my girl is looking at a 1993 300GT SL...its the 4 banger, FWD, thing is in amazing condition, inside and out. its red, black leather interior. its the older front end with the pop-up headlights, but the thing really does look nice. paint is perfect, underside shows no rust, interior looks hardly even broken in. car has exactly 50,300 miles on it. dealer was asking 12 something, now its got a $9,998 sticker on it. looks like the just want to get rid of it. is it worth it?? i dont know anything aout mitsu cars really, how much power does that thing have anyhow? any reliability concerns? i mean its not the turbo or the AWD so it should be prone to problems right? she wants to pull the trigger and get it, im saying go for it, but id like to help her gather some more info on it first. she currently has a 98 accord coupe 4 banger with about 70k on it, shes bored with it, wants something sportier. this 3000GT may be a step back in age but the miles are low as hell. its got brand new tires on it too.

any info would be great, thanks

 

They made those in 4 bangers??? wouldnt the weight make them slow as shit with the small of an engine?

 

I didn't think they made a 4 banger - the 3000GT SL should be the 3.0V6 as far as I know. Anyway I don't know shit about the SLs, but I know a shit load about the VR4s.....hehe. I wouldn't expect too much difference btw the 3.0V6 SL and her Accord. She's adding not even 40hp AND 1000 lbs.

 

Actually, now that I think about it, it's probably slower than her Accord. So does she want sportier looks, or sportier pull? Get her a VR4 w/ dual intercooled 13Gs hehe. AWD, 450hp, and CLs will have to move out of the damn way if she can shift...

 

I didn't think that car came in a 4-CYL.
If it did it's way too heavy a car for that little powerplant.
Those cars were BOATS and the only thing that made them fast was the twin turbo 6.
All the others were slow dogs.

Shawn S

 

Are you sure of your facts Jim?
According to Edmunds, the smallest engine was the 222-HP Non-Turbo 6-Cyl.

http://www.edmunds.com/used/1993/mit....6.Mitsubishi*

Shawn S

 

It's a 6 minimum. Heavy as hell.

I wouldn't buy one now since RIPSUBISHI parts are very pricey.

 

yeah, sorry guys, like i said, i dont know jack about mitsu really. it must be a 6 cylinder. we didnt get to pop the hood, i just looked underneath and saw only one downpipe going into the exhaust pipe and cat. i mustve missed it, it wsa hard to see. so is it a decent car though?? im just a little concerned as far as reliability, being 10 years old and all, is this an ok car??

 

I'll move this to CarTalk...

 

Hmmm... Even the price of $9998 still seems high...

Doing a TMV off of Edmunds for that car in my area, shows the following... Chicago, w/ auto tranny and CD player in outstanding condition.

Sorry about the bad formatting...

 

hmmm, thanks for the info scrib, always good to have some ammo with dealers. we are going to test drive it this afternoon for sure.

 

If it's an automatic...

Transmission problems are notorius. The tranny is made by chrysler, and chrysler spec'd the wrong trans fluid allowed on a tranny flush/filter service. So most of those cars have premature failures around 90k....

If the dealer who serviced the car was smart, and it had the right fluid added during it's service it should be good for awhile...

That's really the only thing I know of...

 

Mitsu's 4 bangers (If it is a 4) are notorious for blowing head gaskets. Be careful. I had a 91 3000GT SL (non-turbo). In it's day, it was a real looker. People always stopped and stared. I remember taking it to Las Vegas and the valets parking it out front as a "draw".

 

can someone tell me if this 3000GT vin number is a stick or automatic???

http://www.autotrader.com/findacar/v...lor=&cardist=5

 

Jim... My TMV price(s) were for a '93 3000GT, which is what you stated in your original post. But the autotrader link shows it being a 1995.

Just a FYI...

 

I had a 1992 3000GT VR-4 (Twin Turbo) that I bought for $5K. It had 80K miles.... so extrapolate that price to a 1993 SL version.

 

yeah, this 95 is a different car we are going to look at, same price basically, more miles, but its got that newer front end, im just trying to find out if its stick or not

 

IMO, if you are in the market for that kind of car, why not look into the 300Z's or Supras?? The 3000GT was nice, but the other two choices are nicer. Plus, 3000GT was consider too heavy even for the VR4 version.

 

my girl wants a FWD for winter up here, and shes not all that concerned with speed (if it was ME shopping, hahaha, yeah, id be looking for a VR-4 or something) but she just loves the look of that 3000GT, its a sexy ride.

