Hi guys!

I just purchased a Magna TJ VRX MY02 5 Speed Auto for $3000.

It has 146,000 km on it...full log books and visually looks very good.

I will just quickly note down what I saw wrong with the car....

I am really picky, so here goes it!

- Small scape on the left and right of front bumper
- Paint flaking on left mirror
- Paint flaking on right mirror
- Right Mirror motor not working
- Both rear windows rubber seems broken where you wind up the window. There is a slight gap where the window used to meet the rubber - which of course is no longer there.
- Peeling cheap window tints back windows and rear windscreen.
- big dent on rear bumper, right in the middle as well as smaller dents also on boot, hard to notice however...
- some stone chip marks on hood and bumpers
- interior rear right door has lining torn (about 3 inches)
- no remote central locking??
- slight marks on rubber and roof due to roof racks (I think, since they are the same on the other side)
- I drove the car fine for two days, no issues - but today when I was at the lights, the car was a little jumpy to get into gear. It didnt feel like it was thumping into gear (like my Audi was) it felt a little like the accelerator was very touchy and launched me forward in a jerky manner...almost like a n00by learner driver. It only did this the one time...so not sure if I just messed it up or not. I did press the TCL button on while I was at the lights, maybe that caused it?? :hmm:
- It hasn't had a service for 15,000 km and no history of any transmission service. I checked the oil, it was a golden colour, but it was sort of low.
- The car does vibrate a bit on idle, its nothing massive - the revs are stable, feels like a vibration most cars have when the aircon is on, but the aircon isnt on.
- On the mag wheels, there is a missing central nut/cap on one of the wheels. I think these are the standard stock wheels, anywhere to find the central nut/cap thats missing?

Positives

- no oil leaks from a few days of driving, put cardboard under the car - not a drop.
- no water/coolant leaking/temps seem fine
- one year rego
- new tires
- new breaks
- full log books
- Very quick off the mark/effortless driving.
- Aircon is super cold!
- came with a JVC stereo system (no sub, but it sounds alright)
- has nice chrome mag wheels and body kit (i think they are stock)

What I have planned for the car in the next couple of months.

- Need to do a service for both the engine + transmission. (Oil + air filter booked in with Dreggzy 30/9/12, will do transmission at a later date)
- I want to fix/replace the drivers mirror as motor doesnt work/respray both the mirrors or replace mirrors? (possibly curved mirrors, not a fan of the rectangular look).
- Fix/Replace the door cloth trims that are ripped with leather for now (will do seats later on)
- Replace the missing central nut/cap on the front right wheel.
- Fix the window rubbers that are ripped/cracked. They whistle when driving (very annoying) and can possibly let water in. Am interested in replacing them with Chrome/Rubber ones...
- Get remote locking as wife is nagging me about this.
- Fix totally cracked/worn windscreen seals.
- Respray wipers Chrome (I am a fan of Chrome wipers, even if they blind me ha ha)

Work Done So far : (as of 27/9/2012)

Nothing Yet! :D

Will need help with 99.99% of this stuff because I know nothing about cars and I am just not very mobile either.

First day : The car just arrived home for the first time.

http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/577136_267052930081606_849450055_n.jpg

Hi mate,

Congrats on the purchase and welcome to the club. The Magna VR-X's are really great cars. Treat them right, and they'll serve you long time. They're pretty fast and good looking. One of the best mitsy's around at the time when it was released and was a commonbore/failcon V8 killer. You didn't buy that car - you stole it! $3000 is nothing. What a bargain!!

This may have been better to put into the member machines section as this section is more about problems than an introduction. Obviously we can't expect you to know this since you're new.

As for how fixing your issues:
- "Jerky" accelerator pedal. Sounds like a dirty throttle body. Gunk has probably built up and getting stuck. Remove your intake piping and check the condition. If it's dirty, then unbolt the tb and clean it out with a rag and some carby cleaner. Be sure to use new gaskets on the tb. See how you go after to flush the transmission with genuine fluid. Make sure you check the fluid level using the right procedure (check the DIY section in Tech torque)

- Mirror -> You can buy anouther one from the wreckers or Unique Mits Bits (forum sponsor) if he has it in your colour however it could be hard to get one in the right colour especailly considering paint does fade. It'd be easier to strip the paint and repaint. If you didn't want to go through the tenuous process of having to do a bare plastic respray then you could probably get away with sanding it back a bit, filling with some putty spray and then respraying. Use acrylic spray cans mixed up by your local auto store to make the job easier.
Here's a vid to give you an idea of how to paint plastic.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_7S9MW2J4A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuJnjN7QqBc

