Ok i own a 1987 Mitsubishi Magna TN SE 2.6 EFI. ok now i got this car back in august 06 now i got it 4 free of a famliy friend ok when i first picked it up it was a mess been sitting unda a carport covered in sand and wood pilled up all round it for 2 years. jumpstarted it started first go (still had 1/2 tank :D ) ok anyways got it all cleaned up and ****.problems i found when first got it needed new exhaust manifold,major service,new tyres,thermostat. ok then afta 2 weeks of having it had to go to adelaide 4 a job interview BIG MISTAKE. blew the radiator,***** the thermostat and gasket and housing, totally annialated the head and gasket. finally got it back to the mount had to tow it back on a trailer 400 bucks l8r errr it sat at missks's house 4 nearly 2 months ( THANKS BIG TIME BRON!!). ok got it back replaced the head and gasket,thermostat and housing,radiator,oil filer and rocket cover gasket. ok car went alrite 4 a bit then tappets started playin up, car ovaheated again,used all the oil in 3 days WTF, then just the start of this week what goes the ***in ECU it fried.

so total cost of this car is : $2070 :shock:

SO YEAH IM ***** OF MAJORLY AFTA SEEING THT. now its 4 sale

Hi, stick with it, you have spent a fair bit of money on it, could be your problems are nearly over.

I can't say that I've ever had to go through all those problems... but it seems like more just bad luck. I had problem after problem ever since I got mine, although not as severe as you (i got my 1990 TP free though, so it sorta makes up for it in repairs lol), but now I have fixed almost everything, except for the 2 side engine mounts.. the car runs like a dream though! As long as you look after it and keep an eye on oil levels, coolant, temperatures etc. and replace everything rubber (trust me on that!), you shouldn't have any problems ;)
Once you have all that done, they are very reliable and should keep you going for a long time. I've spent maybe about $3700 on mine, including about $1000 of audio stuff, so it's not too bad :)

All those problems could quite easily lead on from eachother, and just shows how much these magnas like their maintenance ;)

First gens are a rare breed on the road these days, u stick with it and it will be something unique! hehe

Good luck with it!

I had a TP wagon that went through 3 starter motors, a master cylinder, 4 new pads and rotors. 2 tyres and a full service all within 2 months. in the end it just wasn't worth holding onto the car. it was just a big money trap. over time it had to have a new radiator all new hoses, cam seals, pvc valve, a number of gaskets. that's all I can name off the top of my head but there was ALOT more than that! the head needed replacing to.

forking out for a new magna was the best financial decision I've made!
for some reason it even costs me less to run

I had a TP wagon that went through 3 starter motors, a master cylinder, 4 new pads and rotors. 2 tyres and a full service all within 2 months. in the end it just wasn't worth holding onto the car. it was just a big money trap. over time it had to have a new radiator all new hoses, cam seals, pvc valve, a number of gaskets. that's all I can name off the top of my head but there was ALOT more than that! the head needed replacing to.

forking out for a new magna was the best financial decision I've made!
for some reason it even costs me less to run


If I had my time over again, I went from a TN wagon to a TH. I would spend money on the 1st gen rather than spend $13,000 on a 99 wagon only to find it worth $4000 now.

The difference in the cars is not great enough, plus the 1st gens are much bigger inside.

1 major benefit of your 99 TH is that it offers more safety to you simplly becoz its newer, more safety feautures and technology (and since youre a courier thats 1 major benefit!) others beneifts would be driving comfort, reliability etc...

if everyone has your mentality then there would be no new car sales, becoz depreciation from newer cars would make newer car not worthwhile to buy. everyone would then just keep their rustbuckets on the road, they still got 4 wheels and 4 doors on them, goes and stops as well.

1 major benefit of your 99 TH is that it offers more safety to you simplly becoz its newer, more safety feautures and technology (and since youre a courier thats 1 major benefit!) others beneifts would be driving comfort, reliability etc...

if everyone has your mentality then there would be no new car sales, becoz depreciation from newer cars would make newer car not worthwhile to buy. everyone would then just keep their rustbuckets on the road, they still got 4 wheels and 4 doors on them, goes and stops as well.
HAHAHAH comfort and features in a 3rd gen?? your joking right :bowrofl:
op you meant safety features, still my 3rd gen has been one of the most uncomfortable cars i have been in with **** all features

I'll agree with you there mad lante, comfort and features pretty much the same (oh yay central locking and air con!), saftey...what saftey? The main improvement from 1st to 3rd gen is the extra power and better fuel economy.

lol what safety? airbags, abs, traction control which are all availabe on 3rd gen. plus the benefit of newer model better safety rating in a crash (most likely) and better brakes.

features? theres heaps of little features in a 3rd gen, go do a side by side comparison

comfort- effortless cruising, enough said, remember how your 1st gen 2.6's struggles up a hill and out of breath above 4000rpm, and 3rd gens are a better drive than 1st gen anyday etc..?

