Mitsubishi Magna 2005 Problems

The first lesson for first-car buyers is to forget power and performance - go for safety, reliability and low running costs. Today's car choices are far wider and considerably less basic that Peter Brock's first car, a stripped-down 750cc Austin Seven. But the exercise of buying your car demands patience and - if possible - expert consideration.Compared with buying new, you will save money purchasing a used car. But be aware that a used car may require expensive repair costs, may be less fuel efficient and that its safety standards are likely to be lower than a new car. The basic safety gear you want are two airbags and ABS brakes.Every car is different because each has been treated differently during its life. Be cognisant that cheap new cars are bought on a budget and the penny-pinching owners may skimp on regular servicing and repairs. Steer away from hotted-up cars - you want reliable, easy-to-fix transport here, not a temperamental, ground-hugging runt that sounds like it's lost its exhaust pipe.There are a few quality used car models that have lasted the distance. These have retained a solid reputation for quality and reliability, have a strong spare parts back-up, simple service schedule and are renown for just being easy to live with.The only downside is they won't be the newest car on your block and they're unlikely to be the most rewarding ride of your life. But you have to start somewhere. Just like Peter Brock.CHOICESThese are some used cars, not in any particular order, that should be reliable first-time cars. But each car is different. Ensure your car is professionally checked before buying and that all the car's service papers are accurate, regular and preferably stamped by a competent service centre.NISSAN TIIDAThis model is the evolution of the Pulsar and, I admit, isn't the prettiest car on the road. Fellas, perhaps stay away from this one. But the model is enduring because of its simplicity and low running costs. It has a decent amount of metal around the passenger cell to minimise intrusion in case of a collision, a neat and functional interior with comfortable seats, big boot in the sedan model (and more than adequate in the hatchback version), and four doors so your friends won't have to squeeze past you on the way to access the rear seat.2006 TIIDA TI SEDANCost: $9200 with 79,000kmEngine: 93kW/174Nm 1.8-litre autoFuel economy: 7.8 L/100kmSafety features: ABS brakes, 4 airbags, brake assist Crash rating: 4-starMAZDA3Two of my daughters drive these and love them for their comfort and features. Later models are preferable because of the electronic stability control, but earlier versions had at least four airbags and ABS brakes plus a four-star crash rating. Because everyone loves these, they're going to cost a bit more than some rival cars. But Mazda's quality name should extend to the day you sell it allowing it to retain a high resale value.2006 MAZDA3 MAXXCost: $11,500 with 75,000kmEngine: 108kW/182Nm 2.0-litre autoFuel economy: 8.2 L/100kmSafety features: ABS brakes, 6 airbags, brake assistCrash rating: 4-star.MITSUBISHI LANCERThese have been made for decades yet nearly all carry a name for reliability. One model, bought with 247,000km on the clock, stayed trouble-free in my household for four years before finding yet another owner. That's not uncommon with Lancers. They're very simple cars but early models fall down badly in safety equipment, so look at 2003 and younger if possible. The 2007-plus models have a five-star crash rating. It doesn't really matter which model you buy but you may have better resale in the future with an automatic with four or five doors that will appeal to a wider audience.2006 LANCER LS SEDANCost: $10,000 with 70,000kmEngine: 115kW/220Nm 2.4-litre autoFuel economy: 8.5 L/100kmSafety features: ABS brakes, 2 airbagsCrash rating: 3-star.TOYOTA COROLLAThis is a stablemate of suburban living with the distinction of being a member of practically every Australian household since the 1970s. It's always been a simple and reliable car without any major hiccups, though the Toyota badge means there's a premium - justified or otherwise - on the price. Paying the extra on the Corolla name alone may not be worth it - look closely at each car before purchase. Toyota was one of the last major carmakers to introduce extra features - such as additional airbags and stability control - on base versions. Better models started from 2000 and the more upmarket versions (Levin and Ultima, for example) are preferred.2006 COROLLA CONQUEST SEDANCost: $10,500 with 75,000kmEngine: 93kW/161Nm 1.8-litre autoFuel economy: 7.4 L/100kmSafety features: ABS brakes, 2 airbagsCrash rating: 4-star.MITSUBISHI MAGNAThis is something a bit bigger and yet is generally priced about the same as the smaller cars. Mitsubishi made these in Australia and progressive years honed the product to excellent reliability while ho-hum styling and performance slashed resale. That makes this big family car good buying today. Magnas ended their run in 2005 and today these are the pick of the bunch, even though the powerplant was a 3.5-litre V6 with a four-speed auto. These cars were common in government and rental fleets but don't be put off - that means they've been regularly se rviced and repaired.2005 MAGNA ES SEDANCost: $5000 with 120,000kmEngine: 155kW/316Nm 3.5-litre V6 autoFuel economy: 11.5 L/100kmSafety features: ABS brakes, 4 airbags, traction controlCrash rating: 3-star.SUBARU LIBERTYAnother biggish car that offered high safety standards for its era. The later Libertys are also attractive, well equipped - in their day they weren't a cheap car - and roomy. The downside may be lacklustre performance, so-so fuel economy and some high-priced spare parts but we're primarily chasing a reliable and safe car choice here. The Libertys are all-wheel drive sedans and wagons which aids safety on wet roads rather than giving them any off-road ability (for that, look at the Subaru Outback).2006 LIBERTY 2.5i SEDANCost: $11,500 with 75,000kmEngine: 121kW/226Nm 2.5-litre autoFuel economy: 9.5 L/100kmSafety features: ABS brakes, 6 airbags, traction controlCrash rating: 5-star.

