Buying new FTO...maybe

[Greentea]

Alright guys, so I'm planning on getting another FTO. Was meant to get a Honda Fit...but settled for an FTO instead because I realised it was cheaper. Lol

Bad

- 250,000km's
- Tires 60%
- Chipped side skirt
- Chipped tail light
- Sun damaged paint
- Missing Mitsubishi badge on bumper
- Hasn't been driven in about 6 months
- Dead Battery
- Unregistered

Good

- 99% stock
- Km's are mostly highway driving
- Interior is VERY clean so I'm assuming it was well looked after
- Stock rims in perf condition
- Air con is strong
- MIVEC

Now guys, a few questions.

- I managed to nego. down to $2100. This includes a new battery in the car. Is this worth it?
- Can I drive it home unregistered or do I need to tow it?
- If I have to tow it, how much will that cost?
- What kind of problems will I expect to see in a car with km's this high.

Approx price of:

- Respray (whole car Scotia White)
- Facelift Bumper
- Facelift Lights
- New side skirts
- New taillights
- Service
- New tires and rims
- Mitsubishi Badge

Thanks heaps

[FTOwnage]

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/MITSUBISHI-F ... ecc&_uhb=1

A start to your list.

[rock_it]

Honestly.. Too expensive.

By thetime you fix it, blue slip it, rego it... You have paid more than what you can buy an FTO for with lower K's and in better condition.

Just my $0.02

[Daniel2019]

I agree, too expensive for what you're getting.

I bought the smurf for 2.5k, not a single problem (except paint but who cares) with it and heaps and heaps of extras with plenty of rego.

Not worth it.

[Greentea]

Anyone here got an FTO in good condition for a cheap price in NSW?

I want another FTO :/

[Daniel2019]

Gotta be patient mate. You will find the right car.

[Greentea]

This is great....I sold the best of my PS1 collection for this car. I was gonna buy it next week. Lol

Sold $1.5k of ps1 games :L

[Daniel2019]

I understand that the idea of new cars is exciting (I'm only 19 and have had 4 FTOs and a Barina) but you will regret an impulse buy usually.

Put it this way -

- Respray (whole car Scotia White) - about $2k for a decent one.
- Facelift Bumper - $300
- Facelift Lights - $100 a set (ish?)
- New side skirts - Depends
- New taillights - $100+ for decent set
- Service - Depends if minor or major
- New tires and rims - Anywhere from $400 with crap tyres to $2k+
- Mitsubishi Badge - SFA

Counting tyres and rims as $1k, you're looking at $3,500 already and that isnt even including a service or side skirts.

Thats literally more than you paid for the car. Not to mention you have to tow it home ($100 for a trailer, $100 for a ute + fuel) and then have to get it past a blue slip which could require several parts to be replaced. Car has been sitting for a long time so I would do a major service.. well over $1k. You're up to like 7 grand already and that's before your $1k for rego, if it passes a blue slip.

For that much cash you may as well just buy rock_it's car (not pushing it, just an example) which has everything you're looking for and then extra bits on top of that.

I don't mean to sound like a douche or be discouraging, I am just letting you know that these things add up quickly and you need to be prepared to spend more than you anticipate. Trust me, I'm in the middle of it lol.

Problems with a high km car can be weak engine components depending how well it was looked after, lack of power etc. and you will be likely to end up swapping the engine anyway.. another grand or two..

Please do not be discouraged by this because you can find cars in better condition for that kind of money. See it as an opportunity for a better buy and you can spend your money elsewhere, whether it be on mods or general upkeep.

[Greentea]

Was also thinking of an Integra. I know it's an FTO forum but...suggestions guys?

[Daniel2019]

Was also thinking of an Integra. I know it's an FTO forum but...suggestions guys?

Can't help.. only cars I know anything about are FTOs

And, soon to be Mazdas.

[Greentea]

Anyone know some cheap N/A cars?

Problem with integras is that there are so many of them...yet they still cost so much. WHYYY

[Daniel2019]

If you look hard enough and be patient you will find a good FTO, trust me!

[rock_it]

An old Italian saying..

Cheapa no good, and Gooda no cheap...

Exception of Smurf ... Bargain of a car because well looked after, some goodies on it, and because I went to the expense to fly down to Mel pick it up, and bring her back here. Then sell to Dan with no profit made ... It's downside was it needed respray and roof rust. So that would be a good 4+k spray job.

Honestly, if you are looking at doing a spray job right, it will cost you around 5k. This would be by taking the car to bare metal, and respraying door jams + boot and exterior (excluding engine bay).

