HUGE sale on the 2015 Mitsubishi Mirage

General Discussion
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@jtsanders - I’m happy for you. That’s something else I’ve learned in life; no matter how good a deal you get on something, you’ll almost immediately meet someone who got a better deal. Probably why my sister would never discuss how much she paid for anything. I swear, if I found a great used car for $20., the first person I bragged to would tell me about the car he bought for $10. … .

@cwatkin - I always kinda wanted a 3 cylinder car. (Why pay for 4 cylinders if you only need 3?) When I was in the market for a daily commuter in 1995, I knew it would either be a Geo Metro or a Ford Festiva, because those were the only 2 cars which really met my requirements. As it happened, I found a deal on a 1993 Ford Festiva first. . . $3,000 under book value at the time (so everybody pile on and tell me about the cars you got for $4,000 under book value. . /sarcasm)

So basically you’re saying its supposed to be shaky. Basically, I “like” or “agree” with you post. That’s what I need “a basic reliable car with great mileage” and I could do a lot of things with an extra $7,000 in my pocket.

For now, I’m going to watch and wait; see if the Mitsubishi dealer wants to really make me an offer I’d be a fool to pass up. Worst case scenario, I miss out on the Mirage and buy the Fit later this year, which was what I had intended to do originally anyway.

In the meantime, the Honda salesman continues to call me every day to “touch base” with me, and ask me “what he has to do” to close the sale. (Since he’s so aggressive, I won’t feel bad if he doesn’t get the sale. . . )

***Re: “what he has to do” - I told him, sell me the Fit for the price the Mitsubishi salesman quoted me on the Mirage, and I’ll sign the paper today, and he seemed to take offense. Hey, business is business, I didn’t take offense when HE offered me $250 for my Jeep, one ridiculous offer begets another ridiculous offer.

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Edit to Add: Seems rather ODD to me that the Mitsubishi salesmen (I’ve been to two dealerships) seem completely indifferent as to whether I buy their car or not. Even if they’re embarrassed by the car, if you work in commission sales, a sale is a sale, isn’t it? Or perhaps they’re confident the cars will blow out the door at those prices. . . .

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@“Ed Frugal”, I’m just giving you a hard time, pal. I did get some red hot deals. I’m sure that under the right circustances anyone else could do it too. The secret, if you can call it that, is to become aware that the situation is right and then have the money to take advantage of it.

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That is true. My GF ended up with one of these when her old car started acting up. It was the head gasket or similar so I was concerned it was going to take a turn for the worse anytime. She needed a car now. She didn’t get a bad deal but it wasn’t horrible either. Then I told the dealer to keep an eye out for any deals on these or when the 2017 model year came out. Well he called me the day this sale was announced and I jumped. So I got the better deal in this case. I told her I would have been tempted to pout a bottle of that liquid glass head gasket sealant into her radiator and seen if it held had I known this deal was coming down the line.

Now it may turn out that a few are leftover in April and the deal will get even better. I don’t regret getting this now as I got the color and options I wanted. That may not have been possible in the future.

Yes, 3 cylinder engines are just shaky as they are not inherently balanced. I guess the way they fire causes a rocking motion that is hard to dampen. The Mirage seems WAY smoother than the Metro as they at least used a weighted flywheel to try and account for this. I have heard the modern Ford options are also better balanced but have no personal experience.

There were some older Subaru Justys and Daihatsu Charades (basically same car) that were also 3 cylinders. One new owner of the Mirage commented that the odd idle was music to his ears and reminded him of the old Justy or whatever he owned. People used to “normal” engines would think someone was wrong with a 3 cylinder as they do sound quite strange compared to anything else. These odd vibrations do not seem to hurt the durability/reliability of them so that is what matters to me. As I mentioned, mine seems a lot quieter now that it is broken in.

Then there was the Chevy Sprint/Sprint Metro. This is just an older Suzuki version of what became the Geo Metro. They are still 3 cylinders but the design is different for the engine and body. These look more like a Ford Festiva.

I believe the Honda Fit goes for like TWICE the price of the Mirage! Good luck getting them to come down that much. Yes, $250 is crazy for a Jeep, even a junker! I sold a non-running rust bucket for like $1200 a few years back. You will need to sell that Jeep private party to get what it is worth as these typically hold their value. It seems when you buy a Jeep, you KNOW you are getting into a vehicle that needs money put into it to keep it running.

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“I believe the Honda Fit goes for like TWICE the price of the Mirage.”

…and a steak at Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse costs about twice the price of a steak at Outback.
The free market–along with perceived quality–determines the prevailing price of goods.

