MrsBoxxy

Hey guys, so I'm a first time buyer and after some research I kind of have my heart set on a Ralliart. I live in Ontario and have to drive through some pretty harsh winters up north so I'm really looking for something AWD that can handle the snow, and after debating over a WRX or Ralliart I think a Ralliart would just suit me better.

Since these are hard to come by my options are really low right now, the only Ralliart local within my budget is 15000$ with 145'000km's on it or roughly 90k miles.

My main concern is reliability, how long am I going to get out of a Ralliart that's already pushing that much KM's and is it worth investing in one.

Secondly, I got to test drive it the other nigh and I'm not sure what to think about it, first red flag was none of the dash lights or internal would turn on. The salesman assured me he would take it to service and get everything fixed by next week before a second test drive. And I'm not sure if this is normal for TC SST, but I found that the car took a long time to drop gears when slowing down. I would be be almost stopped and the engine would still feel like it's at high rpms and showing 5ft gear.

Could these be early signs of transmission and electrical issues soon to come?

Sorry for the wall of text and if this isn't the right place to ask questions.

Ev0ikon

iTrader: (18)

Sorry to say, I think it's best you stay away from that car.
I also think the WRX is better than the RalliArt in stock form. But buying old cars is really up to the previous owner.
Good luck!

neogeo64

iTrader: (3)

Ev0ikon is right.
Check maintinance records. make sure the sst fluid was changed by the previous owner.
if the test drive was on a cold startup around a few blocks it might just not had time to warm up the SST. also was the test drive in normal/ sport / or super sport? (supersport is not a factory option and a sign that it was abused by previous owner).

I would not buy a used RA without an extended warranty that covers the SST personally. Mitsubishi just extended the ACD pump (usually the first thing that goes out on these cars in colder climates) to 10yrs. So at least that is cover on 09's till 2019

Slee256

Is there anything online in writing from Mitsubishi to support this that could be printed out and shown to a dealership?

neogeo64

iTrader: (3)

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/evo-x-general/705162-awc-hydraulic-unit-warranty-extension-issued.html

MrsBoxxy

Thanks for all the great advice guys, I went with my gut aswell as what every one is saying and passed on that car. I got to check out an 11 sportback Ralliart last night and it looks to be in perfect condition and in my price range, I plan to pick it up tonight, so fingers crossed.

Flexkilz

Just to throw in some info, the ralliart loves to stay up in the higher RPM range and will take forever to downshift when slowing down whether you brake or not. Just throwing that out there because I recently purchased my 2015 brand new and I've noticed it loves to wait to downshift or upshift just to kinda stay in spool a little longer. This is where the majority of your gas is eaten when daily driving haha

Veronica

iTrader: (2)

Welcome aboard!

(and for that Sportback - there are little plastic covers on the roof - that come off to mount a Thule[tm] Rack )

mpclimber

Wish we had buyers like you in the States! I'm practically giving away my Ralliart:
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sa...xxx-miles.html

FoxFMX

iTrader: (2)

I ran into the same problem looking for a used Ralliart in my price range here in Ohio. Finally found one 4.5 hours away in Indiana. Well worth the drive, love this car.

AlDim

iTrader: (1)

Keep in mind that some used Ralliarts are hitting low price points, but maintenance is expensive and transmission issues are quite common, especially on the older model years.

If you need a good and fast AWD car under $15k, look at an older WRX or a Mazdaspeed 6 (awesome powerful AWD car that Mazda made just for 2 years - 2006 and 2007). Ralliarts in that price range will probably have too many kms or issues or both.