Hey People,

Im new to this forum, and I am about to sell my VN SS Commodore, so I can buy a 1993 TR Mitsubishi Magna. Can anyone tell me what to look out for when buying ?? common problems, etc ? Also, I have budget of around 6-7000. Is there any other model someone could suggest to me that I should get ?

Thanks

Now this is what i like to see, commo boys buying magna's!

To bad you arn't in WA, you could have picked up my 95 TS for 3300.

for 4-7g's you could get a 94 / 95 TS which has a few nice options like a nicer interior etc etc

When it comes to the TR - TS models you have two options, either the 2.6 Astron or the 3.0L 12valve V6. I would look around and take your time to track down a nice V6 in good cond. the 2.6's are a very torquey motor but if they havn't been looked after you will need to pay some attention to them.

If your buying a magna and its done over 100kms, the first thing you need to ask is has the timing chain (2.6) or belt (v6) been changed? the astron timing chain is hard to get to so its expensive to change and MUST be changed otherwise you can do seriouse damage to your motor (like i discovered). Also try and track down a manual, if you have mods planned the manual mitsubishi gearboxes are absolutly brilliant!

Other things to look out for is to make sure there are no power steering / oil or brake fluid leaks and check that the CV joints are in good nick.

Hope all goes well and let us know how u go. Just a tip, white TS magna's with dark tint look unreal!

Cant add much to waht blake has pointed out....

But try got a TS...and V6. U wont regret it!

also...white wagons with dark windows n not many coils on ya springs look sweeter!
the things i did for attention! 8)

hahaha

the things we all do for attention.

Thanks for the info Aussie Magna..

Down here in canberra someone is selling a 1995 Magna, 4 cylinder, 160,00 kms, On gas.. They want $9500 for it. The car is immaculate. Im very tempted to buy it, but not sure if that is over priced or not. It doesnt havent power windows or alarm. Just central locking and electric mirrors.

Would I be stupid to buy it for that price ? I was really hoping not to spend anymore than $7000, but this car looks well looked after, and im tempted to spend the little extra.

9.5 seems etchy - i only paid 16 for a 99 with a 3.5L V6 with a man trans!!

but it is on gas - however - using gas can sometimes cause problems with the engine lubes as gas is a dry fuel where as petrol is a wet fuel - lubricating the engine parts more the LNG!!

try checking out autotrader.com.au and carsales.com.au to get some prices to look at!!

they are a good way to start to see what is available for what prices

hope the infor helps!!

Manual

yer or try www.redbook.com.au - you can look up the market value of any car there..

Personally i would hold off and try to pick up a v6 - its a completely different car to drive and really a much better engine..

your call dude..
i dont think that 9.5 is that unreasonable if its in immaculate condition but it would want to have under 200,000k's by a fair bit i would think..

9500 is WAAAYYY to expensive for a 95 TS

I paid 9500 for mine at auction. For 9000 you can pick up a 96 TE. Fuel economy is better, interior is much nice and the body has much more potential.

I got my V6 manual TR for 5,990....high km's but still drives like new.

I wouldn't pay over 8 for one..be it TR or TS, they're exactly the same (cept cosmetics)

Yeh for $7k you could pick up a TE from auction, or buy a really nice TS and have a spare $2k to do stereo or mags or whatever, good luck!

for 6-7k you could get a fairly good ts magna either 4 of 6 cyl, the 4 bangers are great as long as you have a manual, autos are very slugish (mine used to be auto, did the conversion myself)

Hi,

I wouldn't pay $9.5k for any magna TS or earlier, no matter how immaculate! There are just soo many out there for $6k or less..and that is a LOT of kilometres.
Magna specific problems are very few, but the four bangers tend to leak coolant if not cared for and also oil. They do tend to go forever though(when I first met my girlfriend, I serviced her car. It had 2.5 litres of oil in it, and I added four litres of collant, which was mud coloured! This car now has 195,000kms on it, and is going very well). On the four, make sure you replace the water pump belt. They always get missed on services and do let go. They also have a tendency to blow smoke when cold, I think that is piston to bore clearances getting a bit loose, and/or valve setm seals, but again, usual older car stuff.
In general, any MacPherson strut car with over about 120,000kms on it needs new shocks and strut tower bushes, or is about to need them. Plus the usual stuff to look out for on older cars like wheel bearings going out, control arm bushes etc. The autos seem to last forever, but check the fliud for coulor and smell as you would any car.
Oh, and the boots can leak around the rear window.

Regards, Andrew.