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Yes, the Mirage is NOT a Mercedes, Lexus, BMW, etc. An Outback Steakhouse steak is not the same as one from a 5 star restaurant. This is not saying Outback is a bad way to go.

If you get a Honda Fit for the price of a Mirage, then that is a GREAT DEAL!

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I would take the $250 for the Jeep if they give you the Mirage price for the Fit.

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To put things in perspective . . .

I’d rather eat a steak at Outback, versus eating a steak at Sizzler’s :fearful:

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No one ever got a bad deal on a car. Just ask them and they all got a good deal.

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So. . . let’s see, Ruth’s Chris > Outback > Sizzler*. How about Golden Corral? That’s my idea of a really good steakhouse. All the steak you want plus all the fixins, side orders, dessert, ice cream, the chocolate fountain and more for under $20 a head; less than that if you go for lunch, which I recommend because at dinnertime the atmosphere is reminiscent of a Scottish soccer riot.

Truthfully I’m not much for steak anyway. I’d prefer a nice juicy bacon double cheeseburger to a steak. Also, I really like Golden Corral for breakfast. If you get in there nice n’ early before they get real busy - - - mmmmmm boy! :yum: ('Course then I’m like a hibernating bear for the rest of the day. . . )

*Does Sizzler even still exist? I can’t remember the last time I even saw a Sizzler. :neutral:

OK, back to the topic at hand: Yeah, if the Honda salesman would sell me a Fit for the price of the Mirage he could have both my Jeep AND Festiva for no extra charge. I’d even offer to fill both of them up with aluminum cans to double their value! :tongue:

The point was, the Honda salesman kept using the catchphrase, “. . . what do I have to do to . . put you in this Fit TODAY?” So I told him. . . and that shut him up. . . for a few seconds anyway. . . . :dizzy:

I’ve got a story about Jeep Grand Cherokees, I’ll boil it down to the ‘punchline’ to keep it brief. My regular mechanic (that is the owner of the shop) told me he makes “a lot” of money off of Grand Cherokees, they’re very trouble prone, BUT, they have a large and loyal following apparently. He said the Wranglers are actually more reliable than the Grand Cherokees. He would be in a position to know based on what comes through his shop.

If I just want it gone, I’ll put a sign on it, For Sale, first $950 takes it. Important to hit that under $1,000 price point. I’ll be upfront about the known problems. For someone who likes to tinker with vehicles, it would be a good buy. Probably get another 100 - 150k out of the engine, seats are intact, no torn upholstery, just the body integrity sucks.

@Bing , " No one ever got a bad deal on a car. Just ask them and they all got a good deal. " Yeah, those are the morons folks who buy a new car on a whim - on the first visit to the first dealer. And they wake up the next morning, in debt, with a new car in the driveway, and think to themselves, what the #$%^ did I DO last night? Kind of like the guy who goes to Las Vegas on a bender and wakes up next to his new wife. . . like Sam Kinison once said, “I’m just glad she spoke English, you know what I’m sayin’?”

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@cwatkin posted, " I don’t regret getting this now as I got the color and options I wanted. That may not have been possible in the future." Yeah, I would already have to make compromises. To get a color other than white or black in a manual transmission, I’d have to upgrade to the “ES” (or was it “SE”? - I’m gettin’ old. . . ) The “ES” gets me a SIX way adjustable driver’s seat, which was nice; Cruise Control, which is something I really want, and a bunch of other stuff like foglights and alloy wheels which I don’t really care about. HOWEVER, I guess its a pretty good value for an extra $600 bucks.

Heck, I could spend twenty grand on a Toyota Corolla and only be able to get white, black, or 2 shades of gray. Bestill my fluttering heart /sarcasm.

I figure the first Mitz dealer is being a hardaxx about the manual trans because he doesn’t have any physically on his lot. Since he’d have to basically buy one in trade from another dealer to sell to me, if I were to buy one, he doesn’t actually reduce his inventory which he’s trying to clear out. Hence, I’m probably “not worth the trouble” unless I want to buy one of the CVT’s he has on his lot.

The second Mitz dealer has the same car, in purple, on his lot, but his price is $800 higher than the first dealer. His offer comes with 4 years of “free” oil changes, tire rotations, and car washes, but, I’d have to drive clear across town, including a toll road, to partake of this “benefit”.

I figured if I cast a wider net on the internet, perhaps I could find out where the first dealer was going to get that manual transmission from and go haggle directly with THAT dealer.

