I found a very nice 2004 Mitsubishi Montero Sport LS 4x2 for sale a few miles out of town. It has 201,000 miles and an asking price of $5000. The two previous owners kept up with maintenance according to Carfax, the dealer also recently replaced brakes, and it’s surprisingly clean for a vehicle that’s been exposed to heavily salted winters. The owners must not have driven it during the winter time.
Looks almost brand new underneath with minimal amounts of rust, only the last few inches of the rear frame is a concern but it’s nothing that can’t be repaired. There’s a couple spots of rust on the body, most of it is on the lower driver’s side fender near the door, it has a rust bubble barely coming through the paint. Overall not bad for something that is 21-years-old with 200k miles.
It does need some more parts to have it run right, just like any other used vehicle. The rear springs/shocks are probably bad because the car sits down when accelerating, and there was a little bit of a shake in the steering wheel. Seeing how it’s been discontinued for nearly 20 years, the availability of replacement parts might be in short supply. I’m a little hesitant on buying because of that reason. If this was a 4Runner in the same condition for example, I would probably take it home today, no questions asked.
With that in mind, I think it’s a decent vehicle for what it’s worth. I like a straightforward car and the Montero does just that. The reason why I wanted to buy this is because I need a midsize truck or smaller SUV for both moving people and hauling the occasional home improvement project, and because it’s kind of unique in the wave of SUVs that flood US streets. You don’t see many Monteros around here.
What I don’t know is what kind of misery and woe I can expect from one of these. While browsing the Internet, people who’ve left reviews and opinions in recent years on forums and car-related websites have spoken highly about it’s good reliability and their enjoyment of one both internationally and in the US.
Let me know your thoughts and thanks for your replies.
I say Pass on this . It is 21 years old and Mitsubishi may not be in the US market much longer if that is where you are. Like ice bergs you only see a small portion of the rust .
They actually a decent (for Mitsubishi) year in 2024, but their sale figures have been very weak, for quite a few years. At this point, the only vehicles that they sell in The US are re-styled old designs that are no longer competitive, and they also sell re-styled Nissan products with a Mitsu badge.
If I wanted to buy a Mitsu at this point, I would have a fairly long drive because there are so few of their dealerships left in this area. There are dealers for Mercedes, BMW, Range Rover, and even Bentley closer to my town than any Mitsu dealerships.
Unless Mitsubishi can come up with some new–competitive–designs I don’t think that they can remain in the US marketplace for too many more years.
I’d have to agree to that which I also forgot to consider. There’s an area in the next town over that has a lot of dealerships, you can find every brand in that strip.
Most of these dealerships are fairly large, especially the Dodge dealer, but the Mitsubishi dealership is smaller than the average Arby’s or Dollar General parking lot. It doesn’t even have a service center, or a lot of people looking at Mitsubishi cars.
Of course, I’m sure independent shops can help with the lack of dealership service centers.
Mitsubishi’s hope of joining in the proposed Nissan-Honda merger went bust not very long ago. Reportedly, Honda rejected the deal because they were only interested in working with Nissan. The addition of Mitsubishi to the proposal reportedly ended the possibility of merger.
This is at a small dealership, so I don’t think they would be keen to lower the price that far. It’s definitely overpriced since currently the fair price on KBB is between $2-4k, but I don’t mind overpaying a little for a cleaner car and fresh brakes.
It also came with two additional wheels in the trunk that had a decent amount of tread left. Don’t know if they roll any good but there’s at least two spare rims.
I meant to type out that there was two additional wheels in the cargo space but did not get that written down. I’ll edit that to help clarify for future readers.
You lost me at “201,000 miles and an asking price of $5000” for a 21-year old vehicle that’s not a Toyota. And you lost me for even half the price when you mentioned “a couple spots of rust on the body” and “the rear springs/shocks are probably bad” and “there was a little bit of shake in the steering wheel”. Not just no, but heck no!
The seller is asking top-dollar for this worn-out POS. If you want this vehicle, I would offer $1800, and be prepared to go as high as $2000, and not a penny more. If the seller “knows what he’s got” and won’t accept the voice of reason, keep looking.
I don’t see the point of getting a 2 wheel drive SUV if they salt the roads where you live. It has over 200,000 miles, needs suspension work and if the dealer “did” the brakes you probably got what they call a pad slam, no rotors or hardware replaced.This is not a car in premium condition and should not fetch the bluebook price.
Your money and your choice, but you asked for opinions and that is mine.
I am very curious to see if you buy this vehicle because I too have an odd affinity for the make and leased a 94 Gallant, a great handling car but the next year the replaced the double wishbone with a strut suspension. I saw a Diamante wagon in British racing green that was the best looking wagon I had ever seen. But alas, the makers of the Zero have fallen on hard times.
The rust is bleeding through the paint and is much worse inside the panels. At half the asking price it’s overpriced IMO.
It’s likely that the Mitsubishi dealership shares a service shop with other brands in the owner’s dealer network. This is a question you can ask them if you find a vehicle worth buying from them in the future.
It doesn’t matter if it’s rear, front, all wheel, 4x4, 6x6, or tracked, I’ve seen enough snow storms to make the daily commute in just about any car with or without snow tires.
Although, you make a fair point. At the price of this Mitsubishi I could find another vehicle that has 4x4 in similar condition or with less miles or better value. There is a pretty big market out there with the features I’m looking for.
Yes, the A6M Zero was a beautiful plane. I’d like to add that the Zero was made by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which is completely different from Mitsubishi Auto. It’s too bad that Mitsubishi just can’t stay afloat in the US with more interesting cars, especially after that Eclipse Cross nonsense.
There is an Acura dealer next door. Guess I didn’t consider the people who own the building might not want to have a service shop there or build one if there is another one a few feet away.
It’s not just in The US. Back in the early 2000s, the government in Japan discovered that Mitsubishi had been systematically concealing major defects in their vehicles, and–even worse–was denying valid warranty claims on defective engines and transmissions.
In Japan, one of the worst things that a person or a company can do is to act dishonorably. The result was that their sales cratered in their home country, along with their stock price.
Jeez, my 8yr old mitsu broke down. Ya’d think a newer car would be dependable. Hmm, my 21 yr old mitsu broke down. No one has parts for it or knows how to fix it. Who knew?
