Ask the Car People.SM


Mitsubishi Galant

2502 messages,  Last post on Nov 24, 2012 at 8:04 PM

You are in the Mitsubishi Galant Forum.

What is this discussion about? Mitsubishi Galant, Sedan

Messages Page 179 of 251

#1776 of 2502 Re: Hi, again... [L8_Apex] by zup

Dec 17, 2004 (8:05 pm)

Replying to: L8_Apex (May 14, 2000 6:07 pm)
Hi, everyone. My family is looking to buy a mid-sized sedan and had almost decided on the Accord. But we also found the Galant, and right now in Canada the well-equipped base trim (DE) is $2000 CDN cheaper than the well-equipped Accord trim (the Galant does not have ABS though). Mitsubishi has recently added 10 year warranties to all their new cars and 0% financing for 60 months. With all this, is the Galant worth buying over the Accord? My main area of concern is the Galant's long term reliability and maintenance costs. Can anyone offer any insights?

#1777 of 2502 Re: Hi, again... [zup] by chuck1

Dec 17, 2004 (9:09 pm)

Replying to: zup (Dec 17, 2004 8:05 pm)
I own a 2003 Galant ES. That being said, there is a very real possibility that Mitsubishi won't be around in ten years. The Honda will give you a better resale value. However, the base Accord (DX-here in the U.S.) does not have the resale of the upper models. Just make an informed decision, whatever you buy.
Good luck!

#1778 of 2502 Re: Hi, again... [zup] by fushigi

Dec 18, 2004 (8:30 am)

Replying to: zup (Dec 17, 2004 8:05 pm)
If you plan on keeping the car for <4 years, go Accord. If 5+ years, the depreciation hit that Mitsu's have should be a much smaller factor. My 99 Galant LS has 96K miles on it and has been the most trouble-free car I've ever owned. Based on my ownership experience I'd have no problems buying another Mitsu. It was EPA rated at 19/27 with the 3L V6 and I still average 24-25MPG in mostly city driving. Other things to consider to help you decide: - Insurance costs: Is one dramatically more expensive to insure than the other? - Operating costs: How many miles/year do you drive; about how much per year will the two cars cost to operate? Edmunds has a tool you can use to help evaluate, although it shouldn't be difficult to do on your own. - Style: Purely subjective; which do YOU like better? - Relative importance of warranty, etc. The Mitsu has roadside assistance, for instance. Also, would you do an extended warranty on the Accord to equalize it against the Mitsu; if so, add that cost in. - Dealership experience: Which brand has a better delaership network in terms of geographic coverage where you're likely to be driving? Which has better staff (what are their reputations)? Which is known as customer-friendly vs. customer-hostile? - Content: Does one car have features that, while not a necessity, would make it a nicer ownership experience in the long run?

#1779 of 2502 No indication mitsu will leave north amer by sean3

Dec 18, 2004 (10:59 am)

when in fact i have read more positive things about mitsu motors that analysts predict mitsu will make a moderate way by 2006. and that there plan for a turn around will be sucessfull. really remember Hyndai motors when they came to North Am, they had problems from every angle, Lousy cars, Korean, and so on. and look at them now, and they are fairly new to US, and so happens the guy credited for most of the turnaround there is now with Mitsubishi Motors. Mitsu lost a load of there assets on bad loans, not bad cars, bad business/marketing decisions, I do own a '04 Galant and i tried the '04 accord, and I am picky with cars, and the galant drove better, handled better, while the accord was just so so, Before I bought i spoke to an old time independent car mechanic and in his opinion he said Mitsubishi builds some real work horses, every bit as capable as honda toyo,and has seen several 200,000mile mitsus with solid
 engines and trannys in for regular maintnance items, and also stated toyota and honda quality has gone down in recent years, and sees more tranny and head gasket repairs on those then the early 90's models, While they are all good cars mechanical reliability is no better or worse with any. remember that mitsu powertrains are still developed and made in japan and exported here to the illinois plant, its not like your buying a chevy corsica. imho. sean

