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A new car is rising
Topic Started: Jun 25 2015, 08:08 AM (3,170 Views)
Tinker1980
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You would love the mirage. With careful driving my 5 speed mirage gets close to 50 mpg. That's nearly 50 mpg with the air conditioning on, running on E10 87 octane gas. The car has been designed, almost from the ground up, with the idea that someone will be maintaining this car in their own driveway. There is a hole cut in the plastic/metal under the car, that is there just so you can get a good grip on the oil filter. There is a metal spout attached to the block under the filter, to ensure that oil will drain neatly into a pan, instead of running all over the front of the engine block and the inside of the bodywork. The transmission looks to be as easy to remove, for clutch work, as the metro. There is a timing chain, not a belt. The clutch is cable actuated. The list of great little details is nearly endless.
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Tim Keith


Tinker1980
Jul 3 2015, 10:37 PM
You would love the mirage. With careful driving my 5 speed mirage gets close to 50 mpg. That's nearly 50 mpg with the air conditioning on, running on E10 87 octane gas. The car has been designed, almost from the ground up, with the idea that someone will be maintaining this car in their own driveway. There is a hole cut in the plastic/metal under the car, that is there just so you can get a good grip on the oil filter. There is a metal spout attached to the block under the filter, to ensure that oil will drain neatly into a pan, instead of running all over the front of the engine block and the inside of the bodywork. The transmission looks to be as easy to remove, for clutch work, as the metro. There is a timing chain, not a belt. The clutch is cable actuated. The list of great little details is nearly endless.
I've wondered about the Mirage. The reviews have mostly been negative, but most reviewers seem to want a hot rod. Is the Mirage dependable, compared to the Metro ? The wheels looks too small, but so is the price.
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Freeman
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The Family Man

Metromightymouse
Jul 2 2015, 02:12 PM
I don't know what you are on about, my metro has keyless entry. :D
:hmm I have a keyless entry kit I never hooked up... :smackface About the time I bought it, things fell apart with the Metro. So I'll be saving it for my next car.
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robertino
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Honda will be a good "Fit" for you, Just as long as you follow some simple Honda rules. #1 follow the maintenance schedule ( Oil at 5000 ) no if and or butts ..unless you drive mainly on the Frwy then you can stretch it till 10000. Your car has a timing chain so you don't have to worry about that but the other fluids should be replaced 60k for the first coolant change and every 30K after that. Spark plugs are good for 100k but we usually changed them at 90K. Trans fluid for the clutch is kinda up for debate but we usually did it at 60K , 120k...
#2 get it done at a Honda Dealer (yea I know Jiffy Lube may be cheaper but they employ kids usually that are just there to pass the time) and keep the records in the Manual religiously. When you sell it Honda people want to see that in there , it's usually the first thing they check
#3 87 octane is usually best for it but if you feel the need to splurge by all means ..
#4 3 year 36000 is the basic warranty and after that you are on your own (Honda does not care after that ) unless you bought an Extended Warranty

Other than that It's a Honda so you should be just fine.
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Tinker1980
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Tim Keith
Jul 5 2015, 01:07 PM
Tinker1980
Jul 3 2015, 10:37 PM
You would love the mirage. With careful driving my 5 speed mirage gets close to 50 mpg. That's nearly 50 mpg with the air conditioning on, running on E10 87 octane gas. The car has been designed, almost from the ground up, with the idea that someone will be maintaining this car in their own driveway. There is a hole cut in the plastic/metal under the car, that is there just so you can get a good grip on the oil filter. There is a metal spout attached to the block under the filter, to ensure that oil will drain neatly into a pan, instead of running all over the front of the engine block and the inside of the bodywork. The transmission looks to be as easy to remove, for clutch work, as the metro. There is a timing chain, not a belt. The clutch is cable actuated. The list of great little details is nearly endless.
I've wondered about the Mirage. The reviews have mostly been negative, but most reviewers seem to want a hot rod. Is the Mirage dependable, compared to the Metro ? The wheels looks too small, but so is the price.
The wheels are 14", actually bigger than my metro had.

