Looks like the dealers around here didn’t get the word. The cheapest listing for a DS model is still $15,550. I see some for $9990, but they are 200 miles away.
Interesting… Are you in the US? This is a US rebate for everyone who buys these.
I guess I was lucky to get the EXACT color and transmission options that I wanted. I got the red base model DE with the manual. The CVT is strange to drive but am sure you would get used to it.
I have actually heard that the CVT isn’t unreliable in these. The deal is that it is made for much more powerful cars so the amount of power/torque from this little engine is way below what it can handle. That being said, they are not considered rebuildable but supposedly easy to replace. I am sure if this went out on one 10 years old or more, the car would be considered scrap or for parts.
I am glad someone here went ahead and test drove one. You see this isn’t a Lexus or BMW but by no means a bad car, especially for this price. People who have had them and put lots of miles on them say they hold up quite well. This may be the cheapest car around but by no means made like a Yugo.
Check here to see if there is a rebate in your area. It is for the 2015 model only.
http://www.edmunds.com/mitsubishi/mirage/2015/car-incentives.html
My local dealer has rebates on all 2015 Mitsubishi vehicles except the Evo and 2/3rds of the inventory is left over 2015s.
@“Ed Frugal” Other that new car smell and better fuel economy; what does a new Mirage offer over, say an off-lease Fit, Corolla, or Elantra?
How about the best new car warranty in the industry? I know most have “certified pre-owned” but that warranty likely isn’t as good. Also, I am not aware but do any of these other cars still offer a manual?
Hyundai and Kia’s warranty matches Mitsubishi’s. And yes all the cars I mentioned can be had with a manual
There are a few other parts of the warranty such as rust through or paint that actually are better than Hyundai/Kia. Everything else is the same.
Acura’s 50K bumper to bumper and 70K power train is nothing to sneeze at, and my Pontiac had a 100K power train.
That is funny. Acura is a premium/luxury brand for Honda. Sure, the warranty is good but that is odd that the cheapest car on the market has a warranty that beats it.
As for the rebates, most cars have rebates at the end of the model year. It is just that the Mirage has a REALLY good one, even compared to the other Mitsubishis.
The end of the model year sale was 9 months ago for the rest of the car industry.
“That is funny. Acura is a premium/luxury brand for Honda. Sure, the warranty is good but that is odd that the cheapest car on the market has a warranty that beats it.”
But at the end of the day, the other guy is driving an Acura, and you’re driving a Mitsubishi
Kind of like owning a house in a bad part of town, but you have betterhome insurance than a guy that owns a house in a very desirable and expensive part of town
I saw the TV commercial for the Outlander. Very bizarre. I wonder just who the target market is? I’m sorry, but the commercial did nothing for me.
Not that I put much stock in it but the Mirage was #6 on the list of 15 cars to avoid at all costs. I’m happy if you’re happy though, it just wouldn’t be for most people.
Each car has its special target buyer. I am pretty frugal but watching a new Mirage on my daily commute is a bit scary. Most of the cars are semi trucks and the Mitsu gets lost in the middle. I would be comfortable driving it in the city though.
As far as the warranty, I would rather have a car that doesn’t need it used. Most of the time, when I have had warranty coverage and go in for a specific complaint, the dealer can not “reproduce” the issue even when I take them for a ride and point the exact problem out to the tech.
I buy my cars based on value, reliability and comfort. Warranty coverage is unimportant on a reliable vehicle. All of my Hondas, Toyotas, and Mazdas have needed almost nothing but maintenance in the first 100,000 miles.
Warranty claims are a crap shoot. I have friends who have brought in cars under warranty for repair and their claims have been denied for all sorts of nonsensical reasons. I was with my friend in college when a Dodge dealer tried to deny a warranty claim on a repair to fix an oil cooler that fell off of his Dodge Daytona. The bolts holding it rusted out or came loose and it fell to the ground resulting in over $500 in repairs. The dealer claimed it was due to owner neglect. How do you neglect the bolts on an oil cooler? Luckily I was there at the time and asked for the service manager whom I proceeded to lecture sternly on the B.S. they were trying to pull. Needless to say, the dealer changed their tune and fixed it under warranty.
The problem is often that the “warranty reimbursement” is less than what the dealer can charge the vehicle owner. This creates an environment in which the dealer seeks to skirt the warranty and bill the customer directly.
@cwatkin Perhaps Mitsubishi feels they need an exceptional warranty in order to attract buyers, Toyota, Honda/Acura, etc. have built a reputation for great reliability. Or possibly Mitsubishi is aware that their vehicles don’t stack up that favorably against the competition and needed to offer something that would help their offerings stand out. Having a longer warranty is an easy way to do it, there’s zero R&D costs, and on a per car basis, it’s relatively cheap to implement.
I guess that is true. Mitsubishi has the same warranty on all cars. Some might be better than others but there have been very few issues so far with the Mirage so that is good news for me.
I know some of their past models were pretty bad but the owner reviews of this one were good although the professional ones weren’t.
On March 19, 1985, in attempt to boost moribund sales figures, American Motors extended their warranty coverage to the now-common 5 years/50k miles. However, this Hail Mary Pass failed to do the trick, and the ever-weaker company was acquired by Chrysler less than 2 years later.
Similarly, International Harvester introduced a 100k warranty on their Scout vehicles a few months before they went under.
While I hope that Mitsubishi’s prospects improve, based on past history, I think that their warranty coverage is a sign of a deeply troubled company that is trying extreme measures in order to survive in a highly competitive marketplace while being saddled with a very small line of uncompetitive vehicles.
How about Kia/Hyundai? They make good cars and have a long warranty.