Fact is, if I decided to make all the compromises, take the 4 way adjustable seat, no cruise control, white or black car, I could get the Mirage DE 5 speed manual transmission for about $10,850 on-the-road, give or take $20 or so. . . The SE in Blue, with the cruise control and 6 way adjustable seat, along with all that other “stuff” would be about $11,500 give or take $20 or so. . . So that would make the Mirage 58.6% to 62.1% of the cost of the Fit. Assuming an on-the-road price of $18,500 for the Fit, which would be a tight squeeze at that, and I am assuming that a manual transmission comes along in the ensuing months. To get the Mirage for half the price of the Fit would require me getting out the door for $9,250. Unlikely.

Bear in mind that there were $1,500 in additional rebates I don’t “qualify” for. As my colleague pointed out, that means that there’s more “money on the table” if they really want to make a deal.

Oh boy, I’m a greedy little pig, ain’t I? This looks ridiculous when I put it down on paper. . . or, maybe I’m just stalling for time because I like the Fit better. . . **

@cwatkin - “Yes, 3 cylinder engines are just shaky as they are not inherently balanced. I guess the way they fire causes a rocking motion that is hard to dampen. The Mirage seems WAY smoother than the Metro. . . " " These odd vibrations do not seem to hurt the durability/reliability of them so that is what matters to me. As I mentioned, mine seems a lot quieter now that it is broken in.”

Let’s see. . . first, wow, then I’d hate to see how the Metro idles. . :open_mouth: Your words are re-assuring to me, you’'re a respected member of this forum and have no apparent reason to bullcrap me; you don’t benefit financially regardless of what I do. But, yeah, that WAS my concern, that the engine would eventually shake itself loose of the motor mounts or otherwise cause damage / premature failure. I had a hunch the 3 cylinder engine would be inherently unbalanced. . .

**Really, when the shifter on that manual trans Mirage turned out to feel “crunchy” that stopped me in my tracks. I probably would have bought (the other one, the blue one, for $800 less, unless the other dealer wanted to match / beat that price :wink: ) had the shifter felt the way I had expected it to feel. Then that Saturday I test drove a Fit with the CVT to have something to compare the Mirage to, and the Fit was just everything I expected and then some, (with the corresponding price tag of course) and so the dilemma began. . . .

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I think you should enlist, so you can get the discount.:slight_smile:

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Yes, I also like Outback steaks. We have a local steak buffet place where it is all you can eat for $10. This is about QUANTITY and not QUALITY for sure as the food is just plain nasty! All the food has been under heat lamps for hours and it dried out and bland. Call it shoe leather, not food. This place isn’t even clean and you have to always pick through the plates to find one without food dried onto them at the buffet line. I have only been twice and the second time was not by choice. Somehow the parking lot is always full of cars so people must not care. I guess there is a market for everything. I certainly view the Mirage way above something like this.

Yes, there are certain RPM ranges of the Metro where things in the car rattle. I have been known to give it a tiny bit of gas at lights to keep the idle out of the harmonic range of whatever is rattling. Yes, the Mirage idles like a Cadillac compared to the Metro!

I have no complaints about the shifter of the Mirage. It seems plenty smooth but again I have been driving a Metro and two older pickup trucks so that is what I am going off of. I have driven two other manual Mirages and they didn’t seem this way. The one my GF has is the same as mine and then I test drove the white one on the dealer lot. The was the first one I drove and don’t remember anything odd. You definitely want to be right in the slot. It seems a lot tighter than the Metro, etc. which is understandable considering it doesn’t have a ton of miles and wear on it.

I have no doubt that the Honda Fit would be a great car. Honda has always made a great car so if you are willing to spend the extra, then go for it. I have only ridden on one Yaris and it seemed like more of a tin can than my Metros. It was an older one and likely not cared for too well but I wasn’t impressed. I am sure a new one without this abuse/neglect would be nice but I certainly would have a hard time paying double the price of a Mirage for one if they were all this way. Toyota also makes a good car so suspect my one and only experience was an outlier.

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Lots of old tractor engines are 3 cylinders and have an odd idle. They of course spin at a slower RPM so it is even more noticeable. I have never heard of the vibration in 3 cylinders causing any issues. The more common issues you see in the Metro are related to neglect or lots of use but none are caused by bolts, etc. vibrating loose. Burned valves, sticky lifters, stuck rings, and rust are the biggest issues with these and none seem to relate to the vibration.

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Yeah, that’s the problem with cheap economy cars. Since they’re cheap lots of folks regard them as disposable and run them hard and don’t maintain them properly. Then when they fall apart at 110k miles folks say, “well what do you expect, its a cheap economy car!” Makes it especially difficult if you’re the one shopping for a used one, with about, oh, say, 110k miles on it. :frowning:

I am very confident if I bought a new econobox and maintain it properly I could get 20 years or 200k out of it.