On a tight budget, you had four options: unsafe cars, unreliable cars, really boring cars or cars that combined all three characteristics.  In the past decade, though, it's become easier to find a tidy, safe, cheap used car, for several reasons.Firstly, used cars don't hold their value like they once did. New cars have become cheaper in real terms, and sales have boomed, so there's a lot more used cars on the market.Cars are also much safer than they used to be. Government legislation and independent crash test programmes like NCAP, (which publicises the results of its tests, much to the annoyance of the industry) have forced car makers to improve safety. A 2005 car, no matter what make it is, will be safer than a 1995 car. At the minimum, you want two front airbags and anti-lock (ABS) brakes.Unless it's French or Italian, in which case a weekly dummy spit is part of the "ownership experience," most cars from the last 10 years will be pretty reliable, as long as servicing has been done by the book.We are talking about ordinary, everyday cars here, that haven't been thrashed. If you're looking at some dude's slammed, chipped Subaru WRX and the price seems too good to be true, chances are it will self-destruct before you make it home. You pay your money and you take your chances.Immaculate, low kilometre cars owned by little old ladies do exist, and they are gold. So is a complete service record, especially if it's from the dealer who sold the car new.  Let's see if we can find a few to recommend. Bottom dollar in our search is $5000.There's not much joy at this money, but the last of the Mitsubishi Magnas, from 2004-2005, are great value and reasonably plentiful. Many will be ex-renters. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because serving will have been done to schedule. The 3.5-litre V6-four speed auto ES has four airbags and ABS.Another Mitsubishi, the Lancer, is the best small car we can find at this price. Toyota Corollas are fine too, though they're more expensive.  The Lancer's as sexy as a can of baked beans and completely bulletproof. Pay about $7000-$8000 or so for a 2005 model. Find one with optional ABS and six airbags.If you've got around $10,000 to spend, you have much more choice.  In 2004, Mazda made six airbags and ABS available across its entire range, as options or standard, so any Mazda2 or Mazda3 from 2004 on will be worth checking out. Mazda does blue chip quality, and if you find a good one, with a service book, buy it. You'll pick up a 2 for less than $10,000; a 3 will be $10,000-$12,000.If you need something bigger, this sort of money will also get you into a 2004-2005 Subaru Liberty, another top car from Japan's A league. All wheel drive, excellent handling and Subaru's class leading NCAP scores are pluses. The 2.0-litre four won't rip your arms off, but it will do the job. Wagons cost a little more.You might prefer a small SUV wagon instead, so look for a 2004-2005 Subaru Forester, or Toyota RAV4, at $12,000-$15,000.  If you need a big car for a big country, the Aussie six is hard to go past.You'll pay $10,000-$13,000 for the first of the VE Commodores from 2006. The 3.6-litre V6 sounds like 1000 leaf blowers on maximum thrust, however it's durable enough. Holden got serious about safety with VE, so you get stability control as standard.  It might take a while to find the right car, but in the end, it pays to be fussy. Second hand doesn't have to mean second best.WHERE TO BUY?DealerPros: On cars under 10 years old, most states require a warranty, typically 3 months or 5000 kilometres. You also get guaranteed title. Franchised dealers (ie those who also sell new cars) usually have the best selection of used cars; the trade-ins they don't want are unloaded to non franchised dealers or auctions.Cons: Can be more expensive than a similar car bought privately. Beware of non-franchised dealers selling flood damaged or rebirthed (ie cars written off by insurance companies but then repaired) from Queensland.PrivatePros: The best way to find a bargain.Cons: You have to do plenty of legwork, and finding the right car, in a place that's close to where you live, can be a time consuming process. There's no guarantee of title or provenance, and no comebacks if it drops its guts on the way home. Buyer beware.AuctionsPros: Ex-government or fleet cars, usually properly serviced, with low kilometres. Guaranteed title. Many dealers buy cars at auction, take them to their car yard, and jack the price up by thousands of dollars. Buy it yourself, and pocket the difference.Cons: You can't test drive the car before you bid. It's also easy for an amateur to pay too much, so go to a couple before you buy to get an idea of prices and how it all works.

