My son is contemplating purchasing a 2005 Diamante mileage around 157000ks.I seem to remember some criticism about them but not sure what it was.May have been something about dodgy autotrans or something.I would e gratefl on advice re these vehicles please! Thanks.
grangies,
Jun 3, 7:25am
They are quite large vehicles, that were built cheap from the word go.
Even brand new they were very cheap compared to many other car of similar size.
It could be a good car for a few years, but DO NOTexpect it to be stiil good in 15 years time.
The weak sheet-metal that dents very easily, and poor factory paint job, is the first indication that they are cheap cars from new.
mugenb20b,
Jun 3, 7:27am
They depreciate in value quite a bit, so they are good buying. Auto transmissions can give problems, but not very often. Keep them serviced, don't abuse them (towing 2 axle caravans etc.) and they should serve you well. I particularly like the VR-X models, they have nicer interiors and they have heaps of power. In fact, I might even consider buying one myself in the near future.
gunhand,
Jun 3, 7:29am
You will probably hear some supposed horror stories about them. But for what they are and the fact you can get a late model car at a very good price is in your favour. I know many people with all kinds of mitsubishis and I am yet to here of them falling to bits all the time. Sure the basic shape hasnt changed much over the years but if you like the look who cares. About all I will say is the later Diamantes are thirsty, but it is a big motor after all. I think you get alot for your cash with the late ones.
gunhand,
Jun 3, 7:32am
The japs never built or intended there cars to last 15 years, they just get brought over here for us lol.
vtecintegra,
Jun 3, 7:34am
The main problem is how dated they are, they have the same body as a 1995 model so correspondingly don't have the same levels of crash safety as other mid-2000s sedans.This also doesn't help with depreciation.
richardmayes,
Jun 3, 7:35am
My ex girlfriend had one, the automatic transmission made a lot of sick-sounding noises (and it was just the 2.5 litre model so it's not as though the trans was working very hard) but it always seemed to keep going. The Climate air conditioning developed a fault where it blew hot air at 32 degrees (the maximum) and ignored any attempts to turn the unit off or lower the temperature. I forget how many hundreds of dollars she was quoted to get this fixed, would have gone into four figures easily.
It would have been a nice smooth-riding car with all the bells and whistles when it was new. No amazing performance or handling or anything that you could get excited about, but it would have been good for a first owner who just wanted a smooth ride and wasn't too interested in cars.
I would stay away, well away.
vtecintegra,
Jun 3, 7:37am
I think the NZ cars (which a 2005 will be) had simpler climate control systems and transmissions than the Jap imports (which were very advanced for their time) did so you're more likely to be okay there.
yogibearz,
Jun 3, 6:02pm
I drove an 03 VRX for 235000 km and it was dream to drive. never had any problems at all ,but it was serviced by the book by the Mitsubishi dealer. Still used to be under 10 litres /100km on long trips.Great car.
bmwnz,
Jun 3, 6:22pm
I have a friend who bought one new. It was the top of the line Diamante 3.5L, leather etc. It cost him over $55,000 new. He recently had it valued at $4,000 max. Its immaculate, big, quiet and very comfortable, but as others said, resale is bad - its a Mitsi after all. That said, any car $5,000 or so isn't going to depreciate too much more.
paora808,
Jun 3, 11:23pm
In 2005 I brought a 2002 Nz new SI , 3.5 litre Diamante from Moyes in Mt Wellington for $7995 it was an ex lease and had 89 000 km's on the clock . Around town I would get 550 km's for a tank of 60 litres of 91 octane . On long trips I would often get 700 to 750 km's a tank . It was quiet and had plenty of power . In 2910 and at 194 000 km's the triptronic trans blew It cost $ 2700 to recondition . I sold it in march for $ 3200 .
boss_hogg,
Jun 3, 11:28pm
owned one of the older import ones for over 6 years, '95, 2.5 and aside from a frost plug failing, it never let me down. just changed the oil every now and then, along with tyres and brakes. the handling wasn't up to being hurried along. air con worked well enough to give you an icecream headache, towed a large tandem trailer along with a car load of guys in the summer etc, no problems.