Since my plan is to buy a pickup truck in 3 - 5 years from now to use as a tow vehicle, then I wouldn’t have an expensive commuter car sitting on the driveway depreciating.

Yeah, the shifter on the Mirage was also very tight, with no free play, and that is to be expected since it is brand new; my old Festiva shifts more like an old farm truck these days. . . :smiley:

I appreciate your info about the “odd idle” of 3 cylinder engines. I’m going to see if any of these Mitsubishi dealers farther out from me have any manual transmissions and perhaps take another test drive. . .

I don’t get it about your local steak buffet place. If the parking lot is always full of cars, how has the food been under heat lamps for hours? That’s key to going to places like that, go when they’re kind of busy so the food hasn’t been sitting too long. As I said, I’m not much for steak, there are certain chinese buffets I really enjoy, but right now I’m trying to lose weight.

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Yes, a few years back the depreciation on Kias and Kyundais was REALLY bad even though they had become pretty solid and reliable cars at this point. The problem was that there was the issue with people buying them because they were the cheapest cars around and not taking care of them. Many used ones were in bad shape because they were neglected, not because they were bad cars. There are people who have gotten about 500,000 miles out of a Geo Metro before any major engine work was required. I define “major” engine work as any job that requires the removal of the head to do.

The interesting thing is that you still see a fair amount of Geo Metros and Ford Festivas near where I live. People seem to keep them running pretty well. Economy cars are either bought by people who know that “economy” includes taking care of them so they last as that is cheaper in the long run or just buy them because it is all they can afford and just run them into the ground.

There is a nice Ford Festiva rally car that I see around here from time to time. It was parked in a parking lot so I got some pictures of it the other day. My GF used to own one of these and will probably want to go to the local rally next year now that she knows there is a Festiva involved. She views her Mirage as the new Festiva.

I got the new Mirage registered and titled, etc. at the DMV today. They asked me if it was a 4, 6, or 8 cylinder. I told them it was a THREE CYLINDER and they just looked at me not knowing what to do. They registered it as “Under 12 taxable horsepower” so the tags were only $21. I have never figured out why property taxes, etc. are accessed at like 10% of the actual value but that always seems to be how it is.

As for that steak place, it is just cheap low quality buffet food. I would rather eat most fast food than this place!

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speaking of Kia and Hyundai . . .

Their technical information website used to be free. You got access to EVERYTHING . . . tsb, recall, campaign, wiring diagram, shop manual, etc.

A few months ago, I noticed it wasn’t free. The website explained WHY it wasn’t free anymore. Something along the lines of “Information is a valuable commodity . . .”

Anyways, I didn’t pay to log on, as I really just wanted to browse

Clearly, they have a solid reputation now and are no longer giving anything away

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This dealer in Everett WA shows 60+ mirages, about $9,500 for a manual transmission DE with a decent selection of colors. The “retail” price they show is what a Honda Fit lists for more or less
http://www.harrismitsubishinw.com/search/new-mitsubishi-mirage/tp-mk43-md646/

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I avoid buffets as a rule ,if you watch the patrons,you will know why (watch the kids around the chocolate fountain and the old people rubbing their noses and handling the ladles,when you go in 20 minutes after opening and the food looks like its been there for 4 hrs).
Dang tempting on the Mirages ,guarantee there none that cheap around here,sorta local dealer wont list his car prices on the internet {not a mitsu dealer }(Overheard a salesman say onetime [different dealer ]"we are not giving cars away "

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No business is in business to give anything away but some certainly like to advertise to make you think they are. I know there are certainly customers that expect something for nothing as I deal with them all the time. You simply charge a small fee upfront before any job and that gets rid of them. I don’t charge the fee to get rich but to run off the problem people that free estimates attracts. I have talked to many local businesses about this while doing work and the general consensus seems to be that about 50% of the people aren’t even worth trying to do business with.

As for the Mirage, I wonder what will happen with the sale once we hit April. I wonder if it will get even better, it will stay the same, or go away. There are only a few days left.

I have only found a few buffet places that have decent quality food. Most are just about the quantity and it isn’t very good. You see mostly overweight people at the ones around here. There are a couple decent Asian ones where you can actually get decent sushi. I have to drive as one is about 35 miles away and the other 75 or so. These are not worthy of a special trip but if I am in the area for some reason, then they are an option. Otherwise most of the stuff is heavily battered and fried to fill you up on breading and grease.