Hi everyone,


I'm new to this forum and have never owned or driven a Mitsubishi Magna or Verada- I used to drive a Mitsubishi Sigma up until last year, but moved on to a Subaru which was written off in an accident a couple of months ago (I wasn't at fault) and am now looking at buying a new car.

I've got my eyes on a 2002 MITSUBISHI VERADA KJ MY02 EI which I can get for $6500, has 145,000 kms on the clock, has a good service history, is in pretty good condition with great paintwork (really nice white) and all the features including climate control. The owner has tinted the windows and added a CD/ DVD player with ipod connectivity.

I was almost about to agree to the deal with the guy when I decided to go and talk to a local mechanic I know and his exact words were:

"You shouldn't pay anywhere near $6000 for it, its probably worth closer to $3000. The Magnas/ Veradas also have a big problem with their gearbox at 150,000kms. I wouldn't touch it if i was you." So now I'm not sure what to think.

I really like the car and even after a short test drive I loved that it runs so smooth and is comfortable to drive and would be great for long highway drives (which I tend to do a lot of)- I am a tall guy and really can't stand small cars on long drives.

So what I would like to know is:

Do magnas/ veradas tend to have major gearbox or transmission issues when they get to 150,000kms?

Do you think I'd be paying too much for the car?

What kind of fuel economy should I expect to get out of it? (It apparently uses around 11ltrs/100 around town and can get down to around 8ltrs/100 on the highway which isn't too bad on a 70 litre tank)


Thank you in advance for your help... I really don't know much about cars, I'm just a young guy who hasn't had much experience, and even though I really like the car if its gearbox is going to die in a couple of thousand kms, is it really worth it?

I'd love to hear anyone who has an early 2000s verada and know what their experience is.

Thanks, Paul

Magna/Veradas have gearbox issues, but it's hard to predict. I sold my 2001 VR-X with 176,000km and the gearbox ran fine. I did change the fluid regularly though, as I knew the gearboxes could be temperamental.

If you want to know more about the gearbox failures, search the forums for 'wave spring', as that's the component that usually lets go in them.

$6500 is definitely on the high side for a Verada, but if it's been looked after, I reckon it's worth it. There's plenty of Veradas around the $3-4k mark but they're usually pretty rough.

im not sure where you live, but today i found a 2002 magna sedan with 125k on the clock for $3500 with 12 months rego and a rwc ..in victoria

so personally i think the asking price is to high, i also found another magna around that price that had 55k on the clock.

i cant really answer the gearbox question , Mal might chime in later on

Having a 2000 model Verada, I'd say your mechanic is mostly accurate.

The gearbox should not fail. It is one of those random things that can sometimes happen in any car.

The wave spring does fail occasionally. There have been widespread reports of it failing, but that is by no means a certainty. You have a very, very good chance of that gearbox treating you very well for many years to come. The plus side is also that these gearboxes can be had for very cheap and they are comparitively easy to install.

$6500 is not too bad a price if it is mint like you say. I almost bought a similar car for $5000 but that had some pretty worrying panel damage on it and had higher k's. Do the regular checks on it, paying particular attention to the service history and when the transmission was last flushed. Pay attention to when the timing belt weas changed as well. If that hasn't been done, walk away. Otherwise, I think it is a reasonable deal.

The economy is about right. I get about 11.5-12l/100km but that is with some robust driving.

I paid $8000 for 02 Tj VRX with 135000km on it. I reckon it was a bit steep, but it was exactly what I wanted, in mint condition, so I paid the price. My fuel is around 9.5 highway, and my lead foot missus gets 15 around town, so yours is good.

Thanks for your help everyone. I've read through some of the older posts about the socalled dreaded 'wave spring' problem which can occur... even though it is relatively uncommon, it seems that enough people on here have experienced this problem for me to be concerned about it. Should I also point out that its a 4 speed auto FWD? does that make much of a difference?

I dunno though even though I really love the look and feel of the car, I can't really justify spending over $6000 on it now, only to spend over $2000 on fixing the problem later :confused:

The problem is more pronounced on a 5 speed auto. The 4 speeds hold up quite well against it.

My 4 speed in my old magna was still going at 240,000km. The 4 speed in my current verada is still perfect at 180,000km. My brother has electrical issues in his box (because it had such a hard life before he bought it for $800) which have just come to light at 244,000km. I think you're pretty safe. Just install a $50 transmission cooler and you also cut your chances in half (apparently). Add a $20 external filter to the mix and that improves your survival chances once again.

Don't worry about it. Commodores have massive gearbox dramas after 200,000km but you still see them on the road. People still swear by their reliability. There is no such thing as a car that is immune to massive gearbox and/or engine failure.

Just for laughs, I googled "toyota gearbox problems"
Haven't done the same for Ford or Holden, but . . .

Guess what? Auto boxes can fail, no matter what brand is on the car.


And yes, paying $6K for a car and then another $2K soon after because the gearbox puked, would be a bitter pill to swallow, but spending a mere $40K on a new car with extended warranty would avoid that potential problem. lol

Just for laughs, I googled "toyota gearbox problems"
Haven't done the same for Ford or Holden, but . . .

Guess what? Auto boxes can fail, no matter what brand is on the car.


And yes, paying $6K for a car and then another $2K soon after because the gearbox puked, would be a bitter pill to swallow, but spending a mere $40K on a new car with extended warranty would avoid that potential problem. lol

Exactly this. Forget about the gearbox. If you intend on keeping the car well serviced, then you don't have to worry about it.

