Looking at a 2000 model Mitsi Challenger petrol, Ive heard bad things about Mitsi's - or they nearly as good as a Toyota!
bellky,
Nov 12, 6:03pm
we've had a v3000 since '94 - it's been sweet, nearly 300k now
lugee,
Nov 12, 6:09pm
Definately nothing inherently wrong with Mitsubishi's. Yes, they have their odd stay away from model but so does every other manufacturer. We've had two Mitsi's in the last 15 years done a couple hundred k's betweeen them and had absolutely no issues. (a 1985 Tredia and a 1993 Eterna).
phillip.weston,
Nov 12, 8:32pm
I think it's mostly hit and miss. Yes there are models with problems but every single other manufacturer has their own models with problems too. Mitsubishi tend to try to jam lots of technology and gadgets into their cars, and are perhaps not as completely robust as say a Toyota from an engineering point of view.
As for the 2000 Challenger, they are not a bad truck when you compare them to their direct rivals such as the Hilux Surf and the Terrano which would be priced much more expensive than the Challenger. The automatic transmission in them is nearly identical to the model used in the Hilux Surf so should be more reliable than the typical passenger car automatics. The petrol V6 will tend to get smokey at higher kms due to the valve stem seals. The 3.5 GDI is much more powerful and uses about the same amount of fuel as the 3.0 non-GDI.
henderson_guy,
Nov 12, 9:36pm
In most cases, as long as you keep up with the servicing and maintenance, they are no less reliable than any other make. I have a petrol L200, done over 317,000km's now with no issues, other than what you could expect from a similarly high-mileage vehicle.
n3d4sp3d,
Nov 12, 11:08pm
they are good as long as you don't get a GDI (this stands for guaranteed dealer income) I work at mitsi and these are constantly in work shop for running rough or not running at all
trollup,
Nov 12, 11:18pm
Get the "Dog and Lemon Guide" it's a very honest, to the point and clear. It tells you all the stuff the dealers won't, and how to spot the recalls. It also tells you the import names and details.
phillip.weston,
Nov 12, 11:40pm
No way. It rubbishes every car other than a Toyota Corolla and even then he only gives the Corolla 3 stars.
ceebee2,
Nov 12, 11:54pm
I served my apprenticeship on Mitsi and as stated above are fine with regular servicing. However you must check the oil regularly as they have what is called "metered oil consumption" where they allow small amounts of sump oil into the engine. (Max allowable used to be 1L / 1000km) under warranty. That's technically a sump full between lubes. Don't let that put you off as the engines will easily do 300k as a result.
barrie2,
Nov 13, 1:28pm
Bought my L200 petrol in December 1990. 255,000k later and only starter motor and broken clutch cable let me down. Mostly short -10k trips too. Amazing ute, smoking now and drip tray in garage getting well used. Must spend some money on engine soon. Please - 'phillip.weston' - what do you suggest!
phillip.weston,
Nov 13, 2:04pm
barrie is it 2.0 belt drive or 2.6 chain drive!
thejazzpianoma,
Nov 13, 3:05pm
+1 The Dog and Lemon needs shutting down. The guy is just profiteering on fear, he has no real idea which cars are good and which are not and he costs those who don't know better thousands of dollars through his silly lies.
studio1,
Nov 13, 3:38pm
Hmmm I still stand by the adage of 'Never buy a car beginning with M - it's bound to cause you trouble and when it does, it will cost you a small fortune to repair it'. So far with every Toyota I've owned, never had any issues. Seen any number of Mitsubishis stranded on the side of the road or smoking badly in the traffic ahead, and some of them aren't that old. Maybe I'm just biased - but I've also had a number of people who work in the motor trade share the same sentiments with me, and tell of some horror stories about the Red Diamonds.
phillip.weston,
Nov 13, 4:40pm
well that's your loss. Plenty of decent model Mitsubishis out there, as there are Mazda, Mercedes, Maserati, McLaren, Mini, MG etc
jason18,
Nov 13, 5:14pm
Saw a car bellowing blue smoke yesterday.Toyota.Never buy a car starting with T lol
lk104,
Nov 13, 5:23pm
I saw one too, it was a Mitsi!, also seen Nissans, Hondas, Fords and Holdens. If you run them over 200,000km, then they are going to blow blue smoke.
morrisman1,
Nov 13, 5:26pm
bullcrap. it's all in the maintenance. There is nothing to say that a car over 200,000km will blow smoke. Half the cars on our road probably have more than 200,000 on them and it is very rarely that I see blue smoke.
bellky,
Nov 13, 5:29pm
yes^^ my eb xr8 has done over 300 and doesn't smoke. as lots other cars i know of
barrie2,
Nov 13, 5:45pm
Hi - 2.6 chain drive, Astron. Oil leak seems to be rocker box gasket which my son is to replace tomorrow, however maybe a bit more should be done as I intend to keep it due to "book" price being low and 1 owner ute being in good nick. Thanks.
barrie2,
Nov 13, 5:50pm
barrie2 here again. Further to my remark of 'smoking a bit' my L200 only smokes upon start up when auto choke races up to about 1900 revs for first 1k. When settled down it is not a smoker as some of the ones mentioned on here.
michael.benn,
Nov 13, 5:57pm
293,900 kms on my 1996 Honda Accord. No smoke to speak of.
ezekiel67,
Nov 13, 6:19pm
That's a gross over-generalisation.
phillip.weston,
Nov 13, 6:23pm
sounds like valve stem seals
jonesy62,
Nov 13, 6:37pm
barrie2, also check your fuel pump gasket because that can leak and make it look like rocker cover leak.Thats if the oil is coming down on starter motor side. Had same model 4wd flatdeck
hoarder85,
Nov 13, 6:44pm
I love my mitsi. Still going strong at 260kms (touch wood!). Really is hit and miss and i think a lot to do with the first 100,000kms and how well the car was looked after.
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