Some Mitsu Lancer Q&A please

[OneManTuner]

Its been suggested, by my parents, to get a Lancer. Seeing as how they're somewhat 'cheap' and interest rates are low, I can keep the same type of car payment I'm doing now. The one's we're looking at are some unsold 2003 models. I'm looking at a 5 speed, but there are some things I need to know about Lancer's and Mitsu in general.

What engine choices are there?

Does the 2.0L engine have a lot of aftermarket support?

Will the engine last long(assuming I don't ride it)?

Will the tranny last long(assuming I don't ride it)?

How much aftermarket is there for the Lancer itself?

Is it a nice choice of car?

An any opinions you have on the car itself, or to help me out would be great.

I posted this on the Lancer forum, but nobody responds overthere.

Can anybody possibly give me a car like the Lancer or around the same price, just so I can see my options?

[lamehonda]

All lancers are soft, outside of evolutions. you would probably be happier getting a civic or something used. But I don't know what you like. The lancer is so lacking in power that it would take gobs of mods to get some out of it.

But, maybe someone will come along with a different opinion

Good Luck, almost ended up buying one myself. got my accord for about the same price with 37k and its leather w/manual

[OneManTuner]

Originally Posted by lamehonda

All lancers are soft, outside of evolutions. you would probably be happier getting a civic or something used. But I don't know what you like. The lancer is so lacking in power that it would take gobs of mods to get some out of it.

But, maybe someone will come along with a different opinion

Good Luck, almost ended up buying one myself. got my accord for about the same price with 37k and its leather w/manual

Well thanks for the opinion. I'll probably stray away from it. I don't want a long lasting car payment anyways at the moment. I'm looking for something I can tune, which means I'll probably need it paid off first.

I'm going to start relooking over the Ford Foci and other Hondas.

[kman10587]

The Civic EX is pretty much superior to any 2003 Lancer. Now the 2004 Lancer Ralliart is a different story. That thing kicks ass

[OneManTuner]

I'm probably not going to get the Lancer. The guy said he could probably go down a lot and I could keep around my same monthly payments, but plenty of other sources recommend against getting a Mistu. Due to major problems, even with their warrenty, they're at the low end of the durability stick.

So I think I'm going with Nissan now. Either a Sentra, Maxima, or Altima(not newer of course, but not too old either).

[lamehonda]

Originally Posted by OneManTuner

I'm probably not going to get the Lancer. The guy said he could probably go down a lot and I could keep around my same monthly payments, but plenty of other sources recommend against getting a Mistu. Due to major problems, even with their warrenty, they're at the low end of the durability stick.

So I think I'm going with Nissan now. Either a Sentra, Maxima, or Altima(not newer of course, but not too old either).

Maxima is a good choice

[kcap122]

Maxima is a good choice EXCEPT if you plan to tune it, there is a much bigger aftermarket support for the sentra.

the sentra also feels a little zippier, tighter i guess

[kman10587]

True, but the Maxima has one of the ten best engines in the world, and there's also a large aftermarket for it.