NationStates Jolt Archive

Ok.

I looked at a decent 1994 Mitsubishi Mirage, only downside is that it appears to need a front end alignment and new struts. How much would this end up costing me? Anyone know of any other problems that I should probably keep an eye out for?

Alright, didn't put much info. Here is what I sent to a friend of my mothers:

Went and looked at the Chevy S-10, and don't think that it will work out. However, he did have a 1994 Mitsubishi Mirage that looked pretty nice, few scratches on the exterior and the interior was perfect save for the drivers seat being a little ripped.

The car has around 170,000 miles I think, and needs struts and a front end alignment. Other than that it seems like a really nice car. The brakes felt like they would need replaced in maybe four months or so. When driving the car I heard a rattling noise, but I'm assuming that is due to the fact that it needs struts. The car leaned easily towards the right unless I quickly corrected it, which I think is the alignment problem.

I don't know, I only have $530 if I close my account and a friend of mine is loaning me the rest but he is stretching a lot going over $200. On top of that, I couldn't find a strut kit online (although, admittedly I don't know much about cars so might have been looking for the wrong thing). Besides getting me to and from a job (most likely at Walmart which is 4 miles away), I would like to be able to go home to Bloomington and see my brother and help my mom out at times.

Going into more detail on the truck he had, it was a '90 Chevy S-10 with a rebuilt motor. It was leaking oil and he said he was going to find the problem and fix it. Glove compartment is broken, and the stereo was ripped out (someone tried to steal it 2 weeks ago and he said he would put another one in). No a/c, and he said there was a 'cherry bomb' on the exhaust instead of a muffler, but that he had a muffler inside. The friend that I brought with said it ran rich, but the smoke I saw coming from under the car looked more white than black. Maybe I was mistaken. It also ran rich on fuel I think because there was white smoke coming from under the car.

The Mirage looks like it's my best bet, as all the other cars I have looked at I could have probably driven home but then they would never start again. Do you have any input on either vehicle?

Buy a bicycle and save until you can buy a car that will not cost you more than you earn in maintenance and fuel.

Would, but Walmart is actually 6.78 miles away and would require riding the bike on a highway which I just am not crazy enough to do.

Would, but Walmart is actually 6.78 miles away and would require riding the bike on a highway which I just am not crazy enough to do.That's still a better bet than either of those cars, I think. You're in the range where I imagine you'll be tossing good money after bad. Of the two, it sounds like the Mitsu is the better deal, but really, I think you need to wait a bit.