Mitsu Galants ?

[snowdog]

Browsed around a bit and found these cars very affordable, 1950€ for a 1997 model with only 200.000km ( less than my current car + it's a year newer ) with full leather and 2.5v6. What are your opinions about these ? Looks like a comfy & nippy A to B mobile...

 

[snowdog]

Better than your Volvo. Get one. But get a 1.6 if they do one because I honestly cringe at the thought of you in anything quicker than a Matiz after some of the stuff you post.

Ha, no way.

In what way is it better than my volvo exactly though aside from speed? Both cars cost roughly the same here ( most newer V40's are actually far more expensive than similar galants).
The only reason I want to upgrade is for faster acceleration, aside from that the volvo does fine...

 

[snowdog]

How is reliability, I spent a grand total of 110€ on the Volvo in the past 10.000km, 80 of which was for consumables&mot. Can these cars generally take abuse ?

 

[snowdog]

Yes...

I sent a mail to one ( bit late to call) asking if I can view it. It sound great, has all the options I want ( heated seats, cruise c, climate c), it's a tad faster than my current car and should be comfier due to being a class higher. I've been hunting for a car upgrade for a while now but somehow I missed Galants and was sad that I had to save up a little longer for a mk3 ( or mk2, whatever you want to call the 2nd gen non facelift one)Mondeo 2.5 Ghia...

 

[snowdog]

What would be the better option then, try to get around 4k ( would take me at least 8 months ( of harsh saving) I guess if I really wanted to buy it without selling the volvo first...) and try getting a Mondeo, or going Galant in the coming couple of months ( I can collect the cost of one in a month or 2 I guess)?

I'm interested in:
Acceleration speed, I want a slight upgrade from what I have now.
Comfort ( softer suspension would be nice, the rear of the Volvo is a tad stiff imo, I prefer soft wobbling over bad roads).
Toys ( Cl.C, Cr.C, Heated Seats, heated mirrors are a must imo).
Cheapness ( not consumables, petrol or insurance, but purchase price and parts/breakdown redundancy, I'm crap at saving money but can easily spend a 100 extra on fuel/insurance/thelot, I don't want the headgasket to blow or the gearbox or the suspension...).
And finally, looks, I quite like how the Galant looks.

 

[snowdog]

Just been over to see one and it was a dog on the exterior ( lots of scratches, small door dings, a scuff, a slightly rusty arch, the car looks at least twice as old as mine despite being a year younger), the interior and leather however looked superb. But ( usually I don't complain about this) the dashboard etc looks absolute **** even compared to my Volvo, looks nearly the same as in the Toyota Corolla we have... The seats and doors however looked very nice with the leather from the inside.

I will probably go and see a different one soon and take a longer test drive than 2 mins to make up my mind, it's just a shame that the dash looks so gash.

 

[snowdog]

It's pretty ancient looking but to be fair on the Gallant it is a mid 90's Jap car!

So is mine... Still looks older to me despite being younger. I don't know the buttons were also so small and it felt that, despite having all the options my car has except the trip computer, DSA(tc), and height adjustable headlights, that it had far less. I like the fact that my dash and center console are filled with lots of big buttons. Yeah I know now I'm moaning about rubbish but somehow I got used to looking at a button filled dash.

Surely the Dashboard isn't THAT bad? From the pictures I've seen it is not that much worse than the dashboard in a MK3 Mondeo.

I don't particularly like mk3 mondeo's either, but it's certainly A LOT better than of a 1997 Galant. Then again, I have no complaints about the seats and doors of the Galant, in full leather it looks nice and absolutely fine, but even with the wood the front/dash looks rubbish to me.


I will try to go see a couple more next weekend ( got little time through the week now) see if a private owner agrees to a longer test drive ( dealers kick up too much of a fuss, took me ages to convince him just to get a drive around the block)...

 

[snowdog]

Thanks, by the way unlike with the s40/v40 ( where I just went for the cheapest in the best condition), I really don't like how the estate version of the galant looks, the Saloon is the only option.

Guess I have some reading up to do.

 

[snowdog]

Your Volvo is a mid 90's jap car? I wasn't aware the platform sharing between it and the Carisma had extended to the interior..

1996 is mid 90's surely ?
Whereas the 8th gen galant starts from the same year.

 

[snowdog]

I missed ''jap'', sorry . It's a shame actually. I don't think it'll put me off in the end though.

 

[snowdog]

A nice 2000 2.4 gdi for 3k has popped up, it is however nearly a 2 hour drive away, you guys reckon I should take a look at this one, it looks neat all around on all the pics but the price is a tad steep I think :

Don't think this one has heated seats though and not sure this has climate control or just regular aircon.

 

[snowdog]

Hmm, did not think of that issue.

Not an issue for me, I'm 5ft5...

Yeah, its got about the same space as my 5 series, ive never heard a 8g galant be called cramped

Also, the auto/tip in the vr4 is a good bit better than the boggo auto's in the lower models

I'm not really that interested in an automatic, manual only as far as I'm concerned.