Of course the reviews are negative. Consider: your job is to review cars costing upwards of $50k. And one day you have to review a little 3 banger hatchback. Will it measure up to the $50k Lexus you reviewed last week? No. Is it a good, fuel efficient car for a decent price, in a current market of 30k hybrids that don't get over 40 mpg? Yes. Other than a rat chewing through the wire going to the ac compressor I haven't had any problems.
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Freeman
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The Family Man

robertino
Jul 6 2015, 06:38 PM
Honda will be a good "Fit" for you, Just as long as you follow some simple Honda rules. #1 follow the maintenance schedule ( Oil at 5000 ) no if and or butts ..unless you drive mainly on the Frwy then you can stretch it till 10000. Your car has a timing chain so you don't have to worry about that but the other fluids should be replaced 60k for the first coolant change and every 30K after that. Spark plugs are good for 100k but we usually changed them at 90K. Trans fluid for the clutch is kinda up for debate but we usually did it at 60K , 120k...
#2 get it done at a Honda Dealer (yea I know Jiffy Lube may be cheaper but they employ kids usually that are just there to pass the time) and keep the records in the Manual religiously. When you sell it Honda people want to see that in there , it's usually the first thing they check
#3 87 octane is usually best for it but if you feel the need to splurge by all means ..
#4 3 year 36000 is the basic warranty and after that you are on your own (Honda does not care after that ) unless you bought an Extended Warranty

Other than that It's a Honda so you should be just fine.
I plan on doing some major maintenance but I think the previous owner was pretty truthful on the maintenance he had done. The oil is beautiful and all the other fluids register within spec. I do 3,000 mile oil changes just for personal satisfaction. It is near mandatory in my other Honda so I just stick with it on all my vehicles.

I really did consider the Mirage very heavily. The only issue was I couldn't find one that was a few years old. I wanted to take out a very manageable, small, loan to improve my credit and the Mirage just wasn't working with my financing. I also want to note that it was only a couple thousand, $2,000-$3,000, less than the Honda Fit and I'm a pretty big Honda fanboy. I have my Civic, I talked my dad into buying a Civic and I've always recommended a Honda for anyone who wants reliability and a car I know how to troubleshoot.

I'm still doing some minor modifications to the car. I have a radio from my Civic that I am transferring, I have a new shift boot to replace the ripped one, I have an aftermarket arm rest that fits in the rear cup holder/change tray, I have a steering wheel wrap, seat covers and I epoxied and filled in the tore up hub caps so I could paint them. I got a OBD2 Bluetooth device and I will say Torque is an awesome app! If I didn't have a spare radio, I'd probably go with a tablet in the dash with torque and use it as the main radio/navigation. The Fit doesn't have a temp gauge so torque is pretty handy. Plus torque does have some cool MPG graphs and such.

In the week or so that I've had the car, I haven't filled up yet. I should be getting close to using a full tank so I'll get some MPG numbers. I usually shift before 3,000 RPM and stay light on the throttle. But I have done some spirited driving. You can't even feel the VTEC kick in yo. The exhaust note is so quiet that the crossover is barely noticeable and the car really doesn't pack much more power in the higher RPM anyway.
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Cobrajet25
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Tinker1980
Jul 7 2015, 05:40 AM
Tim Keith
Jul 5 2015, 01:07 PM
Tinker1980
Jul 3 2015, 10:37 PM
You would love the mirage. With careful driving my 5 speed mirage gets close to 50 mpg. That's nearly 50 mpg with the air conditioning on, running on E10 87 octane gas. The car has been designed, almost from the ground up, with the idea that someone will be maintaining this car in their own driveway. There is a hole cut in the plastic/metal under the car, that is there just so you can get a good grip on the oil filter. There is a metal spout attached to the block under the filter, to ensure that oil will drain neatly into a pan, instead of running all over the front of the engine block and the inside of the bodywork. The transmission looks to be as easy to remove, for clutch work, as the metro. There is a timing chain, not a belt. The clutch is cable actuated. The list of great little details is nearly endless.
I've wondered about the Mirage. The reviews have mostly been negative, but most reviewers seem to want a hot rod. Is the Mirage dependable, compared to the Metro ? The wheels looks too small, but so is the price.
The wheels are 14", actually bigger than my metro had.

Of course the reviews are negative. Consider: your job is to review cars costing upwards of $50k. And one day you have to review a little 3 banger hatchback. Will it measure up to the $50k Lexus you reviewed last week? No. Is it a good, fuel efficient car for a decent price, in a current market of 30k hybrids that don't get over 40 mpg? Yes. Other than a rat chewing through the wire going to the ac compressor I haven't had any problems.
I bought mine in December. I have about 16k on it now. I liked it when I bought it, but I LOVE IT now. It really, really is like a 21st-century Geo Metro. But with power windows, mirrors, locks, fog lights, Bluetooth, alloys, push-button ignition, auto climate control, etc, etc.