 

The 3000GT is heavy stock, but it's weight can be pulled down to manageable fairly easily...take for example the stock 60+lb wheels. The thing about this car is that it's cheap. 300Zs are in the same general price range tho, but Supras (TT) are def NOT. $30K for a 10 year old car with 100K miles? I don't think so. For half of that you can have a 3000GT VR4 built out the ass.

 

according to edmunds, the 3000GT SL with the 3.0 v6 only weights 3200 lbs....is that really THAT heavy?? its less than the CL-S.....

 

I was going to say that in an ealier post, but I'm wondering if they're saying it's "heavy" because it's defined as a hatchback???

 

1992 3000GT Specifications

Model VR-4 SL Base
Curb Weight 3,802 lbs 3,376 lbs 3,219 lbs


I always thought all of them were 3800lbs or so?

So why are the SLs so darn slow then? That's about the same power/weight as my first gen CL. I wonder how much loss is in that auto trans.

 

The Turbo 4WD models were the REALLY heavy ones.
They were 3800+ because of the extra drivetrain parts.

The base models were saddled with 3200 pounds and not that great of an engine to move it with.
Sure it’s 220 HP, but if I remember correctly the power curve on that engine isn’t too good.
That’s all PEAK HP.

Shawn S

 

That could explain it.

 

anyone know how to tell if its a stick or auto based on the VIN??

 

JA3AM54J1SY013111

 

Just look in the window and see if it has 3-pedals.

 

hahah, we are going to look at it this afternoon, but if its stick we wont waste our time, she cant drive stick and doesnt want to own a manual car.

 

How long have you been dating this LOSER ???

 

Jim - Do they not have telephones in Wisconsin???

Why not just pick up the phone and ask if it's a stick?

 

ill do that during my lunch break if no one has figured it out yet

 

Don't do it. Early 90's mitsu's are none for bad transmisions and valve issues. It will be smoking out the muffler before long.

 

Ive got a 1994 3000gt. FWD. its a v6.
With that mileage and price, its a fucking good deal. however. that car is almost ready for its 60k tune up.. which costs a litte bit if you dont do it yourself.
and, because of its age, the car is going to start developing wear issues like valve stem seal leaks. common problem in older 3kgt's. costs a shit load to fix as well.
Because the car is a SL it has a ton of electrical goodies, which also go bad on the 3kgt.

They cost a lot to maintain and fix. My car hasnt given me any shit since I bought it, but a lot of people drop thousands on their 3000gt.

Unless she is totally in love with the car, or is willing to spend big bucks to keep the car up and going, i wouldnt get it.

However, those are the downsides. the pieces for the car are expensive if they need to be replaced. However I love the car much more than my honda, and is giving me less problems that my honda.

as for performance, yes its an auto (not by choice) but the car has great pick up and performance for 222 (my year has 222) horsepower.
and the handling is great!!!!

the tranny on 3000gt's are not made by chrysler. theyre made by mitsubishi. that is the reason they are faulty. mitsubishi is not known for their tranmissions.

but. again. I know i made the car sound negative, but if youre looking for a cheap low maintenance car, this is not the car. especially if she is not into cars. You have to have a great love for the car to put up with it.

I love my car, shes got 124k miles on her, just had an engine rehaul, new struts, brakes, replaced valve stem seals..
runs beautifully.

 

its a 6 banger. with a few mods it will give a CLS Auto a run for its money. stock for stock, its the same as a CLP.
my friend has a VR4 that could smoke just about ANYTHING out there, cept for a porsche turbos and most ferraris, etc.
that thing is ridiculous, it hits 100 before u know it

 

I disagree... might want to dig into that one.

And the fluid is the main reason they have problems...

Either way, they are problematic... so it doesn't matter who makes them...

Clarifying myself, the design is chryslers... who build it i guess is up on the air.

 

maybe the dodge stealth has a transmission by chrysler but 3000gt's are 100% made in japan and thus part of the reason why 3000gt and stealths are not considered DSM's.

I am digging right now. I am pretty sure I am correct, but hell I dont know everything

 

I could be wrong. I was told from my tranny buddy. (all he does)

I was just thinking about it. It might have been the design only mitsubishi took from chrysler... fuk, i dunno... I'll ask him again...

maybe I was drunk when I heard him... LOL

 

Ok so far I have read the stealths do have the chrysler transmission.. still looking on my car.

Edit: all I can find is that the stealths have the chrysler transmission. not a single word on the 3000gt.

So I stand with my point. Please feel free to find otherwise.

 

go to 3si.org and check it out