What is a reasonable price to pay for a 1986 Mitsubishi Mirage with 90,000 miles on it? No mechanical problems that I know of. Body is in pretty nice condition for its age. Seats have a few rips in them. It’s a northern California car, so it hasn’t seen any salt from winter roads or rust. I’m looking to buy something cheap and reliable and it seems like this might fit the bill.
Try:
http://www.edmunds.com
This is 25 years old, so you’ll want to get it looked at by a mechanic first. As for value, I guess most any car is decent running shape is worth about $1000. How much are they asking?
They’re asking $1000. It’s being sold at a mechanic’s shop on behalf of an older lady who is moving closer to family.
My wife had an 86 Dodge Colt when we started dating. I believe it’s the sister car of the Mirage. It was in a minor accident in 93 and was totaled by the insurance company. The car is a tin can and it doesn’t fair well in an accident. Check out the underside for rust and frame damage. We lived 3 blocks from the ocean after we got married and the Colt started having rust problems almost immediately. Within 6 months the front fenders rusted through and the exhaust broke off (the Colt was 5 years old).
It wasn’t a bad car for it’s time, but with a 1.5 4cyl engine it was slow. The 1.5 has a timing belt. I’m a bit hazy on this, but the change interval was 5yr/60k. Find out if it needs changing and how much the repair is going to cost. Factor it into your offer.
Good luck,
Ed B.