First Lancer Purchase
 

Hi All,
I'm happy to say this is my first in a community that I hope to become a part of. For the last year or so, I've driven around a mazda3, but I've reached the point where I'm bored with it and it's time to move onto something else. I've fallen in love with the Ralliarts both due to the styling and the test drive I went on the other day. I've been checking out a few 2010-2011 examples over the last few days and I'm going back to give one a second look soon and I was wondering if anyone has any tips for me, things to look for, etc.
The one I'm going to look at is a 2011 Ralliart with approximately 96k miles on it. At first glance, the body and interior looks clean, though the leather on the steering wheel is completely trashed. It's currently listed for 9 grand. I noticed that at low speeds (pulling out of a parking lot) it shifts pretty hard between first and second. After some googling, it sounds like this is normal, though I'd like to get some more opinions on that as well. I appreciate any help offered!

As a side note - anyone around the Greater Boston area? I work in IT and technical theater, so as a result all of my friends are into tech and acting. I need to make some car friends.

Thanks!

Hey Alright. Welcome aboard

By the way, I own an older 2006 Lancer

Keep us posted on your search & let us know if you make that purchase

:beer:

Here are some things to ask the seller or keep in mind before you purchase:

• When was the last SST fluid change?
• Are there complete maintenance records?
• Has the ACD pump been replaced?

If you plan on modding at a later date just know that not every modifications for the EVO X will work on the Ralliart. Big ones that I can think of that will not be interchangeable would be exhaust, brakes, and suspension.
Those are the things I can think of right off the top of my head.

I will add those to my list. I should add that this car is coming from a small dealership. They gave me a copy of the Carfax, and it looks to me like this car was traded in at a Toyota dealership, who then wholesaled it off to these guys. I have a feeling that the only maintenance records I'll get are from the Carfax.

How often should I see this SST fluid being changed?
How big of a red flag is it if the ACD pump has not been replaced? Should I walk if it hasn't, or should I just keep that in mind for negotiations?

At this point, I'm not too concerned with major mods. This car is going to be a daily driver and I'm on a slightly higher than average college student budget (but still a college student budget), so it'll be simple things, but it is good to know that these mods are not interchangeable.

Alright, I had a second look at the Carfax. Looks like they do not indicate any SST fluid changes, though there are several lines of "vehicle serviced" with no other information. It's the same deal with the ACD pump. There's no indication that it was ever replaced, however I don't know if there's a chance that those "vehicle serviced" lines could be the pump being replaced.

According to Mitsubishi (looking at my warranty manual) the SST interval is 60k miles. However according to Kozmic Motorsports it is 40k miles. I believe the current consensus on the forums is to do it between 30k-40k intervals. Note these intervals are the "normal-duty" not the severe. Also Kozmic Motorsports is one of the big names with SST rebuilds and modifications. This is just my understanding.
As for the ACD, it is warrantied up to 10 years or 100k miles so with you only having about 4k miles left and afterwards it will be out of your pocket. I would keep this for negotiating since a new ACD pump can be north of $1000 to have replaced. Whether this is something that would cause you to walk, I can't really tell you that.

Something else to consider is that this car should be run with 93 octane gas, unless converted to E85 (which is not a cheap modification). I am not sure if you have considered this when calculating your monthly expenditures. Finally if you don't know when the last time any maintenance was done you may consider having most of your fluids changed. I know locally (chicagoland area) to do the 90k/90 month service is about $1500.

kj1060, thank you for calling all of that to my attention. It looks like the car has had regular servicing, but I am planning on doing all of the fluids shortly after I purchase it anyway. I will definitely bring up the ACD warranty and see where that gets me in negotiation. Not sure how I missed it in my research, but I had no idea about the 93 octane. I don't think it will be a cost issue, but I will definitely have to do some math before moving forward with the idea of purchasing one.

I really appreciate all of the tips guys.

The interval is 30K miles for oil/filter change according to the official Mitsu Serrvice book. Save money to service the trans because it will break eventually and the chances are higher with the high mileage. Once is serviced like a company like Kozmic it will be the strongest piece of your car.

I'd be wary of a high mileage RA without full service history just due to not knowing what type of SST fluid people have changed it with just because people like to save money with these cars. General consensus on these cars for SST service interval is around 20-25k miles even if the book says 30k. OEM Diaqueen SST Fluid is the only thing you want to put in this car. I would also get up close and have a look at all the possible mods that the car may already have cause there are some mods that absolutely require a tune and previous owners may have left the mods while taking off the tune (Cobb APs).

Also hope you know that these cars SUCK on gas mileage lol. I only get about 200-220 miles until the gas light comes on mixed city/highway. Factor that in as well with your gas calculations.