Mitsubishi Eclipse Spyder/ Anyone had one ?

Ask your mechanic how he likes them, because that's who will be spending the most time with it.

 

Perryaviation is correct.. I had an Eclipse Spyder GS and it is the worse piece of crap that I have had.. I kept it for 18 months and it went to the dealer at least 10 times.. All under warranty but still..

The roof leaked.. They replaced the rubber seal on it at least 3 times and had to adjust the roof locks several times but it still leaked.. And it didn't leak 2 or 3 drops.. I am talking about alot of water...

I also had a problem with the belts.. They came off one day all by themselves.. Not broke off but came off.. It didn't happen once but twice..

I took it to different dealers for some resolution but nothing. I finally got tired of it and sold it when the dealer told me that I just had to live with the leaky roof.

I would never buy another Mitsubishi product.. I have also heard that many other people have had similar problems with Mitsubishi Eclipses and other Mitsubishi models.

Summary: Don't buy it.

 

Remember the good old days when "Made in Japan" meant crapola? Mitusbishi keeps that faint memory alive.

Get her a Miata, an S2000 or a MR2.... anything other than a Mitusbishi.

Scott

 

I had it for about 3 years, but only drove about 3,000 miles. It was a friend's car (was out of the town for 3 years) and it was tuned up w/ a turbo as a ricer car. I had the same belt problem like Spiderman33. Since it was tuned up, the dealer said they won't give a free repair under warranty. I had to change all 4 tires, a battery, and some repairs, too.

I wouldn't bought that car for myself.

Mitsubishi is not a popular car in Japan, except Lancer Evo. There's a reason why. Resale value of Mitsubishi is not anything close to Toyota or Honda.

 

I had a 3000GT VR4 and that pos will get you ready for Ferrari ownership when it comes to maintenance costs. The AWD tranny in that thing costs about 4-5k for a rebuild, but no one knows how to work on it. Lifters go bad, those stupid active aero spoilers are crapola.

 

I've driven a few, not a big fan on how well the car is constructed & how well they hold up in small accidents. The tranny issues is one the biggest problems, even with the new EVO. I wouldn't own one.

 

John,
What generation Eclipse spyder? The new ones or previous generation?
My experience on these cars is based on the 1996-1999 version of the eclipse.. if she was wanting a new style one there are boards dedicated just to the newer ones.. They destroyed the looks in my opinion trying to make it look like a (then hot selling) cougar, but from what I have read they made a ton of improvements mechanically..
Roomie and I share a 1996 Spyder.. We have put 86k miles on it since new and I have done all service to it. Personally I prefer the looks of the 96 over the new ones however in most other areas the new style ones are better cars (albeit ugly .. to me). I had the issue with the belts happen twice before figuring out why it happened. The new 4cylinder eclipse uses the same 2.4ltr engine as the earlier Spyder, well not 100% but essentially the same - the issue with the belts is that for some insane reason they decises to cast the lower pully for driving A/C and alternator into the outer ring of the harmonic balancer... most cars bolt a pully to the front of the balancer leaving the outer ring floating on a ring of rubber like it should be. By using the outer ring as the pully if you tighten the belts too much the belts are constantly trying to rip apart the balancer.. and it doesn't take long before it rips apart... get towed to a dealer and pay $500 for repairs (a balancer is about $100 and the rest is labor) or do like me and fix it yourself.. first time took all day - second time I did it in an hour.. It's a stupid design and they should have changed it.

Personally I like the car, despite a few things... I drove it today and would buy another well cared for example.. we looked at the Celica convertible when we got it and the interior in the Eclipse Spyder was nicer in my opinion. Stereo was better, and I like the look better. It has held up very well. She took it to the dealer to adjust the top several times trying to stop a leak and was told it was as tight as it could go. Eventually I found the fix online (hooks in the top need to be taken out and shortened a little to tighten them enough)

Miata, MR2, and S2000 are nice suggestions but in a different class.. if she needs room for groceries or just needs the 2+2 seats (an adult can sit back there in briefly and our Shelties love it back there) then a those others won't suit her.

Yoshi- you had to replace a set of tires in 3000 miles? hardly sounds like those tires were being used even close to how the manufacturer intended.. Also I am not surprised the dealer wouldn't warrantee a highly modded tuner car..

