Mitsubishi Magna (page 3 of 6)

I am now on my second Magna.
The first was a 1997 TF Magna executive sedan.
It was my first car at 18, and as such it got lowered and all the usual, got hammered and was generally not well maintained, but it never missed a beat and took it like it was made for it. Huge boot space and very comfy to sit in.

I now have a 1997 TF Executive wagon. Also an amazing car, handling is amazing same as the sedan. Still goes awesome, very surprising amount of power in these cars. Great boot size too. Leg room in the rear of the wagon isn't amazing but still quite comfortable.

Both of mine have been white so never had the paint fade issues.

Resale on these isn't amazing, but I got them both cheap for that reason so I can't really complain.

Both were 3.0L, 4 speed auto.
Good power, good for towing, reliable, good looks, good on fuel, large boot space in wagon and sedan.
Can be expensive to service, resale isn't amazing.

I own a 98 TF Magna with 135000 km and it is no good, very high fuel consumption (more than my old 4 ltr Falcon) have a few engine or gearbox problems and my mechanic was very suprised to see me still driving it when I pulled up the other day for brakes (only bought in sept 2012) so I would never buy another 4 cyl...
But on the other hand my mums 98 TF Magna 3.0 ltr with 380000 kms goes perfect, engine a bit noisier but that's expected from a car with that many km's, she has never had a problem with hers, it is great on fuel, uses about half what mine does and it has 250,000 more km's than mine, so if you have a choice between 2.4 ltr and 3.0 ltr go the 3.0, I have heard the 3.5 ltr are really good too but a bit thirsty, not as thirsty as the 2.4 though.
6 cyl versions are brilliant
4 cyl versions are a massive flop

I have owned my TW ES Series 2 Magna for 3 years. I am the second owner and payed $11,000 for it with a mere 60,000km on the odometer.

Having now covered 108,000km (still low for it's year) it has presented absolutely no major issues, with only it's scheduled regular servicing which has been quite a reasonable price. It's 2nd pair of brake pads from new are only now at 50% and it's 2nd set of tires are at 25%. Very good from an 8 year old vehicle.

It feels safe and composed on the road and provides more power than I need in every situation I have encountered such as passing and steep hills, it is also very competent at towing a heavy trailer. The engine and transmission are smooth and the engine sounds nice with no vibration or 'thrashing' sound when accelerating hard. The car handles seamlessly on nearly every kind of road, even windy roads but the ride quality can become a little rough on un-even surfaces. It is also economical for a 6 cylinder, I average 10l/100km.

The interior of the vehicle leaves a little bit to be desired in terms of appearance, although it is packed with many features. Most of the controls are easy to use, although the power window controls are located in the centre console out of view and hard to reach, at times this causes some frustration. Other than that everything is good, the climate control A/C system works very well and the 6speaker CD player sounds very good. It has deep bass and a nice amount of treble at loud volume with no distortion.

Overall I am very happy with this car and plan to keep it for a long time.
Good fuel economy, exterior styling, reliability
Window controls

A real charmer, I've had 2 Magna's, 1st was a 1998 3lt sports auto & my current one in a 2002 3.5lt sports manual, great performance/family car. The 3.5 goes, stops handles better than Commodore or Falcon I've owned/driven & the Magna/Verada was always regarded as the more refined car, my 2 have also been bullet proof mechanically!
Fast, comfortable, reliable & good looking
Resale value

Got a 2000 TJ Advance 3.5 V6 with 167,000K's a several months ago. Since buying the car and putting about 10,000km's I changed the fluids and fitted a transmission cooler to extend the life of the transmission fluid. The car has been great, economical and fun to drive and easy to live with never once missing a beat, and the build quality is far better than the commodores and falcons that were made during the same time.
Reliable, build quality, price, smooth powerful engine
Spartan interior, slightly vague steering feel

This is a wonderful car to drive. I just bought a 2004 Mitsubishi Magna VR-X TW Series 2 in Sable black in WA. It had 76,XXXkms and FSH and a 5 Speed manual trans. This is my first car. It cost me $9,000 (I know its a little more than average price) but it is worth it. It handles very well and I am looking forward to many more years of Magna ownership!
The only niggle I had with it was the drivers electric seat didn't work, but it was most likely a fuse so easy enough to fix. I also recommend all buyers to join the Aussie Magna Club online forums. This is very useful for problems that might occur or could answer some of your questions.
So, all in all, this is a wonderful first car or an even better second family car! go ahead and buy one.
Space, low-end grunt, lovely suspension, smooth 5 speed gearbox, exhaust on VRX
Drivers electric seat (just my car), length (pain in multi-level parking centres in CBD)