- Leather. There were never any leather seats available for the TJ (2000-2003) Sports/VR-X models apart from a few dealer specials. If you want to retain the better bolstered sports/vr-x seats and have leather then you'll need to get it retrimmed. Expect around $3000 with proper genuine full leather.
Otherwise, you could fit up later model leather TL/TW VR-X seats however these do come with side airbags so the they'll need to be removed from the seat and the space filled in (illegal to have the airbags and not have them connected. They're also electric so that will need to be wired in as well. Quite simple to do though.
If you don't care about the better bolstering that the sports seats got then you could also fit Verada Xi leather seats. Personally i'm not a fan due to both the look, feel (not real leather but a mixture) and due to the lack of bolstering. Doesn't hug you as well. However, I beleive the GTV(i) Verada had the sports style bolstering.

- Good mechanic. I'm in vic so I don't know but ask some of the AMC///NSW crew and I'm sure they'll give you some good recommendations. There's some pretty heavily modified magna's in NSW, so I'm sure a few up there have some real pro trustworthy mechanics they know and use.

- Servicing a VR-X is really no different to servicing any magna. They had the same engines as the lower models (some early TJ's have lower power) but really anyone who can service a magna, can service a VR-X. These engines are relatively simple so any old mechanic should know how to service them. I'd be more concerned with the quality of their work (attention to detail) and them following the service manual well.
I'm guessing you need to do the 125km service? That's a very simple oil + filter service from memory. What you should be more concerned with is the 100km service to ensure the timing belt was replaced along with the back spark plugs and the regular fliiuds for a major service - e.g. coolant, power steering, brake fluid and importantly; the transmission fluid. It needs to be done with genuine fluid and via the correct procedure.

- Fixing the stone chips with spray cans:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gw3SEiCf2UY

- Removing and replacing window tint:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmR8LlGkGJQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2-b763DTpY

- Bumper Dent - use a heatgun and you might just be able to pop it out. Otherwise a slide hammer with some glue and plastic hooks and/or some PDR tools might also work.

- Window rubber problems. Head to your local pick-a-part wreckers - you're bound to find one that is not damaged. Earlier magna models came with chrome, if that's your thing.

Hope that helps.

Enjoy your new ride!!

Doing an oil change is super simple and can be done in under 30 minutes. There are many, many members here who would never send their car to a mechanic for such a simple thing. In saying that, a benefit of having this done by a mechanic is to do a thorough inspection of the car to weed out any other hidden problems. This is particularly important considering you only just got the car.

Thanks for the very details responses so far.

I probably wont be able to do any DIY stuff with my car because one I have some serious health problems and secondly I am just not that great with this kind of stuff.

Hopefully I can find people in my area that also have a similar car!

Well good to hear that $3000 is a good price, my nephew said $5000 would have also been a great deal.

Are there any videos that show how to clean up the throttle body?

I'd take it one step at a time, try and oil change and if you can do it move on to cleaning the maf etc

Such a great deal though, what a bargain car for that amount of money. Sell it in a few years you won't lose anything.

Oh and good to see another sydney member.

If you like mate, I am working on my own or other peoples magnas just about every weekend. If you give me a list of what needs doing, I can most likely do it for you for the price of parts. Let me know if you need a hand.

Well I am happy that it's a good price!

I have had some really bad luck with mechanics and cars recently. I had a ford that died on me after a year, then my Audi (which I had for 3 years) had a gear box failure, all because mechanics never listened to me and always fixed the wrong stuff. I even had to take a couple of mechanics to fair trading cause they were blatently ripping me off, cause of their specialty services/egos.

Glad that I have a much "easier" car to repair and maintain, the Audi was a joke. I am a pensioner and have three kids and sometimes for the smallest thing I was getting asked to pay 2 grand and ultimately the problems still werent fixed!

This car drives like a dream so far, except for the sometimes jumpy accelerator making me jolt forward! :badgrin: Its a very clean and tidy car - only minor cosmetic stuff! Why anyone would sell this car for 5 grand and then lay it off for 3 is beyond me.

What is the going rate for this car? I don't understand why they are so cheap! Ha Ha!

@ dreggzy

Sure! Where are you located? I am interested in fixing anything thats pretty simple and already in the list I mentioned above.

I am very interested in the throttle body issue, since the car is a little jerky/super sensitive when accelerating.

Also possibly changing the oil, air filter (Do people still use K&N?), oil filer, fuel filter, and maybe doing a transmission flush and maybe add a cooler???? How much would that set me back?

