2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse

Hello everyone, it's been sometime since I last posted.  I would appreciate your feedback on a 2006 Mitsubishi Eclipse.  The car is an automatic with 174,000 miles with a drive out price of $3,500.  The AC blows cold as it has just been repaired.    I've never owned a Mitsubishi so I'm not sure what to expect with owning a "high mileage" car like this.  It's going to be my 16 year old son.  He's proven himself to me to be responsible and mature so I feel good about him owning a car.

I don't want to own a car that has to be worked on all the time, but I do want him to learn the basics of car ownership and how to perform simple maintenance on the car like oil changes, etc.

What advice, feedback do you have to offer?

I don’t know anything about mitsu but that seems like a lot of cash for that type of car and high mileage. 

That car sounds more like $1500 than $3500.

No way should you pay that much for a car with that many miles that new. 

That being said- my mom has one, v6, auto. Seemed pretty zippy for what it was. Wasn't the worst place ever to sit. Not the ugliest one of the bunch. Seems to get decent ratings from kbb and whatnot. 

Edit- she did exhaustive research before she bought it. It was the safest one of the coupes available at the time, she was worried about one of my younger brothers wrecking and hurting themselves. 

https://houston.craigslist.org/cto/d/2010-mazda-3-sport-fully/6517285554.html

newer, lower miles and good cars. 

Don't buy that Eclipse. A 12 year old Eclipse with nearly 200k on the clock is a recipe for disaster, especially at that price.

Buy the kid a $3500 mini truck. They're hard to kill, basic, easy to work on, parts are cheap, and he can haul his own stuff to/from college in a few years. Limited number of passengers, and cheaper insurance would be bonuses in my book for a new driver.

I would pass on that Eclipse.  They weren't that great new.

Look into non-V6 SAABs of the same vintage / price range.  They seem pretty solid, can be had with moderate miles, and are decently nice inside and out.

I had the displeasure of driving a convertible 5spd manual 4 cylinder Eclipse of that vintage from Chicago to Seattle in July without AC last year. As far as I could tell the redeeming qualities of the car are few. Among those things; the top goes down, the seats don't suck (are pretty decent), and it's a stable highway cruiser. I can see how people could like it, but as someone that values handling and decent power to weight ratios I could never own one. So many better vehicle options out there. 

Thanks for all of the input.  From what i heard from my wife (I haven't seen the car yet), this is his "dream" car.  I just don't want it to turn into a nightmare for me.  I remember back in college in '74, my dream car was a Triumph TR6.  One of the deans had a TR6 and I always made it a point to check it out on my way to class.  I made a solemn promise to myself then to own one.  I finally did in '76.  I want this to be a good experience for him but I also know the realities of letting a 16 year old letting his emotions take over.

So, I went and checked out the car last night.  It looks good, from about 50 feet away.  The paint is badly faded and clearcoat is literally missing in places.  It has mismatched wheels.  And a big dent in the rear bumper. Etc.etc.

I've also looked at several of these vehicles on line and when I ask the owners about the timing belt replacement it get comments like, it's been well maintained, i don't know I took it as a debt repayment, I need to check on it, etc.  My question is, am I making too big a deal about the timing belt being replaced?  I thought that this was SOP to replace the timing belt on all vehicles.  Would a CarFax report indicate if this was done?

I convinced my son that buying a car is like getting married.  Don't fall in love with the first woman you date.  Check them all out and shop around.  Ok, I know that it's way more serious than that, but I remember being 16 and every car I saw was my "dream" car and there would never be another one like it.

In reply to triumphcorvair :

I feel like a lot of us here are grown men who still let emotions dictate project car purchases. But anywho I think it will probably have the same problems any car being driven by a 16 year old will have. Despite all the guff that model got/gets, they are decent cars. And if it gets your son into something he considers sporty without having to buy him a mustang or mr2 then I say go for it. 

Definitely asking about $1,000 or more over what the car is worth. I have a 2004 Mitsubishi Lancer wagon. It has the same drivetrain, is 300 pounds lighter, and I rarely get 24 miles to the gallon.

And that's with a mostly Highway commute. That said, it's a pretty bulletproof drivetrain. The exception to that is if the timing belt breaks, it's an interference engine so it'll take out a lot of expensive parts.

Overall, these weren't good cars an appeal to a demographic that rarely takes good care of them. I usually assume that they were fans of The Fast and Furious movies.