These big Mitsubishi family cars have a well-deserved reputation for being smooth and refined and in its early days the Magna made Holden’s Commodore and Ford’s Falcon rather ordinary in the noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) stakes.Mitsubishi Verada was the name given to upmarket versions of the Magna and is sometimes regarded as a different model, though in reality, it’s just a Magna with plenty of extra kit stuffed inside.All were built in Adelaide. The first Magnas were very much Australian products, later they became more closely allied to Japanese Mitsubishi models. The Mitsubishi 380 was based on an American Mitsubishi model and was larger and plusher than the Magna.This once successful line of cars came to an abrupt end in April 2008 after slow sales of the 380 caused Mitsubishi to pull out of Australian manufacturing. In hindsight if the company had simply called the 380 the next generation Magna, the Adelaide factory might still be in operation today.Body types are four-door sedan and five-door station wagon in the Magna/Verada, but the 380 was only built as a sedan. Rear-seat width isn't quite as good as that in Commodore and Falcon, but the Mitsubishi’s seats can handle three adults in reasonable comfort.The big Mitsubishis have reasonably good handling for family cars, with the 380 feeling nice and sharp on the road. Engine performance from the old-style four-cylinder 2.6-litre engine is reasonable, but only just. The later four-cylinder models had a 2.4-litre unit with a much-improved design.Four-cylinder models slowly declined in popularity over the years and were finally removed from the Magna range in 1999. Those on the used-car market now are likely to be near the end of their lives, though it must be said they are tough old units. A 3.0-litre V6 engine was released in the Mitsubishi Verada in 1991 and the Magna in 1993.It was joined by a 3.5-litre V6 in some upmarket variants in October 1996. The bigger engine gradually spread to the rest of the range. In the later-model Magna Sports and VR-X, the 3.5 engine has additional power over the standard unit. The Mitsubishi 380’s 3.8-litre engine is a stretched version of the 3.5-litre unit.There is good torque throughout the normally used zone of the rev range and the 3.8 is very pleasant to sit behind. Magna is offered with a five-speed manual gearbox, but the great majority of the original cars came with a four-speed automatic. A sequential shifting was first fitted on four-speed Magna Sports models from September 1997.An advanced five-speed automatic transmission with a sequential shifter is fitted to the sporty variants sold from August 2000 and made its way to the other models over the next couple of years. Mitsubishi 380 came with a five-speed automatic transmission or a five-speed manual gearbox.The auto was by far the most popular and the manual could be a problem to resell in years to come as the number of drivers interested in doing their own gear changes continues to decline. Mitsubishi’s Magna offers the extra traction of all-wheel drive in some sports variants to give the car a real sporty feeling.These all-wheel drives are a real pleasure to punt hard and fast and keen drivers love their feel and grip. But they were never popular and could be hard to resell. These big Mitsubishis are spacious in their under bonnet area so servicing is relatively easy for amateur mechanics to carry out. Make sure to get a professional mechanic for safety-related work. Mitsubishi continues to operate strongly in Australia despite no longer being a local manufacturer. Spare parts for cars up to 10 years old are still carried by Mitsubishi dealers. Prices are generally reasonable and we seldom hear of any real availability problems. Insurance charges are usually moderate and most companies charge much the same for four and six-cylinder engines. There may be an increase in the premiums for the Sports model if the driver is young and/or inexperienced.WHAT TO LOOK FORRust is seldom a problem but in a few cars it gets into the bottom edges of the doors, boot lid and or tailgate, and the fuel filler flap. Look for signs of damage to seats, carpets and trim, including inside the boot. Examine the top of the dash panel and the rear parcel shelf for faded, or cracked, plastic caused by constant exposure to sunlight. Automatic transmission problems have dogged these Mitsubishis but troubles are less frequent in newer models than in older ones. Watch for an automatic that shifts gear when it doesn’t need to or suddenly shifts into neutral of its own accord. Look at and feel the front tyres for uneven wear, which can indicate front suspension problems. Check the paint and bumper bar around the exhaust tailpipe for an oily film, indicating engine problems. Make sure the brakes pull the car up in a straight line and that ABS, if fitted, sends a pulsing back through the pedal on hard application. Don’t forget to check your mirrors first!CAR BUYING TIPWhen checking out a car aimed at the family buyer make sure to spend plenty of time looking over the back seat and the luggage area. 

Ewan Kennedy reviews the Mitsubishi Magna and 380 from 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 as a used buy.