Have had the car for 6 years, 130k, no issues so far, very responsive drive, safe, reliability top notch, as others have said the 5sp auto is excellent, 7 flat 0-100km, 15.5sec quarter mile, 11.5l /100 mostly around town driving. Excellent overtaking on highway, up to 140 at the drop of a hat. Handles excellent around corners, sound system is quality, good trip computer with 11 functions from memory. Climate is control is no frills (not digital) and no problems. Great aussie made vehicle, would buy one again in an instant. Huge boot space also.
Reliability, performance, economy

We bought this 2002 Magna Advance 3.5L V6 in 2006 for $12,000 when it had just over 100,000km on the clock. It was an ex fleet car but in good condition. It now has almost 3000,000 km on it and has been absolutely perfect. Only problem was some water dripping onto a sensor (can't remember where water was coming from but not serious) that was showing a problem with the gearbox. No actual gearbox problem so easily fixed. Air conditioning is still freezing cold!

Servicing has been cheap and we only run 98 Octane in it to help keep it going well. The fuel economy is pretty good too. There is a bit of a rattle now when it starts (still always starts without a problem though) which is apparently due to the lifters getting sticky. Mechanic said there is really nothing you can do about it so not to worry and it's common in Magna's of this age. We are reluctantly buying a new car as this just has a few too many klm and is starting to look a bit old, and we need a ute for a business. Wish we could clone this wonderful car!
Powerful, comfortable, reliable, cheap to service.
Nothing. Wish we could clone it.

I own a 2003 Magna LS. I am the third owner, only had the car for a few months. It set me back $5,500 and for that price it beat everything else on the market.

It has features to rival any Commodore or Falcon for that age and price, it's got plentiful room (the boot is huge) and even though it isn't the most fuel efficient car you can buy, for it's size it gets great milage.

It's done less than 100,000 Km's, which for the age is nothing (to put it in perspective, my Mums 2003 Lancer has done almost 200,000).

The cruise control is great, the climate control/air conditioning is super cold, and there is yet to be any faults with any electrical component or wiring anywhere in the car.

Runs quietly (except when you really dig your foot in!), the suspension is smooth and the brakes are great.

Phenomenal car.
Market value, quality of build, size of cabin

I got my TJ Magna 7 years ago $12000 with 50000 on the clock and had LPG conversion fitted at 100000 now over 200000 km on the clock and still going strong. Other than a new radiator last week routine servicing has kept it trouble free and it still drives like new on duel fuel.
Extremely under rated car and I hope my next is this reliable!
Easy to drive, reliable, economical & cheap to run.
Mitsubishi Paint job! Losing lustre needs regular waxing.

I've now owned a Mitsubishi Magna Advance Wagon for the last four years and can swear by it's reliability.
I purchased this car second hand for $9000 with only 80000km's on the clock. I've since put another 70000kms on the car and it has proved itself to be very cheap to run.
At the time of purchase I was looking for a larger car and the purchase price was the deciding factor. Initially I saw this car as a stop gap purchase while I saved a bit more to purchase a Mazda 6. I still have the Magna and I'm no longer looking for a Mazda, it's that good.
The engine is smooth, fugile and powerful. I'm regularly get under 8 litres per 100km on country trips. It uses a bit over 10L/100km in town.
The auto always seems to find the right gear and so intuitive that I think it is hard wired to my brain.
The interior quality is excellent and is showing no signs of wear after 10 years.
Steering feel is good at speed, but can be a little vague at lower speeds.
I've had the same set of tires on the car for nearly 70000km's and they still look like they have at least 10000kms before they need to be replaced.
I haven't had to change brake pads whilst I've owned the car. According to the service records the fronts were changed prior to my purchase, but the rears are original. When the car is serviced I always ask the mechanic to check the rear pads and he is amazed by the small amount of wear between services.
Load space is huge, it puts a lot of more modern equivalents to shame.
The Advance model has a lot of features and all work as advertised.

