Hi guys,

I am looking for a daily car and considering a 97+ Verada.
I have seen them go for very little money, and even though fuel economy is high on my list, these cars seem like the bargain of the century considering how graceful and elegant they look and ride.

Now, here are my questions:
1. Is there much of a fuel consumption disparity between 2.4, 3.0 and 3.5?
I have heard the difference between 2.4 and 3.0 is negligible, about what about between the 6G7X motors?

2. Is the 5 speed auto much better than the 4 speed? In terms of reliability, fuel economy, performance and overall "feel"? And, is it worth the premium in price of a newer car?

3. Are these cars reliable? What are some key areas to look for when looking for a car? ie, common faults, rust areas, leaks? And what mileage should I be targeting? Personally I am looking for a sub 200K km car.

Any other help would be appreciated.

Extremely happy with my verada and there is a huge list of upgrades from other models to choose from if you so wish! Check out my ride thread for a few lol

You can pick up a bargain but will most probably have the higher k's! Having said that mine has 250k on it and its been the most reliable car i have ever had! I will never look back :)

1. Fuel consumption on an older motor isn't great but it isn't shocking either. The 97 verada didn't come in the 2.4 from memory.
2. The autos are probably the weakest point in the verada IMO. As they get older they begin slipping and eventually go. 5 speed performance is obviously going to "feel" more powerful to a 4 speed
3. As i have said this is the most reliable car i have ever had. This is my 13th by the way lol Look for trans issues, rust isn't a problem, water on the passenger floor, make sure timing belt has been done. . few others i can't remember lol If you can get one for a good price around 150k you will be happy!

I think the 4sp is a little more economical than the 5sp auto, and the 5sp auto is apparently almost as fast as a manual (except still auto), and a litle worse fuel economy than the 4sp. 3.0=revvier, but 3.5= more powerful, quite a few people have swapped out a 3.0 and put in a 3.5. I don't think too many people have or are interested in the 2.4 at all. 3rd gen veradas were all 3.5, all auto, and don't think any had 5sp untill KJ? Not heard of anyone having bad rust, but I'm sure someone has had some at some point. The AWD's if the gearbox goes, are expensive to fix, less economical and need higher load rated tyres. Properly serviced ones will be most reliable, but like any car, proper maintenence is needed. If auto, make sure the trans fluid is clean and doesn't smell burnt, if towing or driving hard consider fitting an external trans cooler. Major service/timing belt due every 5years/100,000kms, prices average about $1k for that. The paint can peel pretty badly, some colours are more easilly affected than others, white seems to be pretty good though, it just goes a bit dull instead. I think its because being a cheaper car, less magnas are garaged and have the paint cared for than people that have a near new commodore as their pride and joy. But yes, you can usually get a pretty well spec'd verada for the same money as a similar year/kms/condition commodore/falcon.

3rd gen veradas were all 3.5, all auto, and don't think any had 5sp untill KJ?
5 speed came out in the first of the TJ Sports and VR-X, but didn't reach the KJ Verada until Series II. But yeah, they were all 3.5 autos.

I don't really have anything else to add to what these guys said, apart from the fact that I don't think you'd regret buying a Verada :) What's your ideal budget?


What are some key areas to look for when looking for a car? Personally I am looking for a sub 200K km car.
Timi's already alluded to it, but the major services are every 100,000km. So be wary of anything post-200k that hasn't been serviced, and be prepared to budget that in for anything approaching 200,000km.

If they've been properly maintained, they're very reliable engines... plenty of members are in the 200s without major drama.

Calling a spade a spade, but if fuel economy is high on your list, don't look at 3.5l Magnas/Veradas.
14 year old ones can't help either...

You live in the ACT though, so unless you're sitting in traffic a lot (which is hard to do in ACT right? lol) economy is reasonable if you're always on the move.
It's no Hyundai Getz but as long as you're maintaining speeds it's alright.

Peak hour traffic and auto Verada = painful consumption.

1don't get a 2.4 they are notoriously dreadful. an over sized 4 cylinder hauling around a car several hundred kilos heavier than it should quick to break and use more fuel than a 3.0L. power between a 3.0 and a 3.5 is a big leap depending on the model and fuel consumption will vary, i averaged 10-12litres per hundred in a 3.0 liter manual and now 10-13 in the same conditions in a 3.5 th sports.
And that's nearly all local driving with a once a week trip on a freeway. (and i most certainly don't drive like a grandma for fuel economy)

2 the 5sp is faster i'm not sure about the economy but i think its fairly good (better than a manual on the freeway) I personaly wouldnt get an auto but to get either try for a 5.