#1780 of 2502 Mazda 6 by sean3

Dec 18, 2004 (11:17 am)

i like the mazda 6 too untill i started research, while nice looking, it seems it is the worst of the bunch, many major failures, People are blaming it on fords influence and infact the Mazda uses fords engines in the 6 i beleive, Thats when I went with Galant, I needed a decent size sedan for a young family, and the Galant looks better anyways, mitsu did a great job with the body lines, It has a really hi beltline which makes us feal safer with a car seat back there, more metal, less glass. people have actually mistaken my galant for the new caddy sedan, i assume bacause of the profile, it is roughly the same size as the caddy, and does share a kind of angular chisled look,Mitsu has deffinetly Matured.

#1781 of 2502 Re: Mazda 6 [sean3] by carguy58

Dec 18, 2004 (12:08 pm)

Replying to: sean3 (Dec 18, 2004 11:17 am)
The Mazda 6 had its first year issue's no doubt. As for the Ford Influence the 4 cylinder 2.3 liter engine in the Mazda 6 is a Mazda engine(not Ford.) The 6 cylinder engine in the Mazda 6 is based off of a Ford block but Mazda puts their own spin on it. Remember the Mazda 6 has no relation to the old 626. I suspect the first year bugs in the 6 can be attributed to it being an all new car not Ford's influence. I ad a 98 Mazda 626 that was made out of the Flat Rock plant and the build quality was alright but not great. By the same token build quality wasn't that horrible either.
 
Alright getting back to the Galant here...the crash tests on the 05 Galant are awful good. I wonder if the cuurent Galant will see a mid cycle refresh for the 06 or 07 model year. Last time Mitsu did a refresh mid cycle on the last galant was for 02: its 4th year of the last generation Galant bodystyle. 1999-2001 Galant had the chrome grille on the front end while the 02-03 Galant's had the beak on the front end. In conclusion we will probably see a mid-cycle refresh for the 07 model year for the Galant then right?

#1782 of 2502 by a_l_hubcaps

Dec 18, 2004 (4:05 pm)

It's nice to see some interest in the Galant finally...I've started seeing more of them on the road in my area (PA/NJ) lately, though nationally sales are still in the crapper...around 2,000 units a month. I think Mitsu needs to bite the bullet and lower the price a bit. They got so scared by what happened in the aftermath of the "zero-zero-zero till we go bankrupt" fiasco that they are afraid to offer any good incentives or price cuts now. For better or worse, that's what is needed to move cars these days.
 
By the way, I'm a bit puzzled by all the anti-Mitsu sentiment I'm seeing on the net. By reading some forum posts, you'd think they were selling rebadged Yugos. The Lancer could use a refresh, but other than that I don't see anything too negative about any of Mitsu's current products. I think there is a bit of a pile-on effect going on because of the gloom-and-doom news articles that have been written about the situation. People need to stop ranting and get a grip, IMHO.
 
-Andrew L

#1783 of 2502 Re: [a_l_hubcaps] by sean3

Dec 18, 2004 (8:49 pm)