family owned 1 1st gen (had it for 6+ years wasnt a bad car. hence followed by 2 3rd gen). what you guys basically saying are that mmal, never improve the magna from 1st gen to 3rd gen, apart from the engine.

car makers usually improve their car year to year with facelifts, new series and with major changes at each generation, i think some of you guys are saying things about 1st gen vs 3rd gen are becoz most of youz are emotional attached.

i think some of you guys are saying things about 1st gen vs 3rd gen are becoz most of youz are emotional attached.


couldn't we say the same about u, seeing as u felt the need to defend the 3rd gens soooo bad:D :bowrofl: :D
yes we drive old cars, but mine is always maintained early and always runs good. and everything uve mentioned is pretty much spot on. we're all family here so im not gonna dispute which is better, i just have a soft spot for 1st and 2nd gens . Nothing against 3rd gen's but if u don't own one we're constanlty told to dicth our old heap and upgrade to a 3rd gen so i guess that gets up some ppl's nose's who acutually like the 1st and 2nd gens they drive. Only cos 80% of amc is 3rd gens, don't take it bad but they are good cars, but like alot of ppl i prefer older tin and the first gens are even alittle on the young side for me. im not a fan of many cars built after 1977, thats why i have a 1971 project car in the shed. so it's all down to preference and at the end of the day we're all magna lovers here:D

i understand your pt of view :) and im cool with it :cool:


and no im not attached to my car, well my 1st car yes, but not anymore.. :)

me first car was a Chrysler Galant (tyres, exhaust,fuel tank,interior carpet,radiator, head piston rings and everyother***** thing)in the end it was just not worth the effort to keep on the road!! this car already sounds like a money pit best option is to go buy a decent car around the same model and salvage the good parts from both and make 1 good one i ended up blowing about $2000 on my galant then 2 weeks later i sold it to the wreckers for $100

couldn't we say the same about u, seeing as u felt the need to defend the 3rd gens soooo bad:D :bowrofl: :D
yes we drive old cars, but mine is always maintained early and always runs good. and everything uve mentioned is pretty much spot on. we're all family here so im not gonna dispute which is better, i just have a soft spot for 1st and 2nd gens . Nothing against 3rd gen's but if u don't own one we're constanlty told to dicth our old heap and upgrade to a 3rd gen so i guess that gets up some ppl's nose's who acutually like the 1st and 2nd gens they drive. Only cos 80% of amc is 3rd gens, don't take it bad but they are good cars, but like alot of ppl i prefer older tin and the first gens are even alittle on the young side for me. im not a fan of many cars built after 1977, thats why i have a 1971 project car in the shed. so it's all down to preference and at the end of the day we're all magna lovers here:D
Well said

lol what safety? airbags, abs, traction control which are all availabe on 3rd gen. plus the benefit of newer model better safety rating in a crash (most likely) and better brakes.

features? theres heaps of little features in a 3rd gen, go do a side by side comparison

comfort- effortless cruising, enough said, remember how your 1st gen 2.6's struggles up a hill and out of breath above 4000rpm, and 3rd gens are a better drive than 1st gen anyday etc..?

family owned 1 1st gen (had it for 6+ years wasnt a bad car. hence followed by 2 3rd gen). what you guys basically saying are that mmal, never improve the magna from 1st gen to 3rd gen, apart from the engine.

car makers usually improve their car year to year with facelifts, new series and with major changes at each generation, i think some of you guys are saying things about 1st gen vs 3rd gen are becoz most of youz are emotional attached.
hmm airbags won’t standard till late tjs? and when you look around next to nill actually have them, same goes for abs and only a very select few have traction control

i do, do a side by side comparison to both my magnas the first gen wins hands down

as for running out of breath at 4k mine will rev out to 6.5k easily and i can provide proof and i would have to say the 1st gen is as easier to drive as my 3rd gen there both the same really there’s nothing i could pin point to say that one or the others better for driveability, they both have stupid turning circles still lol. only thing im happy with is the motor in my 3rd gen

and yes i would have to say that they never really improved enough, they had HUGE cut backs through each generation, they didn’t even fix many problems from the 1st gen, look at the gearboxes they where still rubbish up till the tl

and its not that im emotionally attached its more that im surprised and disappointed actually, it was a real let down to see that i didn’t think they did enough at all to 'improve'

haha, mate youre full of sh*t

i said airbags, abs an TCL were AVAILABLE on 3rd gen, which wasnt an option on 1st gen, and apart from the pre - TJ execs, nearly every 3rd gen has abs and airbags.