3 They are reliable, fairly easy to work on and don't develop too many problems that aren't obvious. Be sure to aim for atleast a TH 99/00 model as it'll come with the trip computer and 3.0L engine base
a sports model will set you back between 2-4 thousand depending on kms and condition but thats with the 3.5 power everything (only thing it didnt come with as base was the airbags which where an option) actually the altera apparently didnt hold its value as well (according to redbook) so might be easier to get and did coem with EVERYTHING.
And yeah just do the usual check you would on any car check the cv's, check for oil i the front spark plugs, that the major service has been done if it's around the 200000 km mark.

Oh and yeah as timi said the paint magna paint is notorious for the clear coat lifiting so either get one that has been garaged or aim for white (not the pearl white though) as the clearcoat was mixed into the paint and wont lift/peel

And dont be afriad to lok at a few they might seem like a great car but dont settle for the first good one as you might find something better with just a little patience.

... 2 the 5sp is faster i'm not sure about the economy but i think its fairly good (better than a manual on the freeway) I personaly wouldnt get an auto but to get either try for a 5...Is a manual more fuel hungry than an auto on the freeway?

Is a manual more fuel hungry than an auto on the freeway?

Actually I found the complete opposite, the 5spd manual was better on fuel than the 5spd auto, and that's comparing the EXACT same car, other than transmission.

1. The 3.0L is the most fuel economic, however the veradas only came in 3.5 standard (not sure if 3.0 was an option, but i've never seen one). Forget the 2.4L (what Zahrim said). The 3.5L is leagues ahead of the 3.0L in drive ability/performance.
2. The 4 speed will give you about 1-2L/100kms better fuel economy, however the 5spd auto has much better performance. The veradas again only came out in 4spd in the era you're looking at. If you are doing mostly freeway/highway driving the 4spd will do you alright. The 4 spd is good but if performance is high on your priority list I would go 5 spd. After having a 4spd and going 5spd, I never look back, it's a much better driving experience, but if fuel economy is important go the 4spd.
3. I wouldn't worry about mileage, Magna's can easily go 4-500k kms if they've been serviced regularly. They good for rust, the only places I've seen them rust is usually in the same spot as every other car (around the window seals/windscreen wipers). Check there are no major vibrations with the steering on full lock in drive as this can identify a few issues.

What is your budget? It shouldn't be a stretch to get a nice KJ around the 5k mark, maybe with some high kms.
The below fuel eeconomy averages I witnessed with my car:
50% hwy/50% short trip driving, averaged over many tanks, L/100kms.
4spd with 3.0L = 8.2 (different car, '98 TF)
4spd with 3.5L = 9.3
5spd man with 3.5L = 9.8
5spd auto with 3.5L = 10.7

Just to build on previous posts:

From current experience:
My 5spd auto sports uses ~1L/100km more in every scenario than my stock executive 3.5 TH used to.
I believe this is due to the transmission and the tune.

So in short I would recommend a nice KH/KJ verada. It has a stock tune and a 4spd auto but still heaps of power etc. Great fuel economy (well, for a magna ^^). Dont bother going xi unless you find a really nice one for cheap.

For 5k you could easily pick up a KH rada with ~150k on it in great nic. Just 'gotta search. gumtree, ebay, carsales, drive, the works.

Thanks for the replies guys.
I guess I will go for the 4 speed. I have driven a friends 97 Verada 4 speed and it was very nice, and I have personally driven it on the highway with over 1,000km to one tank (actually, 935km but there was a bit left and I am sure it'd hit 1,000km). Though around the city it was much more fuel hungry.

I know the 2.4 and 3.0 engines were not an option in Veradas, I meant though if the economy is substantially better I would be willing to buy a Magna rather than Verada.

To be honest, I have seen some examples of 97 Veradas for 2,500-4,000. I won't be looking to buy until about 8 months from now, but ideally around 3K would be the budget. I was initially looking at a CD5 Accord 2.2, but they cost more with higher km and I think the Verada would be a better drive, not to mention if I spend $1,000 more on a 2.2L, it would take me about 25,000km of driving before offsetting that cost.
In the end I understand that the Verada will be much more fuel hungry, but for the price they go for any other car will be much worse with the only advantage of better fuel economy.