Replying to: a_l_hubcaps (Dec 18, 2004 4:05 pm)
hi hubcaps were you saying 2,000 galants a month nationally? if so that sucks bacause i really enjoy my 04 galant, and am starting to see more around in fact here in chicagoland area i am seeing quite a few more over the last month, and as far as professional reviews from what ive seen have been pretty positive on the new galant, The eclipse is due for a makover in '06 i beleive and plans for an actual full size pickup? the pictures of it look good, it looks very muscular, kind of what nissan did with the 05 titan,but more dodge ram looking, so it seems as mitsu expands its lineup they will hopefully get more notice, I also understand the plant here in Illinois is one a the most advanced in the North am industry,Seeems mitsus problem is Marketing and Advertising not the quality of the vehicles,I think the current Galant blows the camry and accord out of the water on style. I did carefully consider all 3, but the other 2 did nothing for my soul, the Galant actually had some attitude and spunk, As far as Mitsu making it in the Us, it seems very rare for an established car maker to leave the us market unless there quality is absolutely horrible or an unknown maker such as daewoo, they never had a good plan in place, If hyndai did it mitsu can, I dont know if there problems are similar but hyndai is korean and there quality was terrible and look at them now, I dont beleve mitsu has the quality issue like hyndai, and the dude that turned hyndai around is now with mitsu, im no expert by any means, but it seems it would take a few years to start seeing a good plan pay off in such a competitive market? Mitsu builds some damn good cars and utes suvs, I beleive Nissan motors was in the same shape and i see them all over here Altima Altima Altima every turn, the altima is nice but it doesnst look as clean lined and aggresive as Galant, granted its a Couple year old design, If you look at a current year Maxima you will see common design cues on the 04 Galant but you wont mistake the two, I think the endeavor looks great, in fact I think mitsu styling is very good compared to the competition especially, Mitsu did cut way down on fleet (rental sales so there numbers dont look so hot, the camry and accord share about 800,000 sales a year but alot is fleet business, but alot is not, honda and toyo have deep advertising pockets and a reputation, but imho product alone they have nothing on Mitsubishi Motors, Later sean

#1784 of 2502 mazda engine by sean3

Dec 18, 2004 (10:11 pm)

I was under the impression the mazda 6 used the same powertrain as ford 2.3l,not knocking fords but that was my deciding factor in The Galant. Its funny the mazda sales guy stated that the mazda 6 uses fords powertrain.I just didnt want to deal with a rebadged ford, my previous ford was a nightmare on wheels (or the lack of).although i find fords far more appealing than they used to be, same for chrysler. GM seems to keep the same platform and engines way to long.the big three seem to be making head way though, its funny awhile back i drove a 1990 Chrysler Lebaron coupe for my hi school years and when i got it had tons of miles and i added about another 60k or so a total of 200,000 miles plus, and the engine never gave me a problem, whicjh for chrysler back then seemed odd, No overheating always started and ran fine, come to find out it was powered by a 6cyl Mitsu motor i found out from a mechanic, he said thats the only reason it ran as long as it did, I miss treated that thing bad to but it never complained. a strong mitsubishi engine.so who knows what drivetrains they are using in any given car??

#1785 of 2502 Re: Hi, again... [zup] by oskwi

Dec 19, 2004 (12:31 pm)

Replying to: zup (Dec 17, 2004 8:05 pm)
Before my current car (2001 Mazda Protege ES), I owned a 1996 Mitsu Galant. I had ZERO problems with the car in 185,000 miles of driving. The only issue I ever had was a leaking transmission fluid gasket that was not tightened correctly after a dealership fluid flush. Mitsu makes a very impressive engine. Currently, my neighbor owns it and is still driving it...no major malfunctions to date and I would assume that it has well over 200,000 miles on it!
 
Regarding the Accord...I also looked into the Accord and Altima when I purchased the Galant back in 1999. The Accord was expensive to insure and the Altima was not as responsive as I had been led to believe. Recently, a couple of friends have had serious early mileage tranny problems with their Accords and some of my friends have had some serious alignment and engine problems with their Altimas. Problems like these were UNHEARD of from these car companies only a few years ago.
 
As far as my Mazda, it is almost 100% Japanese parts content and had a phenomenal reliability record. So far, I can't complain about its performance! However, the new Mazda 3's that replaced the Protege are somewhat problematic...and my plans to replace my Protege with a M3 hatchback have been put on hold after reading the forums and personally test driving one. I wasn't impressed.
 
In closing, if the new Galants are only half as good as mine was, you should have a great car that should stand the test of time. Good luck with your purchase.

Messages Page 179 of 251

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement