Considering Galant 2.5 V6 estate, any advice????

[GaryN]

Hi Gents, and ladies,

I am new to the forum and as yet do not own a Galant but I and considering looking for a 2.5 V6 estate, probably on a 2000 plate.

I am looking for advice when I go to view, whats good about the cars and what should I look out for. As far as I am concerned the mileage of the car is not too important as long as there are plenty of documents showing service history.

Are the cars capable of high mileage?

Are there any parts that regularly wear out/need replacing?

What are the service intervals and approximate costs?

What's DIY able and whats not?

What are the auto boxes like, 4 or 5 speed?

That's the questions for the time being, I appreciate any tips and advice that you might be able to provide me with.

Thanks in advance.

GaryN.

[elnevio]

Hi Gary and /Welcome2 to CVR4!

Most of the peeps here are friendly and happy to help, so I'm sure you'll get a few pointers from other members as they log on later.

As with any UK car, I reckon you've already got the right idea regarding documentation and mileage.

A 2000 model is already an 8 year old car (but newer than your E34 I guess!) and Mitsi weren't the best at rustproofing - rear arches are a common problem spot as the underside can be generally. Going newer than a 2000 starts getting into the higher road tax bands.

Mitsi's servicing schedule has the V6 cambelt as needing changing every 54,000 miles or 5 years. Mitsi's servicing pricing tends to be somewhat, ahem, pricey, but a good independent garage should be much cheaper. Cheaper still is doing the work yourself, or seeing if there are any club members willing to help out. I think front suspension arms/bushes have been known to wear out, but the cars, with regular fluid changes, do seem to have excellent reliability and longevity. This applies to the auto gearboxes too. They are usually very smooth with decent servicing and should last well. 160-180k miles isn't unexpected. Ordinary driving in the V6 should return you about 25-26mpg.

Hope that helps. Any particular reason why you don't fancy a VR-4? They're not much more expensive! Where are you in the country? You may be near a member willing to take you out in one?

Anyway, have fun on the forums, and I hope you find something that suits... :2thumbsup

[Rambaud]

I bought a 2.4 GDI (2000) in preference to the V6, mainly 'cos they were cheaper. However, with the rising cost of fuel that may change.

My GDI has done over 132,000 miles and the autobox is still smooth - although an ATF change is on the to-do list.

Oil (currently AMSOIL) is changed regularily - normally every 6000 miles/6months.

Bodywork has no rust and the interior is wearing quite well.

So long as you don't use big City Mitsi dealers, servicing is not too bad - although I use independents for the oil & filter changes. Less than BMW dealers. :)

[bradc]

About the mileage in a V6, I have a 4wd Jap spec car and I get 30-34mpg out of it, but most of my driving is highway.

They are good reliable cars, especially if you get the manual.

[Kieran]

About the mileage in a V6, I have a 4wd Jap spec car and I get 30-34mpg out of it, but most of my driving is highway.

Hmmm. You should be aware that Brad is known to get out and push his car everywhere to save fuel./pan :P :D

Seriously, mid 30s MPG is quite achevable on a run, but around town expect between 26~29mpg. My previous car, a manual V6 Sport averaged about 26/27ish MPG, most of my driving was in rush hour commuting.

The gearboxes need a careful look. The pre-facelift automatic UK cars (the ones produced between 1996-1999 with square foglamps) have a habit of eating their torque convertors - the splines on the shaft eventually shear. This is mainly seen on cars that have high mileage, missed ATF changes or have been abused. It's impossible to predict failure - there's no warning, just a BANG and then no drive! I haven't heard of this problem affecting the tiptronic gearboxes though (they were used in the UK from 2000 onwards).

Manuals - At around 100K the input shaft bearings get noisy. About 10/20k miles after they get noisy, they will fail. The bearing can however be sourced and changed by a competent gearbox place.

Rust has already been mentioned.

There's a recall on lower arms - most should have been done by now.

Service intervals are every 9K, though I recommend a quick oil change halfway between this interval as it helps stop the lash adjusters (tappets) becoming noisy. On that subject, noisy (Tick-Tick-Tick) lash adjusters are common and not usually fatal, though it *may* point to a less attentive owner.

Shocks last about 70/80K. On all the 8Gs I've changed shocks on (my V6, Isaac's GDi and my VR-4) when the shocks go they've gone hard and don't rebound - I've not seen a failed one that's gone 'bouncy' yet.

