Good car, expensive to fix
Oil leak - probably valve cover gasket when I got it.
Transmission bad at 151,000 miles ($1,000 to fix)
Was a really good car despite the oil leak. Too bad the transmission went bad, I was getting around 35 to 40 miles per gallon.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 2nd February, 2009
Love it and would buy it back
When I first bought the car, the temperature gauge in the car didn't work. That was under warranty, and it was fixed for free.
The year after I had the car, a known defect popped up. The key would get stuck in the ignition! You could turn your car off/on/drive it, but couldn't get the key out. Again, it was a known issue, and was fixed for free.
After that I had many carefree years. I serviced it regularly, and it ran like a charm.
The AC was the last thing in 2000. Had the whole thing rebuilt at cost/discount, as the dealer was to wait to get my permission to look at AC (it's an internal/labor cost issue), and the mechanic screwed up. Good for me! Ended up saving me 300-500 dollars.
Had an axel that almost blew on me prior to driving it to shop. Was it the age of the car that caused the axel to give way? I live in a pretty big city and it has terrible roads in town. I may have hit something finally. Not sure there. They fixed it several times (5) before finally fixing it correctly. It was a shop issue ultimately, not a Mirage issue.
I love this car and want it back!
I love this car and sold it to my brother, who still has it and is considering selling it to buy something else. It's still in excellent shape (almost cherry) and just runs very well.
I bought it used at approximately 300 miles, and drove it straight to FL for vacation. 13 hour trip and it sailed. I've taken several driving trips in the car and they all went very well. No problems.
Very comfortable car. I liked the seats and dash and could relax in the passenger side just as easily.
Not an easy car to get in/out of as it's very low to the ground. And if you're pregnant (I have two kids now), this was hard especially then. Something to consider.
The back seats were a little tight, but great for short trips with company in the back or for young children.
I liked the overall acceleration in town and loved it on the interstate. It would hug the road and really seemed to "like" 70-80 mph.
I never had problems with it until the end, and it was more a shop issue than anything.
I wouldn't have sold it to my brother had it not been a great car. I'm considering buying it back from him and using it as an "extra" car.
Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes
Review Date: 22nd September, 2004