Highly recommended car. It you considering purchasing one, just make sure it has a decent service history.
Reliability, cost of ownership and nice to drive

We bought ours new in '01. Since then it has done 290000km+ (we live 40k out of town and drive in every day including weekends for the kids sport) with not one breakdown or expense other than normal servicing or wear and tear on brake pads, battery, tyres, etc. The only warranty claim we had was a clunking a/cond compressor at 5000km which never recurred. Every set of tyres got at least 58,000 km and we've never done a wheel alignment. Fuel economy is waning now @ 11lt/100km but for most of it's life we got 9.5lt/100km. Because we always park it undercover it looks almost as good inside and out as it did new. If that's not legendary (and I did not exaggerate one item) then I don't know what is.
Reliable
Hard to see backing out of angle parking

I inherited this car from my dad (as many impoverished uni students do) and have nothing bad to say about this car. Basically this mode (2001) is pretty outdated there are plenty of fantastic new Mitsubishi's out there, this review is for anyone considering buying one second hard one I suppose.

After 10 years of driving the car drives and handles fine, it's pretty efficient with fuel and all the air conditioning, radio, etc works just fine. The battery died on me once but other then that the cars still pretty dependable and gets me from A to B with no problem. The only real con is that the plastic around the windows is starting to peel away and needs strong glue and a good DIY job to stay air tight. It's had dozens of services over the years and while the time between services is shrinking (time before new problems arise), the car is still dependable and drives just fine. However if considering buying this car look at the specific details (kilometers, engine problems of that particular car etc) this can only give a general guide.
Solidly dependable, fuel efficiency, good space, standard features work just fine. Perfect car for someone who just needs an A-B and has little money.
Window plastic starting to peel away, not a car for someone who likes cars.

Very reliable car never had hard times with it or broke down over more than three years of excessive usage.
Very stable and economic, cheap to run and service, gearbox sometimes play up but with flushing the fluid would fix it.
Acceleration is fine but expect much higher fuel consumption.
Economical and inexpensive
Loose its market value

I just traded in my 2001 TJ Magna and after reading these reviews I should have traded my husband instead, because he made me trade it. I owned this car for 7 years and it was always reliable. I could get in and drive it 200k's alone and not worry. It was cheap on fuel in town and on a trip. Great car to drive, has a great burble sound. I never had any major issues, though in the end it did have a few oil leaks which I've been told are a Magna issue anyway. The auto changed gears smoothly, acceleration was responsive and quick. Reverse parking was easy. Loved the look of the front of the TJ Magna. Large boot space. Interior was good, dash kept it's softness even after continually being parked in the sun. Loved this car, interested to see how reliable my new Commodore will be compared to the Magna. I have a feeling I should have kept the Magna.
Looks, driving, easy reverse parking, reliable, smooth gear changes, responsive acceleration, cheap on fuel
Oil leaks after 180,000 k's

We have two Magna's a 1998 TF and a 1999 TH Sports (mine). My wife always wanted a VT Commodore wagon, so I bought her one, we still have it, but it's for sale, what a hunk of junk compared to the TF Altera wagon I bought her to replace it. All good for me as the VT is worth over $6000.00 and I paid just $2000.00 for her Altera. Once she drove her new Magna the Commodore didn't stand a chance of being used ever again. I am a qualified mechanic and I have NEVER had the heads off any V6 Magna, valve stem seals being the exception, but still no need for head removal. My Sports is brilliant, Tiptronic auto, power everything except seats.

We have now owned six Magna's overall ranging from the old TM, TP, TR, TS, TF, TH, all have been fantastic cars, granted the early series were worrisome in regards to the auto's and the #4 cylinder corroding the most rearward water jacket in the head, also they were not brilliant on fuel. The later series are a different breed altogether and almost completely flawless.

Being a mechanic I work on all makes and model of vehicle, Magna's are my lowest income, highest being Ford (all models) Commodore (all series) I won't touch anything from Korea so I can't comment. I used to be a Datsun/Nissan man, I had owned Ford's, Holden's, Toyota's, Jeep's, even had one Mazda (one was enough). Last year I sold my 1971 Mach 1 Mustang as even though I got great people response from it, I got no pleasure driving it, the same applied with my 1967 Mercury Cougar. I still own a Jeep, a 1997 XJ Limited. I will eventually sell my Sports, but only to replace it with a 380 VRX. I love my Magna, my wife loves hers and the kids no longer have to worry about breaking their wrists trying to wind up the crappy Commodore windows.
We have a 98 TF Altera wagon, and a 99 TH Sports. Altera is very comfortable, quiet, smooth, economical, reliable and quite powerful. My TH Sports is all of the above with the exception of harsher ride, but it is a Sports after all. Great lighting, smooth and reliable power windows, Reliable AC, finger tip cruise control, also reliable. Great road feel on both cars, but the TCL (traction control) is a great feature on the sports as the Altera will sit spinning if floored. Large cargo/boot area. My overall score is 8/10 one point deducted for poor turning circle and one for poor resale value, although I don't see that as a flaw as buying a used Magna is cheap and brilliant buying. To sum up, without doubt the best and most reliable car I have ever owned.
Poor turning circle, poor resale value.