That's about it really.... They are largely vice free and all that's been mentioned are the worst aspects to look out for. Unfortunately, the earlier UK cars are now at the price point where people will buy them and then penny-pinch on maintenance, such as using crappy oil or doing half-hearted jobs on things like the cambelt (i.e. not changing tensioners, pulleys and waterpump), so be careful if you're looking at a cheap one.

Other than that, they're a highly underrated and solid car. They're good to drive (Particularly the V6) and as Japanese cars go they're relatively easy on the wallet. There's no stupidly complex systems either. Most work is doable if you're handy with a set of spanners.:scholar:

Hope that helps - and welcome to the club!:scholar:

[I-S]

Wasn't it my GDI where we put the shock in a bucket because it was peeing that much oil all over the place (or was it pap-pap)?

[Kieran]

Wasn't it my GDI where we put the shock in a bucket because it was peeing that much oil all over the place (or was it pap-pap)?

That was PapPap - A proper old-Skool shock cartridge and everything, complete with an oil slick to rival the Exxon Valdez!:afro:

[heaveho]

Hi, we've just sold our 95k W plate 2.5 V6 auto, and it was the most reliable car we've owned. Mitsi replaced the rack under warranty at 45k due to a small fluid leak, and bottom ball joints are an issue on high milers ( 80k plus ), but replacements are only £35 each from a pattern parts supplier. Suffice to say, we have another now. As someone already mentioned, the box on the 2000 onwards ( tiptronic ) is reputedly more reliable.

[MikeKey]

I'm selling my V6 sport estate and am loathe to see it go to be honest. It's a lovely car to drive (and look at!) and was totally reliable in the 2 years or so I had it.

As Kieran said, a highly underrated and solid car.

[pitslayer]

my old V6 saloon. awesome car, done 121k miles when i sold it and still going strong, only had to replace the rack ends, lower arm on one side, shocks were still good flew through its last mot. the arches were starting to go, and it had the obligatoryscrapes on the bottom corners, where the bumper starts. like others have said seriously underestimated. but a VR4 is a much better car all together lol

edit:and to show you how good they are, im on my third, and Kieran is on his millioneth by now, just fantastic, would like someone to name me a more reliable car, with the performance, all the features of the galant the styling, same age. for the same money ;)

[I-S]

Wasn't there some tiny little issue involving a gearbox somewhere in there?

[pitslayer]

not the silver one. i sold the silver one.
the one with gearbox issues is the winningest galant ever(apart from its previous fail gearbox) and we still have that, needs new clutch cylinder now, no feel in the clutch what so ever....
Galoons are nice in the V6 24v guise, wouldnt want an estate though, VR4 estates rock however

[GaryN]

Gents,

Thanks for all of the tips and advice, just got to find a car now as they are a bit thin on the ground and none local to me.

What are the options for spare parts, being a BMW owner I am spoiled for choice with either main stealers, GSF or ECP?

As for getting a VR-4, they are out of my price range and I dont want the running costs of a 260 BHP car as I been running a BMW V8 for the last 6 years I am hoping to get something a little more sensible but not too boring.

I will start to trawl the internet for some cars to look at.

Thanks once again.

GaryN.

[Kieran]

What are the options for spare parts, being a BMW owner I am spoiled for choice with either main stealers, GSF or ECP?


Well, your mean stealership is always an option with a Mitsu.

Beyond that, the UK models are getting much more widely supported in the aftermarket - Anywhere that stocks 'Blueprint' parts should be able to help.

www.camskill.co.uk is another good resource. They can get FAR more parts than they show on their website, so give 'em a call if something's not there that you want. :scholar:

There's quite a few other online Jap parts suppliers too. Certainly they don't usually have the range that ECP and GSF have, but I doubt there'll ever be a time where you're stuck!

Oh, and if you're really in a pickle, then Mo on here (Zedy1) can provide just about anything used!:afro:

[ritch_w]

theres a nice sport state on piston heads for around £3k

i wish i got another one instead of the outlander

[GaryN]

Thanks ritch_w, I guess that you mean the one in Cheltenham. It sounds like a pretty honest car from the advert. The only downside is that being a 2001 year it will full into the new higher road tax banding as there cars are over the 225 emissions. I could do without over £400 of road tax per year. Having said that the car does sound good so I will discuss with the other half