1st gen wins hands down in features comparison? hmm many 1st gens dont even have power steering as standard, p/m, central locking, better stock sound system to just name a few.

driving comfort? i prefer something with p/s... smoother and quieter ride (maybe yours go all the way to 6500rpm, but most stock carby astrons dont go too well pass 4000rpm-from perosnal exp)

no improvement on 2nd or 3rd gen from 1st gen? wonder where MMAL spend all those $million on model development.. lol,

to the OP, the price of a early 3rd gen are very low these days, early ones can be had for 3-4k, and if your car is giving you endless probs then maybe its time to sell it. Spending $2000 today to fix up everything, doesnt mean you wont need to spend in the future. General wear and tear of a car will eventually catch up if the car is not serviced religiously.

haha, mate youre full of sh*t

i said airbags, abs an TCL were AVAILABLE on 3rd gen, which wasnt an option on 1st gen, and apart from the pre - TJ execs, nearly every 3rd gen has abs and airbags.


1st gen wins hands down in features comparison? hmm many 1st gens dont even have power steering as standard, p/m, central locking to just name a few.

driving comfort? i prefer something with p/s... smoother and quieter ride

no improvement on 2nd or 3rd gen from 1st gen? wonder where MMAL spend all those $million on model development.. lol
how am i the one full of **** least i still have the two cars to actually compare with you said you never even had a 1st gen of your own

and fair enough i missed you saying it was available but still many of them didnt have it, like i said standard at the very late 3rd gens and alot of tetfth dont have them

and ill think you’ll find there’s alot of gen 1s around then you think with power steer, it was only really the tms that had the most without, the tp except for the glx all had them same with p/m it was only the glx that didn’t have it exec > had it standard

as for comfort, im talking about seats and the ride not what its like to drive the car :doubt:

quieter ride? how about the useless frameless windows, sure they look good but they leak not only air (wind noise) but water, there’s the annoying noise from the mirrors, the 6g drones way more then the astron

im not trying to have a go at you mate its just how i felt once i got my 3rd gen i just expected more coming from a car nearly 10years apart, as i said the motor was a sure improvement as was the body shape other then that, thats all i can see

allright mate, each to their own. ive learnt how to drive in my dad TN which didnt came with PS so it was a lot of hard work...about the seats and that i dont really remember since it was couple of yrs ago

Driving an old mega mileage car deep into the back country boonies always bring a churn in the guts. Out in the middle of nowhere and the car starts to make a new sound or maybe even a slight stutter in power and you start to sweat bullets.

lol what safety? airbags, abs, traction control which are all availabe on 3rd gen. plus the benefit of newer model better safety rating in a crash (most likely) and better brakes.

features? theres heaps of little features in a 3rd gen, go do a side by side comparison

comfort- effortless cruising, enough said, remember how your 1st gen 2.6's struggles up a hill and out of breath above 4000rpm, and 3rd gens are a better drive than 1st gen anyday etc..?

family owned 1 1st gen (had it for 6+ years wasnt a bad car. hence followed by 2 3rd gen). what you guys basically saying are that mmal, never improve the magna from 1st gen to 3rd gen, apart from the engine.

car makers usually improve their car year to year with facelifts, new series and with major changes at each generation, i think some of you guys are saying things about 1st gen vs 3rd gen are becoz most of youz are emotional attached.

OK I've had the 3rd gen since July 2005. Havent driven my old TN for most of that time either.

We got the TN back late last year after over 12 months of not driving it we found the TN wasn't so bad even if the car was a wreck and needed close to $2000 spent to bring it up to scratch. But with a bent chassis it wasn't worth it.

Comparing them lets see.

3rd Gen Altera Wagon
TN Elite Wagon

3.5 V6
2.6 4cyl

Air Bags
Not available

ABS
Not available

CD player
Can be fitted

Air Con Standard
Air Con Standard

Central Locking
Central Locking

Power Windows
Power Windows

Cruise Control
Cruise Control

Remote Stereo controls N/A
Remote Stereo controls Standard

1 piece rear seat
60/40split rear seat

400kms per tank city driving
400kms per tank city driving

Sits at 140kmh no problems
Sits at 140kmh no problems

Alloy Wheels
Alloy Wheels

No rear passenger reading lights
rear passenger roof mounted reading lights

Expensive to repair
Cheap to repair

The TN is more comfy and roomier inside, I assume thats becuase it's an Aussie Designed Wagon not just a Copy of a Japanese hand me down.

Sorry I can't get the TN list to center properly.

Well, i bought my TM for $600 last october....costed me $500 > on repairs as well as rego, insuurence and ctp :D at first i hated the car why, coz teh way i was driving it.........but yet again.....if u treat a car nice itll be nice to u :P example........dont drive stoopidley drive sensibley.......you'll save fuel, and extend your car's life. :) correct me if im wrong but thats my opnion anyway ;)

well having driven both i much prefer my TJ, i miss the hell out of the TP but it doest even compare