Zoltrix
13-09-2005, 04:29 PM
All,
I am a new member here as I have just purchased a 97 TE Magna Advance 3ltr V6. I needed a reasonable cheap reliable large car for my family and decided on the Magna because I have always liked the look of them and it seemed like a much better quality car than a Falcodore of the same vintage.
I bought the car for $9500 from a Mitsubishi dealer after looking at quite a few private cars. This was a little more than what many private cars were selling for, but its in as close to perfect cvondition as you can expect for a 97 model car. A few minor scratches with a perfect interior. It was owned by a retired guy (even has pesioner discounts on the service records) and only ever serviced at Mitsubishi dealers and has 117k on the clock. So i think I can safely say its been looked after.
Firstly, just for anyone who's interested, I'll give my thoughts on the car. Besides a slight squeek from the console and passenger seat belt clip, the car has no rattles, quite amazing, I am impressed. The seats are fantastic for a standard car and the overall quality for a 97 car is great. The engine, as I have read many times in Magna reviews is just so very impressive, its smooth as right to the red line and its acelleration high in the rev range is just brilliant. My only real complaint with the engine is lack of bottom end torque, it can be caught out simply going up a hill in 3rd at 2000rpm needing a bick kick down to get some movement, somthing which I guess the 3.5l would be improved. Fuel economy is also good for such a large car, 12.5l/100km around town real world. Most falcodores seem to do closer to 14l/100km. The automatic transmission is much less impressive, it frequently shifts very hard indeed from 1st to 2nd gear, and can thump into gears when its not sure what you want from it. The Falcon 4 speed is definately a better transmission. Turning circle as you probably all know, is a complete joke. The steering is very light, somthing I am getting used to, but really should have been weighted up a bit. The steering columns lack of reach adjustment makes it hard to find a comfortable driving postion and is one of those things that is a real oversight. Now, controversy, front wheel drive! My wife will be the primary driver of this car and what end the car is driven by will not worry her one little bit, but while I think this is a great car, its not hard to see why people love the RWD of Falcons and Commodores. When I pull a quick U turn or pull out of tight corner quickly, I MUCH prefer RWD, Its really quite frustrating to have the car going straight ahead with no way to make it turn tighter by applying more throttle. IMHO this great car would be brilliant if it was RWD and sell just so much better. Overall though, a great car that I am 99% happy with, just what great value for $9000!
Now for my problem, a knocking noise from the steering column when turning from side to side, manly at parking speeds but can somtimes be felt whilst driving, somtimes it sounds quite metallic. I first climbed under the dash to find it was indeed inside the cabin and coming from teh steering column. No bolts are loose. After searching the internet I seem to have found inforation that the problem is caused by worn splines on the column joins at the joins to the universals (on at the wheel (hight adjustment) and one before it goes through the firewall. Apparently it was a problem only on TE magnas becasue of soft metal and was rectified on the TF onward. Some old posts I found on usenet said they had the column replaced out of warranty for free as it was a known defect with that model. I called up Mits Australia to see if a safety recall had been done, it hasn't and they didn't seem to helpful (not admitting there was an issue for a start), they just said they would transfer me to teh dealership I bought the car from. The service manager there told me he knew of the problem with TE's but it wasn't covered under the 2nd hand car warranty or the 3 year/175,000 extended warranty that came as part of the deal I took. He said it wasn't a safety concern and that "it would not get any worse". I can't see it not getting worse, increased movement increases the impact and thus wear! Now I realise the car is nearly 8 years old, but its done only 117,000kms. I wouldn't even have guessed such a thing would wear out on that kind of milage. Apparently it would cost $600 or more to fix. I decided to buy the car from a misubishi dealer party because I would expect the car to be of quality and have a warranty that the salesment said "covers pretty much everything". This is somthing you think it would cover, Im not talking about squeeks, trim falling off, worn shocks etc. Im talking about a manufacturing fault on a car sold by the dealer!
Has anyone else had experience with this issue or has any advice? I was possible thinking to try and ***** to Mitsubishi Australia some more (I don't think its the dealers fault at all) and see if they will fix it. Or, could I possibly get a steering column out of a TF or later and replace it myself. Doesn't look that hard, I have had a fair bit of experience playing with cars before, but the airbag worries my somwhat.