To be honest, in cars that are getting this old, it is recommend. Many people will do a quick patch up on the roof and you may have a perfect car for 6 months, then start to see signs of the "bubble" ... Best to get it cut right the first time and sprayed.

It was this reason that when I was building my Evo/GSR that I took her back to bare, and sprayed it. Just me over 8k on paint, but at the end of the day, I know she has been done right, and will probably last longer than paint on new cars from the factory ...

But yet again, just my $0.02....

I know when I was looking for an FTO, I desperately wanted one. I saw a lot of examples in the market place, and some cheap buys... However, I waited for the right one to come up, and have never regretted it... Trouble free motoring with only normal servicing required... (and the addition of all my aftermarket goodies) ...

So sit tight and just look around... There are usually good examples of stock FTO's with higher K's popping up around the 4k mark. Some better FTO's will pop up around the 6-7k mark which are usually lower K's and looked after... Just depends on how much you want to spend...

Even look at Ben & Kaz's example of an FTO ... Bugger all K's as it spent something like 10 years in a garage because the person didn't comply it... A little expensive, but is a decent example of a well maintained FTO.

[Technikhaus]

I'm the same, I nearly bought one for $1,500 but I took it to a mechanic and it had a few issues, so I left it. I waited another 2 months and purchased one for 5K....
But is one of the cleanest I've seen in the country.

[Greentea]

Alright, i'll probs just ditch this FTO for now then.

Well, I already have an FTO. Would you guys suggest just investing in the one I have now or buy a new car.

I just don't wanna build my km's too high on my FTO cause I like it a lot and I wanna keep it for a long time. Lol

[Daniel2019]

Having a daily and a project car is always good because you can take either off the road to replace/upgrade things and still have a car.

It is very expensive though... I would suggest having your FTO as a project/weekend car and having a sh*tty little old Suzuki Swift or something as a daily if you can afford both regos, insurance policies and upkeep of the car. If not, just have the FTO.

[Greentea]

I wanted my project car to be my everyday driver. Lol.

Well, the search continues. I guess I'll just keep driving my current FTO and then save up some money for a new car. I'm not letting my FTO go pass 150,000km though. Lol

[rock_it]

I wanted my project car to be my everyday driver. Lol.

Well, the search continues. I guess I'll just keep driving my current FTO and then save up some money for a new car. I'm not letting my FTO go pass 150,000km though. Lol

There is nothing wrong with high K's, as long as the car is looked after, and things are replaced when due. You have to face it, these cars are around 19 years old.. On average, a car will do about 10,000k's per year.. So that puts these things up in the 190k mark.

A lot of the imports come over with 60k on the clock ... And a lot of places have been caught tampering with speedo's.. So you could find cars with low K's in Aus have actually been wound back. That is why you need to check for visible signs of age.

As an example, mine is a 97 model.So 17 years old this year. She has done 170k on the clock. And most of this has been because I was using it to drive to work (freeway driving) 500+ k's per week. So that racked up a bit right there. Before that, she was pretty low when I bought her. But power wise, she is putting out 111kw .. So she is still pretty fresh. And the maintenance on her has been up to par with seals, rubbers, and even replacing bushes and what not recently.

The Swift I bought has become more of the daily drive, and I think we have had it for about 6 months. It now has 11,000 k's on her...

I will soon be alternating with my motorbike as well ... Because that only has 40,000 on the clock... But because it is not 100% in peak traffic time (I commute outside of peak hours and am against the traffic), they get a good run so injectors and what not don't get clogged as much as stop start traffic.

[Daniel2019]

Take care of a car, it will take care of you.

Can get 500,000kms + out of most cars as long as its taken care of.

Used to have a little old Mazda 2 at my old workplace, was a courier/delivery car owned by a Greek bloke. Had 490,000km on it and all we had ever done to it was service it and re-gas the aircon (and obviously replace things like suspension components, consumables etc.)

Or Astron_boy's hamster driven Merc. That thing has a huge amount of K's too and is serviced on time every time. Be nice to a car and it will stick around pretty much indefinitely..

[Greentea]

So guys, hypothetically if I do buy this FTO...

- Respray (whole car Scotia White) - about $2k for a decent one.
- Facelift Bumper - $300
- Facelift Lights - $100 a set (ish?)
- New side skirts - Depends
- New taillights - $100+ for decent set
- Service - Depends if minor or major
- New tires and rims - Anywhere from $400 with crap tyres to $2k+
- Mitsubishi Badge - SFA

Bar the tires, all of those things are optional and I'm in no rush to do it now. This was meant to be a project car and I am going to fill the car with after market goodies. May even do an engine swap for a turbo galant engine.

Would is still be worth it, or just pass?