The problem is more pronounced on a 5 speed auto. The 4 speeds hold up quite well against it.

My 4 speed in my old magna was still going at 240,000km. The 4 speed in my current verada is still perfect at 180,000km. My brother has electrical issues in his box (because it had such a hard life before he bought it for $800) which have just come to light at 244,000km. I think you're pretty safe. Just install a $50 transmission cooler and you also cut your chances in half (apparently). Add a $20 external filter to the mix and that improves your survival chances once again.

Don't worry about it. Commodores have massive gearbox dramas after 200,000km but you still see them on the road. People still swear by their reliability. There is no such thing as a car that is immune to massive gearbox and/or engine failure.


I've done a little bit of research about the impact installing a transmission cooler and external filter can have on extending the transmission's lifespan and its fairly encouraging. I assume all the information i need about which transmission cooler to buy etc is available on here?

@MadMax I totally get where you're coming from. Everyone that I speak to about cars seems to have a problem with every single make on the the face of the planet... 'Don't buy a subaru because of blah blah blah' 'don't buy a falcon because of blah blah blah' Every car seems to have problems, its just that some are less severe than others. I actually think that if I were to pick up the verada, having an online communtiy like this is really a massive asset, because its full of advice and info.

I have had my Magna for almost 4 years and it has had a hard life with me (mega lead foot). Aside from some problems which probably ended up being my fault, the Magna has been going strong and although my mechanic despises working on it, nothing he can say would persuade me to buy a different car.

Proud magna driver of 1 year. Love the car. Wouldn't change it for anything else.

Okay guys I've pretty much decided to take the plunge, I'm getting a vehicle inspection done on it tomorrow morning and if it gets the all clear, I'll drive it home on Sunday. Wish me luck!

Talk them down a little. Good luck STAR EYE.

$5500-$5800 would make this good value. $6500 is a reasonable deal though.

Have owned a 02 Manga Sports for over 9 years now and it still runs like new. No major problems in last 9 years apart from fuel sender unit failed twice. Kept servicing at 8500km on average / twice a year. Car has done just 139000km. Mostly used for Home-Train Station runs.

If serviced on time all should be ok :)

Ive heard this from many mechanics myself "Ohhh Veradas/Magnas... Stay away!!"
Yet ive had 4 and all have been amazing machines. I suspect the reason many people come to the conclusion that all magnas/veradas are unreliable is the gearbox issues that used to spring up on the second gens? From experience I think Magnas and Veradas are very tough built cars. My first Magna had 480,000kms on the clock and still have anything go wrong with it. Also $6500 for a KJ is probably steep unless it was a mint condition XI or a Dual Fuel model. Dual fuel Veradas definitely tend to have more demand.

Exactly this. Forget about the gearbox. If you intend on keeping the car well serviced, then you don't have to worry about it.

agreed. price is relative to what you want to pay for a car you like and what the seller is prepared to accept. barter if it helps, but only pay what YOU feel comfortable with.

as for trans problems - ford from about EF through AU had a very temperamental trans also. you cant pick one (unless it drives poorly on test - then steer clear).

do the usuak checks - ignore the mechanic you spoke to, find another - magnas are great cars when looked after, which it sounds like this one is. Kms are only moderate for this model.

I have always had cars that some people say are no good (Chrysler Valiants, Chargers, Magna's Verada's) I have 2000 KH Verada XI thats done 240,000 k's and the trans is still fine and its the original transmission, I paid $5000 for it early last year when it had 203,000 k's, only problems I've had is a lot of rattles in the dash and interior which I have fixed, it did blow a lot of smoke after idling for a while but Penrite HPR 15 fixed this problem, I recommend you use this oil if you buy the Verada, and the only other problem I had is the paint deteriorating, its gone from looking good to bad in 18 months, only on the roof and the boot lid. I learnt about the wave spring problem after I bought my car and I was concerned but its still fine and if it did chuck it in now I wouldn't complain as its done over 240,000 ks. All the best with your Verada, i'm sure you will be happy with it, and it sounds like your mechanic might be a Holden or Ford lover, they always make mountains out of molehills when it comes to other makes, cheers

Thanks for your help everyone. I've read through some of the older posts about the socalled dreaded 'wave spring' problem which can occur... even though it is relatively uncommon, it seems that enough people on here have experienced this problem for me to be concerned about it. Should I also point out that its a 4 speed auto FWD? does that make much of a difference?

I dunno though even though I really love the look and feel of the car, I can't really justify spending over $6000 on it now, only to spend over $2000 on fixing the problem later :confused:

The gearbox problem (although relatively rare) occurs mainly in Australia due to the harsher climate conditions. The Japanese designed Veradas were never produced with a transmission cooler, however in Australia you really need one. In order to fix all transmission problems, simply install an aftermarket transmission cooler (cost including installation should be less than $200) and you shouldn't experience any issues.

Resurrecting 3 year old posts for the win

Spamming in the tech section for the double win....or perhaps infraction???

There are no issues when someone is doing some research and then makes a post in an older thread to update or add information. Lets face it, they can make a new thread and link back to this one or just continue on

While a Trans Cooler is very beneficial it certainly however is not the "to fix all problems" The Aussie cars had other issues such as Planetary Gear failures as well, yes a cooler, filter kit and regular maintenance will really lengthen the life of a Transmission it will not totally stop it from failure