2001 Mitsubishi Diamante

A guy nearby has had one parked in the same place for quite awhile. I asked him about it today and he said: "Haul it away, it's yours." The transmission quit transmitting six months ago as he coasted to a stop in front of his house. The paint is weathered and the windshield has a big horizontal crack but there are no dings and the interior looks pretty good. 186,000 miles. He says he's the original owner and that the engine should be fine.

I know nothing about these cars but it's a fairly nice, clean design and it's free. A quick google search suggests that used/rebuilt transmissions are not cheap. If it were running, would it be any fun to drive, or otherwise worthwhile?

Having no experience with them other than a friend had one, I will say: NO. No no no no no. Run away.

Scrap it.

A car where the "...used/rebuilt transmissions are NOT cheap" that needs a transmission, attached to an engine that has 186K on it. No brainer....walk, no RUN away. This is a money pit, even if the guy gives it to you.

I'm reasonably sure you should be able to convert it to manual somehow...

Wow, you guys are crazy.

My dads 02 diamante has 190k on it and im pretty sure if HE doesnt drive it for another 100k, I will when he gets tired of it.

That said, his car is in great condition. He's owned it since 108k and in that time ive done a timing belt as preventice maintenance, and a set of spark plugs and cleaned the throttle body. I might have put a water pump on it when i did the timing belt, cant remember.

His transmission, at 190k, is starting to have some issues like delayed upshift when cold, occasional flare between shifts, etc. However, its a 190k mile transmission and all told anybody should be happy to have an original automatic only have minor issues at 190k. That doesnt matter in this case because you'd be buying a rebuilt trans or a used one with way less than 190k.

As for how fun it is to drive.. for a daily commuter i think its fine. The 3.5L motor has great midrange and the car is decently quick. I would put it at high 15s on a good day and ive personally pegged the speedo past 120 pretty quickly. Im sure itd do close to 140 on a long stretch. The interior is a great size and pretty attractive (his is VR-X with black leather, others not as nice). The handling is nothing special but definitely better than what you'll find elsewhere in the 90s-era entry lux segment. The ride is pretty nice. The chassis feels stiffer to me than a lot of contemporary cars (designed in the mid 90s).

Here's a relevant video, although that one has a 3.0 instead of a 3.5. I like how after the first lap of beat-down the diamante driver proceeds to spend his time taunting the other drivers instead of putting more ground on them. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jcgN3qRKTFk

Things i would change if my dad's diamante belonged to me... 1. Looser torque converter. The 3.5 has great midrange but the stock converter stalls around 2000 rpm, which is too low to get a really good shove coming off the line and makes it harder to stay in the happy spot. A converter that stalled closer to 3000 would give you a lot more power and part-throttle acceleration any time the converter was unlocked. 2. Id repaint some of the gray interior bits a different color. 3. Id put an exhaust on it.

I think its a great car for $0, even if you have to put a transmission in it. Buy a used tranny with a labor warranty from LKQ or somebody for a few hundred bucks, and enjoy! I went to car-part.com and found a trans with 96k on it "tested, w/ warranty" for $299. If you want to get one with a labor warranty you're probably talking closer to $600-800.

If you have the time and the space to change a trans for less than $500 you could have a DD. that would be a great car for my daughter come to think of it.

What you need to do I pull the motor and replace it with a Ferrari flat-12.

Btw, i dont think the manual conversion is crazy.. thought i should clarify that.

Its possible and has been done. 3G eclipse uses same basic engine and has manual, now make do swap!