Goldmember
26-09-2013, 06:51 PM
Hi everybody, just wanted to thank everyone for the valuable info posted here, and to talk about my 380 experience. I picked up an Adrenaline (gold) 2007 VRX a month ago near Brisbane and drove it home to Wollongong. Why go so far? Well, it was at the right price. I’d bought it sight unseen, through a car trader.
You see, for the past 15 years I have had the luxury of having a company car. In fact, I haven’t bought a new car for 19 years! So when I changed jobs, I had to find something I’d be happy with. During that 15 years, I’ve changed cars every 18 months, driving Falcons, Subarus, Aurions, and sampling lots of others, but the ones I liked the best were the two 380 SXs. The two I’d had were ‘Storm’ (grey) and ‘Molten’ (red), respectively, but a couple of my workmates had gold ones, and were affectionately known as ‘Goldmembers’ (hence the name). I knew they’d be great value this time around, and the car trader even said he was impressed with how much car you get for your money with the 380.
I drove my new purchase home in two legs, as conveniently, my parents have retired to Port Macquarie, which is halfway home. As I jumped in the driver’s seat for the first time, I was disappointed to see two stars in the windscreen right in the driver’s line-of-sight. Nevermind I thought, that could be fixed. As I set off down the Gold Coast highway, my mind went back to those two 380s I had before and I recalled the firm but comfortable ride. This was rudely interrupted by a clunking sound in the front suspension, and sure enough it came over potholes and not dips or humps, a sure sign of the infamous sway-bar bush cancer.
As I drove into NSW, I cast my eyes about and noticed that while the exterior was nicely polished and pretty much dent-free, the interior was ... well... grotty. Now I am not a neat-freak, and I can live with my own mess, but being in the middle of someone else’s started to make me feel uncomfortable. The first thing I did when I pulled into Port Mac, I grabbed a bucket of soapy water and wiped it down. There were splashes and spills and lots of west-Queensland sand in every crevice, but thankfully the leather interior was unmarked and came up nicely. A look under the bonnet also showed lots of dust and oil stains - this car had not seen much love.
During the second leg of my trip back to Wollongong I made a mental list of things to fix. The first thing was to clean down the engine bay, and WD40 the plastic engine cover. At least that now looks fresh and respectable. Next was to order some parts, and I’ve since done the following:
- Replaced the driver’s windscreen washer nozzle. That non-return valve is asking for trouble, but at least it was a cheap fix.
- Replaced the windscreen. Not too expensive when you look at European cars.
- Replaced the front sway bar bushes. It’s a crap job, but the bushes were $10 each and now it rides like new.
- Done the VRX blinker-reversing light switcheroo. I hated that VRX blinker back when I followed behind them in my SXs.
For now I’ve got a 380 that is a real bargain and I’m very happy with it. The more I think about it, the more I wish Mitsubishi had kept making them. What am I going to drive when this one wears out? :happy:
You see, for the past 15 years I have had the luxury of having a company car. In fact, I haven’t bought a new car for 19 years! So when I changed jobs, I had to find something I’d be happy with. During that 15 years, I’ve changed cars every 18 months, driving Falcons, Subarus, Aurions, and sampling lots of others, but the ones I liked the best were the two 380 SXs. The two I’d had were ‘Storm’ (grey) and ‘Molten’ (red), respectively, but a couple of my workmates had gold ones, and were affectionately known as ‘Goldmembers’ (hence the name). I knew they’d be great value this time around, and the car trader even said he was impressed with how much car you get for your money with the 380.
I drove my new purchase home in two legs, as conveniently, my parents have retired to Port Macquarie, which is halfway home. As I jumped in the driver’s seat for the first time, I was disappointed to see two stars in the windscreen right in the driver’s line-of-sight. Nevermind I thought, that could be fixed. As I set off down the Gold Coast highway, my mind went back to those two 380s I had before and I recalled the firm but comfortable ride. This was rudely interrupted by a clunking sound in the front suspension, and sure enough it came over potholes and not dips or humps, a sure sign of the infamous sway-bar bush cancer.
As I drove into NSW, I cast my eyes about and noticed that while the exterior was nicely polished and pretty much dent-free, the interior was ... well... grotty. Now I am not a neat-freak, and I can live with my own mess, but being in the middle of someone else’s started to make me feel uncomfortable. The first thing I did when I pulled into Port Mac, I grabbed a bucket of soapy water and wiped it down. There were splashes and spills and lots of west-Queensland sand in every crevice, but thankfully the leather interior was unmarked and came up nicely. A look under the bonnet also showed lots of dust and oil stains - this car had not seen much love.
During the second leg of my trip back to Wollongong I made a mental list of things to fix. The first thing was to clean down the engine bay, and WD40 the plastic engine cover. At least that now looks fresh and respectable. Next was to order some parts, and I’ve since done the following:
- Replaced the driver’s windscreen washer nozzle. That non-return valve is asking for trouble, but at least it was a cheap fix.
- Replaced the windscreen. Not too expensive when you look at European cars.
- Replaced the front sway bar bushes. It’s a crap job, but the bushes were $10 each and now it rides like new.
- Done the VRX blinker-reversing light switcheroo. I hated that VRX blinker back when I followed behind them in my SXs.
For now I’ve got a 380 that is a real bargain and I’m very happy with it. The more I think about it, the more I wish Mitsubishi had kept making them. What am I going to drive when this one wears out? :happy: