Reading some of these posts, sounds like a lot of people really just jumped into buying the car for whatever reason. My Voyager's tranny ate kak and the cost to fix it would not have been a wise investment given the car's overall value. I traded in the Voyager, got the Lancer on a 48 month term for either 15 or 16k and currently making $400 dollar payments (about $100 dollars over what I should be paying so I can pay off the principle loan faster) with the intention of a) driving the car until the wheels come off, b) having fun modifying it c) putting excess cash into a savings account and mutual fund so when I'm done with the Lancer I can keep it as a fun beater while at the same driving something along the lines of an IS300 or TSX. Curious to see, does no one else have the 48 month term?

 

when i ended up buying my lancer, I just desperately needed a new car since my old one was having problems, and yes the 0-0-0, reeled me in a lil, since i had no money for a downpayment..so i ended up paying nothin for it upfront, and now pay 500/month for 36 months...which is not that bad since it will be payed off somewhat quick, but now it comes down to..I want a faster car, but I don't know if I want to upgrade the lancer, and have it's limited potential, or buy a different car that is already fast ie.(evo, srt4, etc.)...but i'm impatient so I kinda want to get a diferent one now.but i guess i'll just have to suck it up, and pay off this car first before I get something new..or else I'll be taking a big loss if I sell the car

 

Wow... I'm utterly shocked. I figured the most I'd get out of this post was a couple of flames, an amen, and that'd be it. Strangely I'm feeling that whole comfort in numbers phenomenon (sp?). Thanks for your posts and yeah there's no way I can even afford to sell the car at this point. And honestly if it wasn't for the price point I'd probably really enjoy the car. I've driven worse cars and had a lot of fun, just they didn't cost so damn much. But as many have said, it's my own stupid fault for not researching or even thinking about what I was doing at the time and I've really got nothing better to do about it than suck it up, learn, and maybe try to mod it into something really fun.

Thanks again guys/gals, evidently the car has a great community associated with it!

~Chris

 

I'm the same, I have financed mine and I have just found that I am not able to sell the car without fully paying off the remaining balance (not able to carry the remaining balance)-so even though I own it, it's my collateral for my loan - but then again I don't really WANT to sell it - I am very happy with the car (Yellow OZ) I get plenty of attention in it, some LOVE it, EVERYONE asks if it's an EVO, the only hate comments are about the colour - I just say it's "Rally Inspired", and say "Yellow is to the Lancer what red is to Ferrari!" - but seriously, I don't expect it to be the fastest car out there either, and even still it's got way better driveability/mid-range torque than Any civic / other mid priced sedan I've been in..and If all else fails, tell yourself you're driving one of the most well designed platforms for a car out there.

 

I feel the same way with my lancer. Slow.

 

Maybe I'm a bad dad but we 've bought 2 base model lancers for our daughters because of the 120 HP motor....and each one was under $13,600 out the door ;-). and the gas mileage. Oh the one thing no ones noted. It's the only car in it's class where you can put an adult in the rear seat and 5 hours later they can still walk! Try that in your civic...etc... and yes we tried and test drove (with 4 adults) all makes before we bought the mitsus. I do feel sorry for those who got talked into the OZ tho. It was never meant to be an EVO and people drove'em like a "rally" cars... crashed'em and the insurance went sky high. We had a car like that when I was young(er) ;-/... it was the mustang cobra II and it like the OZ was a "sheep in snake's clothing". But you got to like the way they look.

 

hehe i am in the same boat...brought the car when it was first introduced. now i realized that i want a 5spd and tried to sell it back to hte deals and did not get more than 9k for it, so basically the value of the car sucks. so my parents decided to keep it because of the crappy resale value...

 

Haha ha! I assume you were talking about the OZ with that, "But you got to like the way they look," comment, and not the Mustang II!!

To the guy complaining about his insurance since the car's under his name.. in most states, you can sell a car to a direct family member (father/mother/son/daughter) and pay zero sales tax. The only hassle is getting the title transferred, which is only $12 or so here in MI. You should "sell" your car to your dad, and save some money on the insurance!

 

Yeah, that mustang you had to tie a steak to to get your dog to **** on it LOL

 

Sad, I hate to break it to you but parts ain't that cheap. In November I had an accident with MINOR front end damage. Hood, front body panel, bumper and lip. frame was out 7mils (Mitsu spec is 5mils). Almost 7Gs to get it fixed. Thank God for the insurance.
I got a little suckered into the OZ. All the dealer**** had was silver and the one yellow that I got.

Anybody else eat the "yellow's a rare color" line of ****?

I guess I didn't really know what 120HP meant, coming from an 86 Nova (Corolla in Chevy clothing ) with front end damage. The test drive was fun. But then there weren't any drag races or auto-x events happening at 1PM on a random Thursday.

Am I having fun with the car though? You bet your *** I am. Nothing feels better than having a smart *** porsche (or Stang) follow me off the freeway into the twisties that I drive everyday coming home, then watching them nearly spin off the road because they can't hang in the turns. Hell most of the Ricer guys in my area know not to follow me anymore.

Make the best of it. Be creative with it. Do what YOU want with the car. No, she's not a drag monster. She hasn't been out for almost two decades wihtout a major interal upgrade. we don't have 27 parts companies making everything from the studs on the intake manifold to the block itself.

Great group therapy thread guys!!

 

Ok, your family has 2 Lancers and an Evo? You really should come to some of the SCLC and SoCalEvo meets then. All of you. Next SCLC meet is the 17th in Ontario. Interested?

 

i believe ive seen robi the most(he was at the last meet)...out of everybody else...if hes the one with the cwest front...we were talking about his family having lancers.....

 

Yeah my wife has an 04 galant my dad has a galant sigma (15 years and 210K miles) Mtisu should put my family in a TV commercial ;-) ! Oh my EVO is the 18th mitsu We've owned. (I know certifiable)

 

Ok you really need to stay away from your local mitsu dealership j/k. Yeah bring your evo and ur 2 daughters in theirs lancers to the next sclc meet.

Back on subject. I bought my car because my old 1989 accord coupe was starting to die on me. Every week it was something new and I was getting tired of forking out the dough for it. So I invested in my own car. My parents wouldn't co-sign for whatever reason I still don't know so my interest rate is probably higher than anyone on here. I did the 60 month term. I bought the OZ because I didnt think I would have a lot of money to fix her up for a while so I was glad I spent the extra money for it. But I started saving my money slowly and I really like my car right now. (Check out my profile to see my car and you can tell me if I made the right decision) I just want rims and to lower it and I think I will almost be done. Except something new always comes up. Like the new piggyback ecu, tb, intake manifold, pistons and the list goes on forever. But I figure when my payments are up I will be making more money and I can save up quick to buy a new car. Maybe the Evo 9 will come out right then and that would be sweet. Damn that would be sweet. Anyways my turbo OZ is great and I love it. I think I made the right decison. This is a good credit builder car while you have fun along the way.

 

Yeah, I bought my Lancer because my '89 Trans Am was falling apart (only 90k miles too). So I realized I couldn't own a sportscar and drive it 20k per year. The Lancer was actually lower insurance, and I knew I wouldn't be replacing the engine/trans/ecu/etc. any time soon. So in the long run, I am saving tons of money that would have gone to maintenance.