good luck
specialk11,
Jun 4, 4:03am
The 05 model will be Aussie Assembled, a completely different Model to the jap ones. They are good value for money and have no major problems. Ive owned a 97 model wagon for over 9 years now done 365000ks and still going strong. Everything you need to know can be found here. http://www.aussiemagna.com/forums/forumdisplay.php!f=39
islaybrian,
Jun 4, 7:48am
Thank you everyone for your helpful comments.rta777 I have forwarded your email and ad onto my son.
cuda.340,
Jun 4, 9:13am
my wife had one for 3 years & it was probably one of the best cars she's driven. i had been looking at toyota windoms. nissan maximas & the like but the diamante left them for dead. well built, had a quality feel to them, unlike the windom & was extremely comfortable on the long drive. will probably buy her another next year as she's always saying she misses that car. like all mitsi's you have to do the services on time so buy one with a service history.
tgray,
Jun 4, 9:14am
I really would consider something else.
leelee74,
Jun 4, 9:40am
2005 would be aussie built good cars good for the money awesome on fuel you can get them to 7.0 litres per 100km of fuel on a open road trip,not as good asXR falcon orSV6 commodore but a lot cheaper to buy and cheaper to run never heard of problems with trans on aussie built only on import crap only problems i recall was side airbag fault,cd players, if its cheap enough he shouldbuy one
leelee74,
Jun 4, 9:45am
Diamantethey are a lot better car than the Mitsi 380 that replaced them that 380 car was a lemon
franc123,
Jun 4, 9:56am
Wow what a shocker, only 3 years old with 90K on it and it was for sale for only $8K, thats a terrible rate of depreciation, no doubt Moyes picked it up much cheaper than that.Lucky for you of course!If you were a private buyer and bought it brand new that sure as hell wouldn't be an experience you'd be repeating.No wonder Mitsi Australias client base dwindled away to nothing by the time the 380 came out.Had you serviced the trans at least once and done any heavy towing in that time!
leelee74,
Jun 4, 10:15am
That looks like a nice car good price VR was the start of the sports range VR,VRX,GT they are good cars drove them all as company cars
200sx,
Jun 5, 12:22am
I owned a 2003 TL shape Diamante VR-X - fantastic vehicle. Purchased at 57,000kms, sold at 155,000kms 3 years later. Negatives first - yes, they depreciate terribly, so certainly always a bargain on the used market. And the frontal styling wasn't to everyones taste. However it was ultra reliable for me. I serviced religiously at the 15k interval mark. Shop around and find one that is NZ new, has a service history, and has a healthy drivetrain. Don't accept anything less as you will likely have heartbreak and issues on your hand. There is a good enough selection out there to allow you to be picky. My VR-X was a great open road cruiser too - 163kw and plenty of torque in the 3000-4000rpm band. Much nicer than my missus Commodore S of the same vintage.
franc123,
Jun 5, 12:31am
^^ Yes I think that about sums it up, ex company or ex lease NZ new/Aussie assembled with good service histories seem to be much better buys than imports, no matter how good they look or how many more toys they have in them.
paora808,
Jun 5, 12:43am
franc123 wrote: Wow what a shocker, only 3 years old with 90K on it and it was for sale for only $8K, thats a terrible rate of depreciation, no doubt Moyes picked it up much cheaper than that.Lucky for you of course!If you were a private buyer and bought it brand new that sure as hell wouldn't be an experience you'd be repeating.No wonder Mitsi Australias client base dwindled away to nothing by the time the 380 came out.Had you serviced the trans at least once and done any heavy towing in that time![/quote yeah Moyes used to have a super saturday sale and on that particular saturday it was the Diamante. It had one full Moyes service which included the trans when I brought it . It had no tow bar and I never drove the car hard because sitting in my garage at the time was my E55 R/T Charger and the need for speed was taken care with that lol
vtecintegra,
Jun 5, 12:52am
Thats a pity because the early import 30M with the high output MIVEC is a genuinely great car to drive especially considering how long ago it came out.
phillip.weston,
Jun 5, 1:38am
yeah if I were after out-right performance I would go for the 200kW MIVEC 30M or 30M-SE with leather - the Jap import versions had multi link suspension up front too instead of the basic macpherson strut of the Aussie assembled models so it rode much better and actually handled well for a large car. However age and reliability isn't on its side, so purely for that fact I would opt for a later model 3.5, preferably one of the upper spec models like the VR, VR-X or GT-V. The AWD one would be very handy go own, in theory it should be able to out-tow a boat up a slippery boat ramp than a Falcodore.
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