Definately want to fix the rubber trims on the windows because water will definately come in when its raining - but the last owner had it garaged.

Im physically not in the best shape (am a pensioner, bad back) and nor do I have the skills when it comes to these things. I am not old though, I am 32 - just had an illness over the past 5 years that made me put on a lot of weight! (so getting under a car isnt my strong point! haha)

I am in Five Dock mate.

So you will need:

Throttle body clean. I have some carby cleaner lying around somewhere.

Oil and oil filter. $51.99 for Penrite HPR10 + $15 or so for a filter.

Air filter. K&N filters have little or no benefit on a magna. A standard paper filter is all you really need. They can be had for about $20.

Fuel filter is around $20 or so.

Transmission flush. You will need 3 bottles of genuine Mitsubishi fluid. They are about $45 each (somebody please correct me).

Transmission cooler. These can be had on eBay for about $50-$100. They are usually a universal fit. Find one that you like and that can be fitted up quite easily. It doesn't need to be huge or super powerful.

Window trims. These rubber trims always come out. I just shove them back in with a flat head screwdriver. If they are ripped, they will need to be replaced from another car at the wreckers or they can be had from Mitsubishi brand new.

Also if your car is vibrating at idle, you could have a stuffed engine mount. Fairly common and a new one is about $95.

Rob

That sounds fantastic!

Could you help me learn where to find these parts? As stated I am not very car savvy...usually used to just bring my cars to Ultratune or some independant specialist and got ripped off all the time.

We could talk about it via PM if you like?

I am pretty excited to get the car up to speed...I went for a two hour drive yesterday to just suss the car out a little and it was such an enjoyable drive for me. I don't think I have had a better bang for buck purchase before and I have owned a lot of cars. (Mostly lemons sadly)

Welcome to the Club! Keen to see some pictures!

Hey mate, congrats on the purchase. Sounds like it needs a little bit of care but a VR-X is a great buy for $3k, you've done well for sure. K's are good too, look forward to seeing this develop. :)


If you don't care about the better bolstering that the sports seats got then you could also fit Verada Xi leather seats. Personally i'm not a fan due to both the look, feel (not real leather but a mixture) and due to the lack of bolstering. Doesn't hug you as well. However, I beleive the GTV(i) Verada had the sports style bolstering.

I can confirm neither the GTV nor GTVi KJ's had sports bolstering, they are just standard Verada Ei/Xi seats with South African perforated leather, similar to the non-perforated Howe on the Xi. In both cases they are indeed real leather but they are polyurethane coated. KL/KW GTVi's (No GTV for those series) I'm not sure about the bolstering - but they definitely also did have the airbags.
Personally for this car I would recommend either GTV/i leather from the KJ's but you will lose your side bolstering, or Ralliart seats which have excellent bolstering and are likely the most comfortable of all the third gen seats, but they are not leather (A couple leather sets do exist but they're so rare I wouldn't bother looking for them.)

Howe leather is my favourite trim. My seats are so comfortable and the leather is so durable. I love it. VRX seats are good though.

http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/577136_267052930081606_849450055_n.jpg

This is the car...with wife and kids. The rear of my Audi can be seen.

I love those rims on a VRX.

Yeh they look nice, probably in need of a polish though. They have some scuffs/gutter marks on them and one of them are missing the centre mitsubishi cap, and I am not sure where to get new ones.

Yeh they look nice, probably in need of a polish though. They have some scuffs/gutter marks on them and one of them are missing the centre mitsubishi cap, and I am not sure where to get new ones.

Speak to your local Mitsi dealer - they should be able to order a new single centre cap.

Okay cool thanks. I might give them a call tomorrow when I get paid...hopefully they dont charge too much. (as I am a pensioner!)

Centre caps are around $15 or so if my memory serves me.

looks sensational for $3k! good work & welcome to the forum!

Little update... (part of a message I sent to Dreggzy, who I will be meeting on Sunday!)

Well I managed to check the air filter, and I got a bit of a scare when a big dead huntsman fell right off it right as I was facing it. I am totally scared of bugs and spiders are the top of that chain. A bunch of little rocks fell out of the container as well, and some smaller stones were inside the filter. The filter is also dark and dusty and filled with flies, moths, ants and other bugs.

So I will be going to REPCO to get an air filter today, as well as an oil filter and the oil itself.