Also, does anyone know if there is more sound insulation in a Verada as opposed to a Magna?

Yes there is more sound insulation in a Verada.

Yes there is more sound insulation in a Verada.

I thought I read somewhere that they did for KE-KH, but KJ onwards was the same as a Magna to save costs. I could be wrong though..

Is a manual more fuel hungry than an auto on the freeway?
to the best of my knowledge a manual will use slightly more as it has higher revs at 110 than an auto. whether that turns into worse fuel economy i'm not certain but i'm fairly sure. I haven't done the same trip with a manual car with a trip computer to be certain yet.

to the best of my knowledge a manual will use slightly more as it has higher revs at 110 than an auto. whether that turns into worse fuel economy i'm not certain but i'm fairly sure. I haven't done the same trip with a manual car with a trip computer to be certain yet.

you might be forgetting the power needed to run the automatic. But thats beside the point, Verada's are auto's unless modified

Firstly the 5 speeds are speeds are much quicker, I was also told that they became more reliable in the TW, no more wave spring issues. These are 10k cars tho :(

The four speed that is in your budget, can be good on fuel, but the gear box is so long, that you need to use the engines strengths, torque, use that and let it change to second at 20 kmph, 3rd @ 40, and let it grab overdrive as earl as possible.
Within reason of course, Hills and large loads are different, but it a pretty good guide for driving on the flat. Dont spend ages with your foot hardly on the throttle, but get it out of the uneconomical gears as promptly and without getting the tacho at 12o'clock, its pretty easy to get it to 100 without going over 2500 RPM. That will be about the best fuel saving tips I can share with you. Oh, and don't be in hurry to get a red light, if you can ease off early and get the green while still rolling, you've saved Fuel Brakes tyres and time.
If you start to explore the limits of the 1st ( 70kmph +++) expect your fuel bill to increase, and second for that matter.

Make sure the car you get, the gears work as smooth as possible, even test drive newer, lower K'd cars out you budget just to get an idea of how a good box behaves.
Trust your smell, smell the underside of the oil cap, burnt oil is unmistakeable, all motors burn oil, it in the design, but how badly, you can smell it.
Smell the gear oil as well, it should be bright red if just changed, the books say change it at 90 thou, but a lot on here change it every 45 thou. Trans oil coolers are recommend too.

If you have any doubt about the box, or it misbehaves, even slightly, move on to the next car, $2000 repairs to a $2000 car suck big time.

Hope this helps.
And If I had my time again, I'd get a 5 speed, if its not a TW/KW, it would be a manual Sport/VRX, they're just that much more fun/controllable/ oh did I say quick.

To be honest speed is not a factor. Even a 3.0 is faster than I need. This is just meant to be a comfortable car I can take long journeys in, or drive to the shops and basically avoid using my other car.

Is a gearbox rebuild $2,000? How are the prices from wreckers? To be honest I think wreckers have these cars plentiful and parts should be easy to come by.

Another question I have is I may do some towing at times. Is a 4 speed 3.5L capable of towing 1,500-1,700kg on 500+ km trips?

Pretty sure Magnas and Veradas have a limit of about 1400-1500kg when towing with brakes.

Do you know what governs this limit? ie, brakes, transmission, chassis etc?

I thought I read somewhere that they did for KE-KH, but KJ onwards was the same as a Magna to save costs. I could be wrong though..

Hmm can't say about the KJ but definitely for the KE/KF (which OP is looking at) as all the door trims etc. I've bought from a KF verada had the stuff coming out of everywhere lol.

Do you know what governs this limit? ie, brakes, transmission, chassis etc?

Mitsubishi say in the operators handbook that the maximum allowable towing weight is 1500KG....legally you cannot exceed that figure as state regulations use the manufacturers figures.

There's been a lot of good advice given. I'll just add that the fuel economy from
my KJ wagon (3.5, 4 speed) is very similar to my TS sedan (3.0-12v, 4 speed).

Also, the Used Car Research section at goauto.com.au is very useful for
details of upgrades between & within models.

Not sure about the sound insulation, but make sure you check all the electric windows. I don't think they are any worse than any other model of car, but a drivers window regular is around $300 plus fitting.