San Antonio Mitsubishi Dealer

I had my heart set on buying a 2009 Mitsubishi Eclipse but was shocked to see the true cost to own figures. Is this for real and is there any way around it? I live in Costa Mesa CA.
First of all great choice! The Mitsubishi Eclipse be it the 3.8L 6cyl 5 speed automatic or the 6 speed manual transmission. Both are great energetic rides.
The TCO or True Cost to Own is actually a more realistic price. It considers aside from what you paid initially what you will pay in the next 5 years of owning, operating and maintaining the vehicle. In the TCO, the costs of fuel, insurance, financing, maintenance and such are taken into consideration. You mentioned that you live in Costa Mesa. The TCO for the 6cyl 5 speed automatic is estimated at $56,375 and $55,261 for the 6 speed manual transmission over a five year period.
Based on the TCO, the biggest hit you’ll take is in the first year especially on depreciation. Both types will depreciate by more than $7500 in the first year alone. Financing, insurance and naturally fuel are also going to be high all throughout.
The only way around this is to sell the car after a year or so but then again this isn’t really the answer is it? Personally I would not be too shocked at the sums. Think of it as operating expenses. A car is not like a jacket that you just buy and wear. But then again it still costs to have it dry cleaned or mended right? The only real way to keep costs down is regular, proper maintenance and not always putting the pedal to the metal. Then again that’s no fun, is it?

How many of you out there when shopping for a car couldn’t understand half of what the dealer was saying? “Engine torque of this model…” or “And this has a displacement of…” Sounds familiar?
Recently I was at a Mitsubishi dealer in town and got the same script. I was just wondering if he really thought that the average car buyer actually understands what he’s talking about. So for the benefit of myself and millions of others who just really want a good looking, value for your money, comfortable, safe and probably fast car, I decided to create a series of posts dedicated to the most common terms we hear, nod and say “that’s great!” but most probably have no idea what they’re talking about. Also included are some assumptions and/or misconceptions.
Base curb weight- Simply put this is how much your car or vehicle weighs. Sans passengers, cargo optional equipment/accessories. But this does include a full tank of fuel and all the oils and fluids necessary to run/operate the vehicle. Having said all this, it doesn’t mean that the lighter the car, the faster it will go. A lot of factors go into the speed of the vehicle. The car maybe light but if the engine isn’t powerful enough i.e., horsepower to weight ratio then some kid on a BMX might just pass leave you behind. A proper example of correct power to weight ratio is the Mitsubishi Eclipse GT. It is powered by a 3.8li V6 MIVEC engine that produces 265 hp and can propel the 3545 lb. car from 0-60mph in under 60 seconds.
Displacement- Basically it’s how much air-fuel mixture is drawn in during a engine cycle.
More to follow.

I’m vacationing in Manila in the Philippines soaking up the rays. A pleasant change from the winter chill back home.
Sitting at a Starbucks (almost one in every corner) watching the cars go by I noticed a lot of cars with the Mitsubishi logo but didn’t recognize their names nor the make.

Adventure, Fuzion and Strada to mention a few.

Sure they may have just been renamed/rebranded this being a different country.

A peek into their website showed that Mitsubishi has 14 makes here as compared to 8 we have back home. Those don’t include their delivery truck and mini buses.

Still, a Lancer is still a Lancer and a Galant a Galant.

The 2.4 liter 4G69 Mivec engine is the same engine that powers the Galant here as in the States.

The Lancer sports the same 2.0 MIVEC 14 engine though back home it’s either the Lancer DE, ES or ES Sport. Here it’s the Lancer EX.

On a test drive with a friend, I found the Galant to be quite energetic though handling was rather stiff and in curves slipping happened way too sooner than I expected-just like back home.

All in all, this is a pretty good car for the price both here and stateside.

I was invited to check out the Mitsubishi Endeavor. According to Mitsubishi, the Endeavor is a “midsize crossover SUV”.

Some say that it’s just a midsize and I have to agree with them.

The Mitsubishi Endeavor is powered by a V6 24 valve, 3.8 liter engine that cranks up 225 horsepower @ 5000. It has a 4-speed automatic transmission.

The Automatic has a Sportronic mode that lets you shift gears manually if you want to.

It has a roomy rear. Judging by the size- 40.7 cubic feet, it had space for my 2 big dogs and room to spare.

As for the ride itself, I took it out on the back roads and was rather impressed by the handling. The4-wheel independent suspension handled the bumps quite well.
In fact I was surprised as to how well it did.

Fuel mileage estimates: 15 city and19 highway

Overall this is a great vehicle for the family.

Cost to own $54,704 (5-year national average) and the nice thing about it is that since the Endeavor isn’t leader of the pack sales wise, you could get a couple of extras or get a better deal.

In between the Montero Sport, and the larger Montero SUV is the Endeavor.

A midsize crossover SUV, it was also the first vehicle in the company’s “project America” series. It was designed and built in Normal, Illinois.

On a test drive, I found the Endeavor (SE AWD) to have a quiet and relatively comfortable ride.

The automatic model has a Sportronic mode that allowed me to manually shift gears when I wanted like when in traffic wherein quicker shifting is needed.

With its Active Skid and Traction Control, on sand (and snow I assume), I found the AWD quite capable.

On the inside, it has a driver multi-adjustable power seat, power windows and it has a very spacious rear seat.

Front and side driver and passenger airbags are standard.

The one thing it doesn’t have is a navigation system.

Possibly another downside is that the Endeavor has a 3.8 liter V6 225hp engine that runs only on premium gasoline.

Fuel economy is a respectable 17mpg city and 23mpg on the highway.