Reliable
Faded paint on the hood and trunk.
This is a great car with great MPG.
Sharp for the year of the car.
It is great on the interstate.
Handles great.
The seats are too hard, so it's very uncomfortable after a while.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd July, 2010
Needs improvement to compete with the Accord or Camry
Brakes would wear out pretty quickly on the car.
Started burning oil at 132,000 miles. Local Mitsubishi dealer said that a piston job would cost a little over $2,500. I then began to add a quart of oil every thousand miles or so. Other than regular oil changes and other maintenance regulars, never needed much else.
Wheels would get stuck to the hubs and rotors. Sometimes I'd get a flat tire and even after removing the lugs, it would be kinda hard to get off. After I'd noticed a pattern when trying to change my brakes myself, I started carrying a blow torch and some lubricating oil around just in case. (this solved my problem later on down the road.)
Struts went on me at about 150k.
Loved to eat tires. would replace eaten ones with $20.00 used ones. (struts)
At 167K when I would turn on the A/C the car began to make some strange chirping, whizzing noise and the noise came from the right side of the car under the front bumper. I never had it looked into, I just quit using the A/C.
I purchased this car from my stepmother who purchased it new in 1995 with 2 miles on the odo. I was generally pleased with the cars reliability overall, but I still don't feel that Mitsubishi's quality is on par with other Japanese competitor's such as Honda, Toyota, and Nissan.
This car was always maintained by my stepmother to a T. I was a little put off when the car started burning oil at only 132k. I accelerated away and saw that telltale bluish-gray smoke. Not too long after that happened, my struts all blew out on me. When these two things occurred, I decided to just use the car as a workhorse and I drove it all the time as my little beater.
The car deserves some props I guess, because I drove it on oil, tranny fluid, and tire changes up thru about 178k. I put 86,000 miles on it in two years.
The interior was pretty comfortable and I liked the speakers. I changed the stock radio to a Sony head unit with CD player and it was great with the stock speakers. And for a base model Galant it was well equipped. Power windows, locks, A/C, Cruise control. No power mirrors, but then again one less electrical component to worry about.
Enjoyed the car, but wasn't happy with the oil burning. Would buy another one, just newer. A friend of mine has had good luck with her 2000 ES-V6.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 23rd December, 2008
Not worth it
Motor mount.
Harmonic balancer.
Water pump (once a year).
Tranny (overdrive went out).
It would be a great car if the tranny wasn't a piece of crap. Everyone that I talk to that has this car had a bad tranny.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know
Review Date: 2nd June, 2008
I love you, but I hate you
Let me start out by saying that this is the first car I've ever owned. The owner before me was a relative who, as far as I know, took proper care of the vehicle.
The main problems I've had with the car, to date:
- MAJOR oil leakage due to broken seals. I have to carry jugs of motor oil with me to refill it on a weekly basis.
- The interior is literally falling apart. The seats are torn up, pieces of fabric from the hood constantly fly into my eyes as I'm driving, and plastic surrounded the front window keeps breaking off.
- The rear windows will roll down, but not back up.
- The front driver window rolls up slowly, and unevenly.
- I've had to replace the battery and it's cables on numerous occasions, more than I've been told is necessary.
- I don't put a lot of miles on the car, yet it seems like I always have to get the alignment done. I've had TONS of flat tires due to this (and I always buy good tires, believe me!).
- The alternator had to be replaced shortly after the car was sold to me. I was driving home from work and the car stalled in the middle of a busy highway (two cars slammed into me, as a result). The previous owner had something short of 70,000 miles on the car, but this was already replaced in his care.
- Air conditioning and heater no longer works, and after all of these other expenses I can't afford to figure out why. It has nothing to do with coolant, I know that.
- The sunroof doesn't work anymore, either.
- The interior AND exterior lights have a habit of either flickering on and off, or buzzing from bright to dim. It's not the battery, and it's not a fuse, and I'm fed up.
- General squeaks, clattering, and sporadic smoking from the engine.
Despite all of the problems I've had with the Galant, I keep in mind that it IS over a decade old. It's really a trooper for hanging in there as long as it has. Still, I've put more money into fixing this car than it's worth.
It's really been a love-hate sort of deal. Now I have a new set of anxieties in my search for buying a new make/model. I tell friends and family it's like having been in a horrible relationship... I'll never know if I'll be able to trust again.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No
Review Date: 22nd January, 2008