I have a 1997 Magna TE 4 cylinder 2.4L.

This is a car I have driven for 3 years and it runs very well. The fuel consumption isn't that bad for a family car and it is suitable for a LPG install which will cost $3200 and only $200.00 after rebate in WA.

There is a lot oof information on how to modify your Magna from the Australian Magna Club also known as AMC. Plenty of friendly members and a lot of help in trouble shooting before you send in your car for repairs.

I find the car pretty easy to maintain and drives well. The Magna in my opinion looks and feels better than the 380. It also looks way bigger and sportier.

The price of a magna is reasonably cheap for a second hand, as it goes as low as $3K - $9K. depending on the model with included accessories.

Great family car.
Cheap reliable, spacious, great looking, AMC website
Low resale value

The looks of this car first caught my eyes. When I test-drove it, it was really fun to drive. I did not hesitate to buy this second hand. The VR-X muffler makes it sound like an Aston and overall drive is never boring especially interstate trips.

It is a car that included many features other cars (falcodores) did not offer for something manufactured in 2005 as standard. Some of which are "guide me home" Headlamp delay function (I accidentally found out about this feature in the manual), comprehensive trip computer, driver's power seat and climate control.

Apart from standard features, the VR-X had adaptive 5 speed auto transmission, sports suspension and muffler, bodykit and mags and sports seat trim with 6 speakers in front and a couple of "2 ways" at the back.

It is fuel efficient for its engine size. From a full tank, have never gotten worse than 13.5l/100kms and did a best of 8l/100kms. We usually average 12L/100kms.

I did a major service incl timing belt and all fluids changed and was still less than $1000.

Although I had a peace of mind with 5 yr warranty, only my rear screen mounted brake light fell, which they gladly fixed.

I am happy and am not in a hurry to sell this. Its redbook pricing is very underrated for what fantastic car it is and has been.
Sound system, Responsiveness, 5yr warranty, Magna Forum.
Cabin air-recirculation is controlled by A/C system, rear seats do not fold down.

I bought this car 6 weeks ago (2002 TJ Magna Advance Wagon) with 140,000kms on the clock.
Very neat and well looked after example. It drove beautiful. I had it serviced (plugs, timing belt, transmission, etc.) and new tyres fitted at a cost of almost $1500. The car decided to just stop while driving 2 weeks ago. Been told by 2 mechanics and Mitsubishi dealer it is not worth repairing. Great, I am now $$$$ out of pocket. First and last Mitsubishi I will ever buy, absolute garbage! 1/5 star rating is very generous. Should have stuck with a Ford, more reliable than these pieces of junk!
It was great for the first 4 weeks!
Most unreliable car I have ever owned. Very poor service from Mitsubishi dealer.

Fantastic Vehicle, financially I could upgrade to a new car anytime I like however we like this car so much we've kept it and wont be upgrading until it's mechanically worn out. It's a shame the Maga no is no longer made but if you are looking at buying one you realy will not be dissapointed.
We have an automatic 1999 TJ Magna Sport Sedan which we bought as a Mitsubishi Executive driven demo and my gosh is this a good car! It has plenty of power and goes round corners like it's on rails. The build quality is fantastic with superb ride and handling. Large boot space and good fuel economy (Approx 10Lt/100km combined town & hwy driving). I drive many different new fleet sedans each day at work (Falcon, Commodore, Aurion) and always smile when I get back into our Magna Sport because, for comfort, build quality and performace theee newer cars are no better.
The clear coat on the paint has started to go milky in patches on the bonnet and I had the spoiler resprayed, this is a bit disspoainting as I have really cared for the duco. We love the car so much the it will be booked in for a bonnet respray soon. The factory stereo is pathetic too but that's a simple upgrade.