Any help appriciated.
Adam.
I am a new member here as I have just purchased a 97 TE Magna Advance 3ltr V6. I needed a reasonable cheap reliable large car for my family and decided on the Magna because I have always liked the look of them and it seemed like a much better quality car than a Falcodore of the same vintage.
I bought the car for $9500 from a Mitsubishi dealer after looking at quite a few private cars. This was a little more than what many private cars were selling for, but its in as close to perfect cvondition as you can expect for a 97 model car. A few minor scratches with a perfect interior. It was owned by a retired guy (even has pesioner discounts on the service records) and only ever serviced at Mitsubishi dealers and has 117k on the clock. So i think I can safely say its been looked after.
Firstly, just for anyone who's interested, I'll give my thoughts on the car. Besides a slight squeek from the console and passenger seat belt clip, the car has no rattles, quite amazing, I am impressed. The seats are fantastic for a standard car and the overall quality for a 97 car is great. The engine, as I have read many times in Magna reviews is just so very impressive, its smooth as right to the red line and its acelleration high in the rev range is just brilliant. My only real complaint with the engine is lack of bottom end torque, it can be caught out simply going up a hill in 3rd at 2000rpm needing a bick kick down to get some movement, somthing which I guess the 3.5l would be improved. Fuel economy is also good for such a large car, 12.5l/100km around town real world. Most falcodores seem to do closer to 14l/100km. The automatic transmission is much less impressive, it frequently shifts very hard indeed from 1st to 2nd gear, and can thump into gears when its not sure what you want from it. The Falcon 4 speed is definately a better transmission. Turning circle as you probably all know, is a complete joke. The steering is very light, somthing I am getting used to, but really should have been weighted up a bit. The steering columns lack of reach adjustment makes it hard to find a comfortable driving postion and is one of those things that is a real oversight. Now, controversy, front wheel drive! My wife will be the primary driver of this car and what end the car is driven by will not worry her one little bit, but while I think this is a great car, its not hard to see why people love the RWD of Falcons and Commodores. When I pull a quick U turn or pull out of tight corner quickly, I MUCH prefer RWD, Its really quite frustrating to have the car going straight ahead with no way to make it turn tighter by applying more throttle. IMHO this great car would be brilliant if it was RWD and sell just so much better. Overall though, a great car that I am 99% happy with, just what great value for $9000!
Now for my problem, a knocking noise from the steering column when turning from side to side, manly at parking speeds but can somtimes be felt whilst driving, somtimes it sounds quite metallic. I first climbed under the dash to find it was indeed inside the cabin and coming from teh steering column. No bolts are loose. After searching the internet I seem to have found inforation that the problem is caused by worn splines on the column joins at the joins to the universals (on at the wheel (hight adjustment) and one before it goes through the firewall. Apparently it was a problem only on TE magnas becasue of soft metal and was rectified on the TF onward. Some old posts I found on usenet said they had the column replaced out of warranty for free as it was a known defect with that model. I called up Mits Australia to see if a safety recall had been done, it hasn't and they didn't seem to helpful (not admitting there was an issue for a start), they just said they would transfer me to teh dealership I bought the car from. The service manager there told me he knew of the problem with TE's but it wasn't covered under the 2nd hand car warranty or the 3 year/175,000 extended warranty that came as part of the deal I took. He said it wasn't a safety concern and that "it would not get any worse". I can't see it not getting worse, increased movement increases the impact and thus wear! Now I realise the car is nearly 8 years old, but its done only 117,000kms. I wouldn't even have guessed such a thing would wear out on that kind of milage. Apparently it would cost $600 or more to fix. I decided to buy the car from a misubishi dealer party because I would expect the car to be of quality and have a warranty that the salesment said "covers pretty much everything". This is somthing you think it would cover, Im not talking about squeeks, trim falling off, worn shocks etc. Im talking about a manufacturing fault on a car sold by the dealer!
Has anyone else had experience with this issue or has any advice? I was possible thinking to try and ***** to Mitsubishi Australia some more (I don't think its the dealers fault at all) and see if they will fix it. Or, could I possibly get a steering column out of a TF or later and replace it myself. Doesn't look that hard, I have had a fair bit of experience playing with cars before, but the airbag worries my somwhat.
Any help appriciated.
Adam.