Remember what the 'professional reviewers' had to say about the Geo Metro when they were new? :ermm:

Take it all with a grain of salt. While the car certainly isn't perfect, it is perfectly suited to a Metro fan.

Posted Image

It has started every time I push the button, there isn't a squeak in it, and I am getting right around 50 mpg. The only thing it has been to the dealership for...other than a couple oil changes...is discolored lug nuts on the driver's front wheel. Replaced under warranty.
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Freeman
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The Family Man

I do like the alloy wheels on the Mirage and the auto climate control seems nice. The other options I did get with my Fit, aside from the push button start which I don't really recognize as a feature I'd enjoy anymore than twisting a key. It is sort of novel and cool, but it has never been an option I was on the hunt for. I think the Mirage has considerably better fuel economy than the Fit, but offers less 'get up and go'. We can all be honest, neither car is fast.

The main reason I did not get a Mirage, as much as I wanted to, was financing. I couldn't find a Mirage that I was comfortable buying within a price range I was comfortable paying.

For example, a 2013 with 75k for $8k. It just didn't make sense to go with a used vehicle if I was really only saving a couple thousand dollars and losing almost 100k miles of wear and tear on a vehicle. I only drive about 10k miles a year, so cars like that are immediately depreciated further for me, personally.

Then you have the price of a new one and my credit wasn't where I wanted it for financing $12k+. So I decided the Fit would work for the next few years AT LEAST and then I'd have 'great' credit. I'm young and I just started working towards credit this year, so a small car loan and a credit car will help boost my credit as I move forward.

My bank offers 2-3% financing on new cars if you have a 740+ credit score. I believe I'm at 670-ish according to Equifax post ~8 months of working on my credit. I had zero credit prior. So over the next 2-3 years I do plan on improving my credit vastly and having the ability to buy a brand new car for the wife. For now, we are driving the Fit and the Metro. I believe she wants to trade the Metro in ($500 here we come!) and purchase something slightly newer.
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Tim Keith


Tinker1980
Jul 7 2015, 05:40 AM
Tim Keith
Jul 5 2015, 01:07 PM
Tinker1980
Jul 3 2015, 10:37 PM
You would love the mirage. With careful driving my 5 speed mirage gets close to 50 mpg. That's nearly 50 mpg with the air conditioning on, running on E10 87 octane gas. The car has been designed, almost from the ground up, with the idea that someone will be maintaining this car in their own driveway. There is a hole cut in the plastic/metal under the car, that is there just so you can get a good grip on the oil filter. There is a metal spout attached to the block under the filter, to ensure that oil will drain neatly into a pan, instead of running all over the front of the engine block and the inside of the bodywork. The transmission looks to be as easy to remove, for clutch work, as the metro. There is a timing chain, not a belt. The clutch is cable actuated. The list of great little details is nearly endless.
I've wondered about the Mirage. The reviews have mostly been negative, but most reviewers seem to want a hot rod. Is the Mirage dependable, compared to the Metro ? The wheels looks too small, but so is the price.
The wheels are 14", actually bigger than my metro had.

Of course the reviews are negative. Consider: your job is to review cars costing upwards of $50k. And one day you have to review a little 3 banger hatchback. Will it measure up to the $50k Lexus you reviewed last week? No. Is it a good, fuel efficient car for a decent price, in a current market of 30k hybrids that don't get over 40 mpg? Yes. Other than a rat chewing through the wire going to the ac compressor I haven't had any problems.
There have been local ads for a new Mirage at less than $9,000. What options would that have? The ads say power windows and door locks. Nothing about a/c. When the Metro was new I read the reviews and thought, who would want a car like that? I've since driven more than a half million miles in Metros.
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Old Man


TurboEF
Jul 7 2015, 08:34 AM
........ aside from the push button start which I don't really recognize as a feature .......
Coming full cycle..........My 49 Ford had push button start :lol :lol :lol
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robertino
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Trust me when I tell you that you are wasting your money if you are doing the oil change at 3000. As of 2001 all Honda's had the regular oil change at 5000 , heck I don't even think your maintenance light starts blinking until 4000 something. The oil back in the hey days was good for about 3000 but now a-days its 5000+. So trust me (ON my word as a Honda Tech) 5000 is perfect.