I checked the road service manual and log books and the last confirmed service was 11/5/2011 on 127,000 km. The previous owner said that he usually used to service at Woolongong where he lived, but had since moved to Emu Heights (I think) and had a friend do his last service at 132,000. (No recepits and the log books weren't filled out). I guess we can take that with a pinch of salt.

The log book also said that the timing belt and a major service WAS done in 2009, when the car had 100k's on the clock.

The inside of the engine bay is VERY filthy, but it seems more like built up dust and soot rather than oil. It actually seems like a lot of dust from the dust storm we had a few years ago - so I am guessing that the throttle body might need a clean for sure!!!

Will update this on Sunday!

Exciting stuff.

A 100k service is much more than the timing belt. It also entails the spark plugs (front and back), coolant, oil, filters, usually brakes. Heaps of work. I hope he did those pre-tensioners when he did the belt!

See you on Sunday!

Well the book is all ticked off as well as the mechanic's stamp - I guess I could always call and try to see if they have any details on the car.

Congrats on the purchase.

I picked up my manual TJ VRX 12 months ago and couldn't be happier. The 3 rd Gen Magnas are an underated car and if looked after should give many years and Kms of service. With regular servicing you could easily get another 100 000km from yours. Though I've heard the auto trans can give problems with wave springs. Even if it lasts you 12 months, you've only lost $3k. That's cheap motoring compared to a new or near new purchase.

As for that mid to late 90s Audi A4 I could see, you are certainly way ahead with the VRX. Those things were never reliable from new and 15 odd years later they are more trouble than their worth. I paid not much more than you for a manual 2002 VRX with 200 000km and I couldn't be happier. I could afford a new $30-40k car but I'd rather spend my money on my house, family holidays and generally enjoying life while not having to finance a rapidly depreciating car.

These are a very well engineered car that are simple enough to work on. I save a fortune by doing most maintenance myself, the money I saved doing the timing belt and water pump (about $400) is currently being enjoyed during the current school holidays.

Congrats on the purchase.

I picked up my manual TJ VRX 12 months ago and couldn't be happier. The 3 rd Gen Magnas are an underated car and if looked after should give many years and Kms of service. With regular servicing you could easily get another 100 000km from yours. Though I've heard the auto trans can give problems with wave springs. Even if it lasts you 12 months, you've only lost $3k. That's cheap motoring compared to a new or near new purchase.

As for that mid to late 90s Audi A4 I could see, you are certainly way ahead with the VRX. Those things were never reliable from new and 15 odd years later they are more trouble than their worth. I paid not much more than you for a manual 2002 VRX with 200 000km and I couldn't be happier. I could afford a new $30-40k car but I'd rather spend my money on my house, family holidays and generally enjoying life while not having to finance a rapidly depreciating car.

These are a very well engineered car that are simple enough to work on. I save a fortune by doing most maintenance myself, the money I saved doing the timing belt and water pump (about $400) is currently being enjoyed during the current school holidays.

:yeahthat:

I love the 3rd gens. Audi's are awful unless you get them very regularly serviced by an Audi specialist or a stealership ($$).

Any mechanic in the country can happily service a magna. They are just such an easy car to work on.

Agreed any mechanic can work on a 3rd Gen.

Mitsubishi didn't try to reinvent the wheel with this car, they just took proven FWD technology and refined it. How may people realize that it was the most aerodynamic (0.28 cd in base spec) Australian built car in its day? Mitsu Aust took the Japanese Diamanté, Australianised and developed it for local conditions. The silly Jap spec electronic gadgets were dropped and the expensive multi link front end replaced with a simpler cheaper Macpherson strut set up. The car was way ahead of the contempory Falcon and Commodore. The only car to challenge it for reliability was the Camry but the Magna was more refined , better looking and handled far better.

Still is. Commodores and falcons are plagued with issues, from electrical to mechanical.

If you line them up today, would you prefer a TJ VRX or an AU falcon?

Back on topic though, yes these magna's are brilliant and we are very happy to have another magna owner on board.

TJ VRX vs AU Falcon? I think I'd rather have my b€%£s squeezed in a vice than suffer an AU.

Yes Magnas are brilliant. I've seen friends go down the exxy Euro route with overpriced Audis, VWs and BMWs. They all end up complaining about reliability and high running costs. Their good for massaging a fragile ego but end up raping you financially. Im onto my second 3rd gen but I doubt I will ever find another car with the right blend of running costs, reliability, practicality and performance. Maybe a low km Mazda 6 or Accord Euro in a few years. But I'd miss that 3.5 L V6.

