50 Best Seattle Used Mitsubishi Eclipse for Sale, Savings from $2,359

2004 Mitsubishi Eclipse - Great sporty car

I have owned my car since I purchased it new. I have been very happy with it. When we purchased it, our children were young and we were using it as the family car. The engine has a good amount of torque, so it is easy to merge onto the highway. The cloth interior is easy to clean. I have never had a major engine problem. The only things we have had to replace in the past 12 years have been small parts. The car has a very nice sleek design. The paint work has held up exceptionally well.

Story

I went to IKEA with my husband, and we selected a picture for our home. Inside the store, the picture did not look that large. As it turned out, it was about 3x5 feet or maybe even larger. When we got out to the car, my husband said no way would it fit. We opened up the hatch, took the tray off, tipped the picture on an angle, and it fit right in there up against the back seats.

Pros

It gets better than expected MPG compared to what was listed on the fact sheet when we bought it, which was a wonderful surprise. It has a decent audio system that I enjoy listening to. It also had all the obvious automatic features like power windows and A/C. It has been very reliable. We have had minimal engine or transmission problems. You can put an amazing amount of things in the hatchback, especially if you remove the tray that covers it. The car has a nice zippy feel when you are moving through traffic. It always has enough power to get you merged onto the highway.

Cons

It is difficult to see out the back window when you are trying to back up, and there are large posts that support the roof that can give you a blind spot when you are trying to do a head check. It is difficult to get into the back seat. I would say it is designed for people under 5'10". There has always been a rattling fan noise in the engine at idle, but it never affected the performance.

1991 Mitsubishi Eclipse -

This was the first car I ever owned, and it's still going strong 15 years later. They just don't make them this durable anymore. I've only experienced a couple of major repairs in the last 15 years since I've owned it; and so far, it's still running well. The only negative thing I have to say is that it's old, and most of the minor things don't function well (i.e. radio, cassette player, etc.).

Story

The automatic seatbelts throw a lot of people off. I always "forget" to tell people riding in the passenger's seat how the seatbelt works because it's amusing to see their reaction (have to open the door before the seatbelt moves). My favorite was when someone climbed out of the seatbelt before opening the door and then getting trapped by it again as it moved toward them.

Pros

I love that it's a hatchback. It's small and compact, so I can fit into tight spaces, but it's spacious enough when I lay the backseats down that I've been able to move entire apartment's worth of stuff multiple times in my life. I also love its durability; not many over-25-year-old cars are still on the road with as much functionality as my Mitsubishi has.

Cons

The radio went out years ago, and I have consistent problems with the driver's side door. The door doesn't always latch all the way without some effort and the "door open" light doesn't shut off automatically, which can drain the battery. Also, it's too small to actually comfortably fit four people, though there are four seats.