"Eclipse" properly named!
Posted: March 4th, 2009, 12:00 pm
If you like the Mitsubishi Eclipse, you may not want to read this tyrade.
I have to vent about this, since I'm trying to sell one.
My girlfriend at the time, and now my best friend, sold her 626, and bought a brand new Eclipse in 2001. I warned, and even pleaded for her not to do it.
At the time, I knew very little about Japanese cars, and was firmly planted in the German Sport/ luxury car community. I knew this, though; her 626 was great. The styling was a little outdated (It was a '93, I think), but it ran great, and was comfortable with the cruise set at 90 for 150 miles to vegas, and California from Arizona.
However, the Eclipse was "Soooo Cute!". If there ever was a "Chick's car", this is it!
I had heard of problems with Mitsubishi, although I didn't even pay attention to Japanese cars at the time. I looked into it, and Consumer Reports, and other agencies weren't fond of it. I showed her some good cars in that price range, but she bought the Eclipse.
Right away, I noticed it's lack of pwer (I would have physicaly stopped her, if she tried to buy the turbo, or V6 model), and the turn radius is worse than my 33' RV. I felt cramped in any seat in the car. When she started having problems with it, I looked into Eclipse forums, and the first thing that came up was a hateful sight about all the problems it has. I kept fixing stuff for her. I was having a car towed, and when we passed a brokedown Eclipse he pointed, and said "That's the car we tow the most". I know a couple other girls with them, and one keeps asking for help fixing various things on it on her MySpace. I keep telling her to get a Mazda, and she doesn't appreciate it.
A couple of other things:
The interior is smaller than my MX-3, while the exterior is bigger. Parts are expensive, even though it's such a common car. Someone stole her marker light.
I just read this about the new ones, which has been the same story for about 10 years now:
"The Mitsubishi Eclipse offers aggressive sports car styling, but critics claim it lacks the power and agility they expect in a sports car. This contributes to an underwhelming performance in the U.S. News rankings. The Eclipse isn't such a bad deal if you just want to look the part of a speed racer - there are just other sports cars that are better. The Eclipse's sticker price undercuts most of its rivals. The car will run you about $40k + to own over five years - about $5,000 less than the Honda S2000. The Eclipse's sales numbers confirm that it has loyal buyers. Sure, sales are down about 38 percent from a year ago, but the Eclipse still sold better than the S2000 or Mazda Miata. The Eclipse just received a refresh for 2009, which means it probably won't be going anywhere soon.
Better value: Still, for cars that perform better within the mainstream sports car class, take a look at the Mazda MX-5 Miata."
As most of you know; about the only parts that go bad on our cars are the ones made by Mitsubishi (Why the ___ did they do that?!).
Whoever designed the look of it should win some kind of an award, if people still buy such a good looking piece of crap.
For the record, I like the way it looks.
So, anyway, who wants to buy a 1 owner 2001 Eclipse?
I have to vent about this, since I'm trying to sell one.
My girlfriend at the time, and now my best friend, sold her 626, and bought a brand new Eclipse in 2001. I warned, and even pleaded for her not to do it.
At the time, I knew very little about Japanese cars, and was firmly planted in the German Sport/ luxury car community. I knew this, though; her 626 was great. The styling was a little outdated (It was a '93, I think), but it ran great, and was comfortable with the cruise set at 90 for 150 miles to vegas, and California from Arizona.
However, the Eclipse was "Soooo Cute!". If there ever was a "Chick's car", this is it!
I had heard of problems with Mitsubishi, although I didn't even pay attention to Japanese cars at the time. I looked into it, and Consumer Reports, and other agencies weren't fond of it. I showed her some good cars in that price range, but she bought the Eclipse.
Right away, I noticed it's lack of pwer (I would have physicaly stopped her, if she tried to buy the turbo, or V6 model), and the turn radius is worse than my 33' RV. I felt cramped in any seat in the car. When she started having problems with it, I looked into Eclipse forums, and the first thing that came up was a hateful sight about all the problems it has. I kept fixing stuff for her. I was having a car towed, and when we passed a brokedown Eclipse he pointed, and said "That's the car we tow the most". I know a couple other girls with them, and one keeps asking for help fixing various things on it on her MySpace. I keep telling her to get a Mazda, and she doesn't appreciate it.
A couple of other things:
The interior is smaller than my MX-3, while the exterior is bigger. Parts are expensive, even though it's such a common car. Someone stole her marker light.
I just read this about the new ones, which has been the same story for about 10 years now:
"The Mitsubishi Eclipse offers aggressive sports car styling, but critics claim it lacks the power and agility they expect in a sports car. This contributes to an underwhelming performance in the U.S. News rankings. The Eclipse isn't such a bad deal if you just want to look the part of a speed racer - there are just other sports cars that are better. The Eclipse's sticker price undercuts most of its rivals. The car will run you about $40k + to own over five years - about $5,000 less than the Honda S2000. The Eclipse's sales numbers confirm that it has loyal buyers. Sure, sales are down about 38 percent from a year ago, but the Eclipse still sold better than the S2000 or Mazda Miata. The Eclipse just received a refresh for 2009, which means it probably won't be going anywhere soon.
Better value: Still, for cars that perform better within the mainstream sports car class, take a look at the Mazda MX-5 Miata."
As most of you know; about the only parts that go bad on our cars are the ones made by Mitsubishi (Why the ___ did they do that?!).
Whoever designed the look of it should win some kind of an award, if people still buy such a good looking piece of crap.
For the record, I like the way it looks.
So, anyway, who wants to buy a 1 owner 2001 Eclipse?
