of my zipcode and the cheapest Mirage is gonna be around $13k out the door, which is much more than what I’m looking to spend. Just curious, do you think the reason there are less complaints about the Mirage’s CVT is because there are less vehicles bought? The Versa is a very high selling car so that increases the number of complaints, and don’t Nissan and Mitsubishi use the same manufacturer for CVTs? I found this article about Mitsubishi recalling 80,000 vehicles with CVT issues https://www.cnet.com/roadshow/news/mitsubishi-recalls-80000-vehicles-for-cvt-issues/
Last edited by newtomit; 06-10-2020 at 03:27 PM.
Ok. So I contacted the dealership about the salvage and they said they have the title and it’s clean and those other sites sometimes show salvage to basically trick people into paying for a report. Can a title be clean if the car was a salvage?
Meh, that's really not relevant to the Mirage. Other than some switches and relays, they don't share drivetrains with Lancer or outlanders.. The Cvt in the Mirage is built by Jatco and used in some Nissans, and was used in the Chevy Spark as well as some other models used over seas.
There might be more Nissan complaints because there are more of them? We have a bunch of 15-18 nv200's that have been fine so far. Different model cvt than the Mirage but I'm sure it's a Jatco. But Nissans I work on are poorly assembled compared to the Mitusbishi, which isn't saying much. Other models may be better? There isn't a lot to go wrong with the Mirage. I've never replaced an alternator, ac compressor, water pump. Not a single car leaks oil or coolant. Other than the occasional cvt problem these are pretty bullet proof. Out of the entire fleet I've only changed one tie rod end otherwise haven't had to replace any suspension or steering components other than ones that were crashed. And those ones are easy to fix. The entire rad support unbolts. Everything is simple to work on.
I don't know about how salvage titles work down there. Might vary state to state? Up here if a car is crashed and written off it's deemed "salvage" (repairable) and cannot be driven on the road until it is repaired and inspected. Then once that's done it is given a "rebuilt" status that shows on the registration(title) and it can then be used on the road again.
If a car is damaged to the point of not being feasible repaired it's deemed "non-repairable" which is pretty self explanatory. They changed the terms here about 10 years ago just to confuse people. The term Salvage used to mean non repairable in Alberta at least.
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View my fuel log 2014 Mirage SE wussie cvt edition. 1.2 automatic: 37.7 mpg (US) ... 16.0 km/L ... 6.2 L/100 km ... 45.3 mpg (Imp)
Take your time. Find a good, gently-used Mirage auto with 1 owner and low miles. Might take a bit of time, but I would stay away from a 3 year old car with 4 owners, and two different stories about salvage title lol.
In the USA there is a big used car market, you should be able to find something pretty good. Don't settle for something with a lot of question-ables.
For example look at Subcompact culture's Mirage for sale: https://mirageforum.com/forum/showth...ge-Portland-OR
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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)
Eggman (06-10-2020)
You can't fake a clean title in Wisconsin. Can't speak for other states.
If your dad (mechanic) is willing to look over the car with you, it may be worth the trip. Keep in mind - you are past any factory warranty with a 2014 Mirage. That doesn't mean the car will have issues.
I would be more drawn to buying from a private party (one owner) who can share the up keep on the car. A rental, plus 3 different owners would be a bit of a concern for me. That doesn't mean the car has been abused, but it could have been.
I looked at cars.com in the L.A. area, & used Mirages are higher priced than the midwest area. I did see a 2017 Mirage with 28,000 miles for under $7000. The appeal of a car like that is 32,000 mile &/or 2-years are left on the bumper-to-bumper warranty. If your Mirage had an issue, you have some factory warranty left to correct that. Overall, these cars have few issues.
I wouldn't rule out an older Civics/Corollas if I were trying to stay under a certain price range. I prefer a small hatchback for my daily driver, but if I had to drive a lot of interstate highway driving I may consider a more substantial car.
As far as being affordable, reliable, & economical goes, the Mirage is really hard to beat. Those Mirages that are under $10,000 in Minnesota are ES manuals, too. I bought my Mirage from that dealership, and I could get a new one for under $10,000 today. That's not the car you are looking for, however. You need to do what is best for you. Cars are money pits, not investments. You are asking great questions! I wish I had your wisdom to do that at your age!
Fummins (06-10-2020)