But for those who drive older cars a small note. The new oils are not that great for older pushrod engines with flat tappet cams because the level of ZDDP in current motor oils has been reduced to no more than 0.08% phosphorus to extend the life of the catalytic converter. The level of ZDDP may be inadequate to prevent cam lobe and lifter wear. In some cases, cam failures have occurred in as little as a few thousand miles of driving! This is even more of a risk in engines if stiffer valve springs and/or higher lift rocker arms are used. There are additives out there so make sure you use them or find the old SL API service rated oil.
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Ned
Member
[ *  *  * ]
Chevy Cruze Eco. 41+mpg hgwy. Quiet, solid, comfortable, stylish, excellent fit and finish; not your Fathers GM product. I bought mine 2 years used, great price, excellent value. My Geo is a '91 vert, great mpg of course and lots of fun to drive and it's also a GM product of sorts. I support Detroit whenever I can. Sometimes they make it hard to do but the Cruze is a winner. Wife has a 2010 Civic and it get's far less mpg and rides like a tin can next to the Cruze. Also we've had one, two, three problems with the Civic and so far zero (81,000 now) with the Cruze. I would at least test drive one, you may be favorably impressed. I was.
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Cobrajet25
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Tim Keith
Jul 8 2015, 10:35 PM
Tinker1980
Jul 7 2015, 05:40 AM
Tim Keith
Jul 5 2015, 01:07 PM
Tinker1980
Jul 3 2015, 10:37 PM
You would love the mirage. With careful driving my 5 speed mirage gets close to 50 mpg. That's nearly 50 mpg with the air conditioning on, running on E10 87 octane gas. The car has been designed, almost from the ground up, with the idea that someone will be maintaining this car in their own driveway. There is a hole cut in the plastic/metal under the car, that is there just so you can get a good grip on the oil filter. There is a metal spout attached to the block under the filter, to ensure that oil will drain neatly into a pan, instead of running all over the front of the engine block and the inside of the bodywork. The transmission looks to be as easy to remove, for clutch work, as the metro. There is a timing chain, not a belt. The clutch is cable actuated. The list of great little details is nearly endless.
I've wondered about the Mirage. The reviews have mostly been negative, but most reviewers seem to want a hot rod. Is the Mirage dependable, compared to the Metro ? The wheels looks too small, but so is the price.
The wheels are 14", actually bigger than my metro had.

Of course the reviews are negative. Consider: your job is to review cars costing upwards of $50k. And one day you have to review a little 3 banger hatchback. Will it measure up to the $50k Lexus you reviewed last week? No. Is it a good, fuel efficient car for a decent price, in a current market of 30k hybrids that don't get over 40 mpg? Yes. Other than a rat chewing through the wire going to the ac compressor I haven't had any problems.
There have been local ads for a new Mirage at less than $9,000. What options would that have? The ads say power windows and door locks. Nothing about a/c. When the Metro was new I read the reviews and thought, who would want a car like that? I've since driven more than a half million miles in Metros.
Automatic climate control, which includes AC, is standard on all US market Mirages. Set the temp you want, push AUTO, and forget about it. The AC is ARCTIC in these cars. It has been pushing 100 degrees here for the last couple weeks, and the tip of my nose was getting cold with the climate control set to 72. This car was designed for the tropics, and they didn't cut corners on the AC.

On the base model Mirage DE, you also get power locks, power mirrors, electric power steering, power windows, remote keyless entry, power brakes, ABS, stability control, rear defogger, carpeted floor mats, tach, AM/FM CD, USB input, rear wiper/washer, tilt wheel, a 5/60 basic warranty, trip computer, and a 10/100 powertrain warranty.

The $1250 ES package adds fog lights, alloy wheels, leather steering wheel, leather shift knob, voice-activated Bluetooth, cruise control, steering wheel audio controls, nicer seat fabric, keyless (pushbutton) ignition, height-adjustable driver's seat, and some silver/chrome trim on the interior.
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Tim Keith


I saw ads in the local newspaper today for new 2015 Mirages at $9,000. I suppose the dealer has just one vehicle in inventory at that price. They can't advertise the low price unless they have them to sell.

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Cobrajet25
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Tim Keith
Jul 11 2015, 10:24 PM
I saw ads in the local newspaper today for new 2015 Mirages at $9,000. I suppose the dealer has just one vehicle in inventory at that price. They can't advertise the low price unless they have them to sell.

I'll bet you are right. These cars are called "loss leaders", and there is typically only one on the lot...which "they sold yesterday". :lol

My girlfriend bought the loss leader Mirage from our local dealership.
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