I have 3 third gens which I service myself. The only thing I would see a mechanic for is tyres and some bushes that I need a press for. Easiest mechanical access I have ever seen.

Nice stuff and good info for me to read. I honestly know nothing about Mitsubishi's but falling in love with my car already. My birthday is in a few weeks time and this tiny "cheap" gift has been well worth it so far.

My dad and other nephew had a drive in it today and were surpsied how clean the car looked. They expected it to be falling apart but its quite decent visually...of course theres the odd tear here or a dent there - but its not a thrashed pile of shite like a 2002 Ford Futura I used to own!. (I paid $2500 for that Ford, lasted me 6 months I think, sold it for $500 to a wrecker.)

I might see how much it costs to fix the Audi (been quoted $1500 for a new gear box + installed) and/or might sell it (500-1000 as is, or 3-4 k fixed) to fund some fixes for the VRX. (lol) I think the Audi gear box dying has been the best thing thats happened to us for a while!

Cleaned up the first post with less fluff....


Added things to do... if anyone wishes to help out with what I could do for the following, that would be great!

What I have planned for the car in the next couple of months.

- Need to do a service for both the engine + transmission. (Oil + air filter booked in with Dreggzy 30/9/12, will do transmission at a later date)
- I want to fix/replace the drivers mirror as motor doesnt work/respray both the mirrors or replace mirrors? (possibly curved mirrors, not a fan of the rectangular look).
- Fix/Replace the door cloth trims that are ripped with leather for now (will do seats later on)
- Replace the missing central nut/cap on the front right wheel.
- Fix the window rubbers that are ripped/cracked. They whistle when driving (very annoying) and can possibly let water in. Am interested in replacing them with Chrome/Rubber ones...
- Get remote locking as wife is nagging me about this.
- Fix totally cracked/worn windscreen seals.
- Respray wipers Chrome (I am a fan of Chrome wipers, even if they blind me ha ha)


Work Done So far : (as of 27/9/2012)

Nothing Yet!

Hey Tony

Open up a ride thread in the members machines section. That way we can keep this one productive. I'm sure everyone would love to keep track of this cars build as it improves.

Mirrors: replace them for wreckers items. Spraying them will cost a bundle. I think electric mirrors are about $50 each.

Door trims: wreckers again. Veradas has a very nice grey leather trim. You can see mine on Sunday. Black is rare and expensive.

Door seals: I don't think they are very expensive. I can find a part number

Center wheel cap: cheap from Mitsubishi.

Remote: find a cheap one and I can program it to your car for you. there is also a diy guide here somewhere.

Windscreen garnishes. (Leaf guards): $19.90 per side (2 sides) from Mitsubishi.

Windscreen wipers: chrome will look disgusting.

Awesome info!

Re: windscreen wipers and door seals chrome colour...yes it may look ugly on the VRX, hard to know without seeing pictures of it. (and mostly this stuff comes down to personal taste).

I only like the Chrome for those two items because of a soft spot for my brothers old car we used to cruise in together(nice memories). It was a Suzuki Baleno (nothing special) we got brand new and it did have chrome wipers and the edges around the door seals. I always liked that car cause we were used to driving in a 1979 Toyota Corolla that was basically falling apart and the Baleno used to look awesome to us (we came from a poor family). I am not fussed either way with regards to that, but I did want to have a slight variation to my car than all other VRX's out there - even if it would be a subtle change thats easy to revert back to if it did suck!!!

My wife is laughing at me because I basically whined about the Audi all the time and used to never drive anywhere and all I do is talk about the VRX now. It may be a cheap "old car" but I am not much of a fan of new cars to be honest (weird head lights and designs that look idiotic/lack aggression), so this car has been a pleasant surprise.

Anyway did my first mod today!!!!!

My old plates, which I had on my BMW M3 (I had an M3 in 2002) are now on my VRX. Lets just say they have something to do with my user name. :)

Big thanks to Rob (Dreggzy) for working on my car today...she drives so much better.

Hopefully you only have good things to say about it to the rest of the club! Haha.

Will post some pics up soon.

http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/480692_269086873211545_1047863832_n.jpg
http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/398539_269087346544831_2140298742_n.jpg
http://sphotos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/603187_269087553211477_1120373562_n.jpg
Me driving home (I need some sunnies!).
http://sphotos-e.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc6/255564_269087873211445_1834646148_n.jpg

Cheers tony. Let's move the conversation to members machines now that were no longer technical.

/thread

Thread made on the members machines...we can use this for the techo stuff, even though most of it willbe done in PM anyway. Thanks Rob.