It has 40,000 miles on it. What are some signs with early problems with this car? I messaged the owner and he said that the timing belt light is on and he told me that this is common in these cars after 28,000 miles.

 

10 with 39k. No timing belt issues. No problems. SST trans is sluggish but that's it's nature

 

Timing belt? Or timing chain...

 

My timing chain light came on a week ago..i got Lucky cuz the chain skipped a tooth but the engine didnt blow..it was a 800$ job in general garage and 2000$ job a the stealer. The chain has been redesign, the new one is very bulky and look solid as F***. Make sure the tranny got serviced cuz its a 10000$+ part. Test drive it, make sure the shift are smooth. Dont worry about the clank clink and the whine noise the tranny does..its all normal to a certain point..if it does BANG!! Thats not normal.

 

Run away. Run far, far, away and do not stop running.

 

What makes you say that? :O

 

I own a 09 Ralliart with 111,000 miles and have never had a timing chain issue. I've also been a member here on the forums for a while and never heard others with timing chain issues. Do not buy that car. In my humble opinion.

 

I bought my 09RA in Nov 2008. Currently right around 98k miles. I have never had ONE issue with the timing chain.

For that vehicle to already have a timing chain light that started 28k...that tells me that the engine was heavily abused. The chain was stretched to the point where it triggered the message at 28k. It is now at 40k and unfixed. That owner is negligent. Do not buy that car, run the **** away! .

 

This. /Thread.

 

He actually told me that the message was false and that the belt works fine. Any other reasons for the light to show up? I'm going sometime this weekend to check it out.

 

It's a chain, not a belt. Regardless, that sounds like something someone really shady would say about a warning light. He already lied to you about the 28k thing, why bother trusting him about anything else?

 

It's a timing chain. There is no "false message." He is lying his *** off trying to get that car sold. Or he is severely misinformed. Either way, I wouldn't even bother going to look at it.

There is a dedicated sensor that measures how much the timing chain has stretched beyond OE specifications. After a specific amount stretch, the sensor triggers that warning message on the MID.

In the end; it's your choice as it's your money. I can only warn to you run away so many times.

 

+10000 to this.

He's selling that for a reason. And my guts tells me, RUN AWAY! FORGET IT!

I have 09 and 113k kms with no Timing Chain Death Light! Mine is Stage 2 since 50k kms.

Do yourself a favor and don't waste your hard earned money, Just Run Away!

But then again, it's your money. It's your decision!

 

the timing chain issue is a serious issue and there was a reflash to desensitize the chain stretch indicator. I have replaced a lot of these in the evo x and currently have one that I am working on 09 ralliart needing new valves from this. The longest I have seen one last was a gsr that was almost all highway miles and stayed stock. at around 100k I removed the timing chain off the cam gears with out touching the tensioner or anything

 

If your serious about buying this take it to a dealer and have them look at it.

(the seller if he is the owner of the car can log into Mitsubishi owners page and print out a free inspection coupon) go with him to the dealer and they will tell you the truth and how much you'll have to pay to fix the issue if they really is one.