[TracyT]

I'm planning to get my first car in a few months when I'm done saving up money for it ( I'm turning 17 ). I know that a Civic is always a good car for beginner driver, but I really want the Mitsubishi Eclipse GS with 4 cyliner. So what are your reviews on it? A Toyota Celica is my 2nd choice also.

[MPowerKai]

Get the Toyota, less problems

[Apl420]

I was hoping for a review on this too.
I see a lot of used eclipse on craiglist for 4k-ish, with ~100k mileage. Kind of tempted to buy it, but not sure how long will it continue running.

[Lasthope05]

Nothing wrong with them at all. Just make sure if you get an eclipse that it had the factory ball joint recall done. If it never did bring it to the dealer and they will do it for free. They are good cars that run for a long time.

[MPowerKai]

Depends what year Eclipse, I think the 3rd to 4th generation ones are ok, but 1st and 2nd generation are definitely have a lot of problems

[Lasthope05]

Theres nothing wrong with any of the generations as long as your not looking at the turbo model. The turbo models are a little special but sticking to the GS and RS models they are perfectly fine. Just check to make sure the factory recall was done.

[tbkonwso]

do not buy a dsm as your first car... buy the celica

[Lasthope05]

^Again, theres nothing wrong with eclipse. Both cars run great and last. Also neither car has a bad rep.


OP, What years or body style were you looking at for both cars in particular? What it boils down to is which car you like better.

[ZiGeNX77]

DSMs were some fine machines but there are the crank walk and general reliability issues with them. My friend had a 3rd gen Eclipse GT, he had to get his clutch replaced after 2-3 years. I don't recommend buying an older Mitsubishi as your sole daily driver.

[Lasthope05]

Shes looking at the non Turbo eclipse's so that does count. They dont have a problems with crankwalk. Crankwalk also is not as common as people think it is. I bet most of you dont know that chevy has had crankwalk problems for ages.

Well im done... No point in preaching to people who dont understand the differences between the turbo and non turbo models. Even thought they have two totally different engines.

[[HyuNi]]

I had a 2000 eclipse that I used daily.
It got up to 130K miles before I traded it in for a 09 Corolla which I love.

There were never any engine issues with the eclipse, but a lot of minor and expensive things that were REALLY annoying.
For example, the AC and heating didn't work, which SUCKED because I had leather seats and in the summer they would be unbearably hot and extremely cold in the winter. The radio stopped working and would only tune into one spanish channel and a Christian channel. Also, the brakes were so finicky. They would squeal when I turned, even after I changed the pads and got new calipers & discs (EXPENSIVE!). I found out later there was a brake fluid leak... Ugh!!! But the most costly issue were with the tires. They are so damn expensive and they would continually become flat! I always ended up having to put air in them after a couple days.

I'm not much of a car enthusiast, and was using it as a commuter car. If you are planning to buy it for everyday use, get a more reliable car and skip the headache. I think I spent about $3000 for the 4 years I had it on repairs and regular maintenance.