hello i am considering buying a TE/TF magna (3rd month 1997) 5-Spd 3.0L V6, has done 258,000K as it was a company car for harvey norman, and was driven all highway between newcastle and north sydney, I have spoken to 2 mechanic friends and they said that magna's are crap, but i think they are bias as i know the first gen magna's were pretty ****ty with rust and mechanics, but i was under the impression that the newer ones were a pretty good car, i also realise that asking this here is VERY bias as it is a magna club...lol
but is there anything i should look out for on a TE/TF? i checked the CV joints and they are fine, engine squeals a little bit but thats just a fan belt i think, what is the recommended compression per cylinder? as i should do a compression test on it.
anything else i should look out for? anywhere that rust is common, i think that on a 1997 car used for business and regulary serviced that rust would not currently be an issue, and even the high kms shouldn't be as they are 90% highway travel.

Thanks

rust shouldnt be a issue at all.

every car has the downs there's no way out. some buy lemons used or new and some give no trouble at all....

i've got 97 te 145 on the clock, oil leaks from gasket(original gaskets) and the waterpumps starting to leak a lil bit...
obvious you car's getting up there in k's but if well looked after by previous owners and urself has got alot of life. i've seen some 400k's plus

all depends who drove it at the company, most company cars are well maintained but thrashed. lookin for lil less k's and maybe just 1,2,3 who have owned the car would be good. how much where they ask for it????

i'm not to shore on the most common te/f faults are i'm only new to the magz seen.

one thing though for the boys who was ditchen. (ford commo fans) watch your back coz will fly right past you...

Even thought Highway K's are not an issue atm but still car has travelled 258,000+ kms. wether TE/TF. And I think i am safe to say that is alot of k's and would have caused some kind of wear and tear to the car mechanics. and because it was the company car drivers might not be that care full in taking care of it.

What you might have to check:

1) Service book are properly maintained by a mitsu dealership?

2) Go through the service book and see if something extra was done on the car other than recomended service.

3) Get the car checked by RACV (if in Vic) or any other reputable auto organisation in your area. Get a detailed inspection report.

4) What TE/TF is it?? i.e., Executive, Advance, Solara etc. any extra features.

5) What condition is the car in?? out side and in side.

6) What is the Price??? (For 7 year old car which should have done only 150,000 km +/- its way over no matter what the dealer says you are gettign an overly used car).


You need to check above thing for any old car you are getting. wether its magna or not.

And as Blake always say " Sale of life time comes every 2 weeks or so" so take your time to make right decision.

Welcome to the AMC. :)

it is up for $6300 but would probally be able to get it for $5500, is just a standard, air con, power mirrors, air bags, no allows or any other power options. Outside is good, one headlight has a stonechip in it that is making it leak, couple of stone chips. otherwise the body is very straight. i took it for a pink slip and it passed fine, i looked through the log books and they were always done at a mitsi approved mechanic, most were done on time and nothing extra had to be done. The cars tinting is pretty crappy, but interior is very nice. main thing i am worried about is the KM's,
what price would i be looking at for a TE/TF with lower km's?
thanks

For $6300 is very ok price for a regularly services TE 1997.

and if you can get it for $5500 I will say its a bloody steal.

As you say it has passed the pink slip then go for it dude:)

You are better off paying an extra $1,000 or so and getting one for 100,000kms less. Most TE's with average kms can be bought for around $6500 - $7000. Better than paying $5500 or whatever for one with 100,000kms+ more. http://www.redbook.com.au/vehiclesearch/price.asp?key=MITS97CO Considering the kms are double the average kms, if you pay anything over $5,000 for that I reckon you are getting jipped. Most people would rather 100,000kms less on their car than an extra $2000. It would probably work out cheaper with repair costs, reconditioned motor, gearbox etc. Just to recondition the motor would probably cost around $2000.

i got my 97 for 7200 manual silver 140k, i was lookin for bit over a month trying to find somthin with less k's.

www.

tradingpost.com.au
carsales .com.au
motorpoint.com.au
carpoint.com.au

rangers from 7 - 9.

i have been looking on all those sites for some time and have found nothing in the 1997+ range being manual and with km's under 200k, they have all been 7000-11000 range. and i really cannot afford that range

Maybe you would rather a 3L V6 manual TS with low kms and a few g's in the bank then?

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?vehicle_id=146733&current_rec=16&total_rec=34&sort_type=2&make_id=3&model_id=57&badge_id=198&search_distance=25

http://www.carsales.com.au/pls/carsales/!cs_content.private_vehicle?vehicle_id=1977863&current_rec=10&total_rec=34&sort_type=2&make_id=3&model_id=57&badge_id=198&search_distance=25

These prices are perhaps a little high even but you get the point.

hmm but i like the look of the gen3 over then gen2, and arn't the gen 3 (TE/TF) more reliable? as in they have ABS, air bags, better designed crumple zones and isn't the engine also more reliable?

The TE execs etc dont come standard with any airbags or ABS, it depends on the type of magna it is. Yeah but I mean I would try and go for a TE with average kms, if you can't afford that, get a TR or TS V6 Magna.

yeah it has air bags on drivers side and ABS as well, guess they were options. So even though it has been reguarly serviced and was a highway car still stay away from it? what should i offer them? it has a great body and interior and the engine is quite clean, the current owner would not have cleaned it as he doesn't hardly know how to pop the bonnet, he is an elderly man. would 5000 be worth it? or $4,500?

For that price it sounds ok to me, not that I been looking into prices recently.
If you are worried about engine/drivetrain wear or reliability, I would suggest the best thing you could do would be to ring the mechanic who has serviced the car and ask him for advice on what sort of things you could expect in the future with a car of this number of k's.

Now just remember that this bloke might well know the owner, so I would also call a mitsubishi dealer and speak to the servicing (mechanics) department. These cars are these guys bread and butter and they would have seen it all. you should ask them if you would be better off spending the extra money ($1000) and getting one with a little less k's, or if they reckon this one should be ok. Just remember if they say that something may need replacing, ask them how much this would likely cost. It may still be much cheaper to buy the car and fix whatever needs doing.

Now once you have found answers to those questions You and only you have a hard decision... Whether to buy the (more k's) TE which looks a lot better... or to sacrifice the look to buy the more sensible (less k's) TS for the same price.

Might be a hard decision, but for the same price I would say you would be sacrificing reliability for looks.


Thats my thoughts anyhow! Happy hunting

the good old (heh thats a laugh) astron 2 motor really was a pile of crap when it came to reliability and unfortunately really hurt magna's reputation. Hence why most mechanics dont like them, fact is if you get a v6 magna its going to be just as reliable as any other car, its only the 4cyl astron models that you have to be cautious of