Jason, The VR4's are .. well the maintenance will kill the average owner.. Kim has one and in 130k miles has had trans replaced once under warrantee and once we did it ourselves.. The 5 speed ones have a Getrag that comes apart if you look at it funny and the reason no one knows how to work on them is they won't sell parts for the trans... chew up an input shaft and they want you to drop a few thousand on a whole trans.. We tried to buy the parts and were turned down at every source (except used stuff on ebay) .. for the second time we got one with a cracked case on ebay for some rediculously high price and swapped the internals... When that car works right it's pretty quick and fun but when anything breaks .. well, as kim says you get all the expense of an italian exotic with none of the prestige.. lol... I don't see the 6 speed cars being parted out due to a bad trans .. but the 5 speed cars are always on ebay cheap.. usually needing a transmission.. the "active aero and a lot of other stuff on those is gimmicky, turning radius is amazing (has 4 wheel steer)

William- I have to agree about minor accidents... parts prices are such that a minor fender bender usually results in insureco wanting to total the car.. headlights are almost $400 each .... and on a scary note I have seen some horrible wrecked eclipses yet almost none ever have the airbags deploy... so either it was a low speed collision that completely wiped it out or the airbags need to be a little more sensative.. I'm assuming about the trans you were referring to the aforementioned VR4 trans.. because I have never seen a trans in a eclipse spyder go bad (yet)

There are 3 xspyders around (a GSX AWD chassis and turbo engine under a spyder) pricy but neet..

I do find it ironic tho - most of us here seem perfectly willing to accept terrible dealer service, overpriced parts and unreliability from our 6 figure cars.. but a $20,000 car better darn well be perfect, start everytime, comforatable, and never have a glitch : ) they are just machines.. and sometimes they need to be tinkered with.. doesn't excuse the trans in the VR4 or the balancer on the eclipse.. but still
Chelle

 

i just sold my 02 spyder . it was a nightmare! it only had 42k miles i was the owner since new when i got ride of it it was burning oil. the top had started to have thin point worn in it. it ate brakepads, mitsu would never do anything about any of the problems. your cd's would get hung in the indash. it started using oil at 20k miles and only got worse it was sooooo bad that i ended paying the 4,000 i owed in remaining lease payments to turn it in early before the warenty was up. i just got a 04 325i i miss the open top on nice days but in no way do i miss the car or its service department i will NEVER own another mitsu product.
love ya!
stacy

 

Of course, you'll get the most response from people who had problems! Like me.

I had a 92 Talon, all the options, bought new. Engine was good, fun in the snow, but never would consistently go into gear - felt the same, but up on the clutch would either be go or grind, you just never knew. Dealers never could adjust or fix it, lots of BS about it 'breaking in'. Indeed.

Traded it at 21k, was totally upside down on the loan, but not sorry to see it go. There are folks here at work who love theirs though, so mine must have just been a bitter lemon.

My two pennies.
Cheers,
Jon

 

Nice avatar, Jon. "Ghost in the Shell?"

 

Last great Mitsubishi?




The Zero
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If she wants Japanese, and sporty, get her something decent, '90-96 Nissan 300ZX(the non-turbo comes in 2+2), '93-98 Toyota Supra(again, 2+2 for both models), most Lexus, IS300, SC300 & SC400's, etc... For outright reliability/comfort, get a Toyota/Lexus. The big Japanese car makers pretty much stack up like this in terms of Quality:

1. Toyota/Lexus
2. Nissan/Infinity
3. Honda
4. Subaru
...
99. Mitsubishi


HTH.



-DC

 

I live a few miles from where they're assembled in Bloomington-Normal, IL. Make sure you get a good deal, because the huge inventory lot behind the manufacturing facility is literally filled with thousands of cars. The company has been in the local news recently because it went through a restructuring after Chrysler refused to keep it afloat with more cash. The Japanese are now trying to come clean after admitting covering up manufacturing defects. The chief honchos in Japan also decided to keep the local plant open for now, while it did close other facilities worldwide...just some local news tidbits. It wouldn't surprise me if the company goes out of business. Would I buy one? No...

 

I know a sophmore in college with one. Cute to look at... pain when it breaks down every month or so.

 

But what about the car?

 

"it" ... not "she"
car = piece of crap

 

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