I’ve always been a hatchback fan, and used to drive warm/hot hatches up until recently. I wasn’t much of an SUV fan until I test drove a few when we got our CX-5. Now I understand the appeal! I do occasionally miss the handling/performance though 
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In that price range the.cx-9 would be roomy but too thirsty.
Maybe a Santa Fe highlander or sorento platinum under $20 k would be extremely good value.
I spend part of my time in the Philippines and part in Australia, a couple of months ago I decided I needed a better car over here for me and the family so I bought a 2018 Toyota Innova. We don’t get this model in Australia but it’s rear wheel drive and built on the same global platform as the Hilux and Fortuna. This variant is fitted with a 2.8 liter turbo diesel and a 6 speed automatic, has 3 rows of seats and fits 8 people (It’s got more space in the 3rd row than the SUVs which is the main reason I bought one. Ignore the abandoned house behind it, our place is err slightly better maintained lol.
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cough
We err, got a good price. And my wife completely understands the car needs to be flawless in performance or I’ll be saying “I told you so” until one of us dies. 
Ultimately after searching through the sub $20k price range for 7 seater SUV cars that were under 5 years old, and under 100k km, this was the best we could find, at $17k with a very generous trade-in on our Zafira. We would have needed another $5k-$8k to get a Sorento / CX9 / etc with similar age/miles.
On the bright site - loaded an old iPhone up with every song in our collection, and it sits hidden in the middle console as a wireless jukebox via the U-Connect entertainment system, thanks to the USB point in there.
3 weeks later… Still happy with the car. Long drives are going to be bliss with the in-car DVD system and 3 wireless headphones…
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My two. One looking awful and not in a drivable state - the other mid-restoration. 2001 AU Series II and a 1969 XW Futura.
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Regrettably, my much beloved Mitsubishi 380 was in an accident on Friday night.
I’d gone for one last visit to my local video shop, which was open late on Friday to clear their remaining stock, and parked in the shopping centre rooftop carpark as usual. Some context here; the car park has a steep ramp leading up to it with a sharp 90 degree bend immediately at the bottom.
I left sometime before closing, around 10 PM, and on returning to the car park, noticed it was myself and perhaps one other left (store owners, maybe). The car park lights were on, but the lights toward the street and ramp were out. So I left, descended the ramp, rounded the sharp corner -
- and smacked hard into a chain across the car park exit. It scraped the paint off the bonnet, tore off one wiper arm, scratched and pitted the windscreen, and severely scratched the A pillars, roof, C pillars and boot lid as it whipped up and over the roof.
Hindsight is 20/20. I wish I’d decided against going there that night. I queried some of the people I know that work in the centre, and it’s not an uncommon occurrence. Poor night visibility, the sharp and sudden bend, and no visible sign stating the car park closing times apparently often causes problems. Further compounded by my own incorrect assumption that the car park would remain open if a business in the complex was still trading, and its fate was sealed.
An independent assessor considers it an economical write-off. Structurally sound, but the cost of repairs exceed its market value. It needs a replacement windscreen, wiper arms, and a full exterior respray to correct the cosmetic damage. The headlights are broken, but those needed replacement anyway. That said it remains serviceable, and I drove it home without issue.
As common as the 380 is, this one remains my pride and joy; it’s been brilliant from day one and continues to be even now. Perhaps it defies all logic and reason, but I’ve decided to restore it. I have support from people both in the industry and at Mitsubishi, so I’m confident I’ll be able to put it back together.
As for the cost… lets not think about that right now. Something tells me I’ll be selling all of my remaining computers and equipment to cover some of it though.
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Ouch. Sorry to hear that. As someone who drives a car old enough to vote worth absolutely nothing that I work on myself, I cannot say I disagree with your choice.
Glad to hear that you weren’t injured, @iMic! Lucky the chain wasn’t a bit tighter…
I too appreciate the rather insane call to empty your wallet in the name of a car. Insurance companies just look at numbers, which can be pretty disheartening sometimes.
You’re not wrong, if the chain were somewhat tighter the windscreen almost certainly would have given out, and I would probably have a different haircut right now.
Thankfully the damage appears to be superficial. The frame and panels are straight save for a couple of minor dents, the broken wiper arm has been reattached, and the windscreen is still safe for now. The passenger side headlight doesn’t work, but there’s 12v present at the connector and the bulb is open circuit, so that was either coincidental timing or the jolt finished it off.
But I took it for a drive yesterday, and it performed like a thing of beauty, even if it looks a little worse for wear.
I’ve already had a replacement windscreen quoted at $470 fitted, but I’m thinking of finding a genuine one used if possible. I’ve booked it in to a paint shop on Wednesday for assessment, then I’ll know what to expect. A little nervous, if I’m honest.
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When I had a bird attack (a crow flew into me), I was, shockingly able to order the parts (including windshield) directly off of Amazon Japan and have them shipped to my mechanic. The modern marvels of the internet.
I’m no expert, but imagine some panel shops would just fill the dents with filler, which wouldn’t be a good solution long term. But to get the dents properly smoothed out will be costly. It’s why cars get written off when they are hail damaged. It’s too costly to repair them…
That’s basically what they would do.
There’s two I’m concerned about, one above the rear window and one alongside the window on the C pillar, which are inaccessible from the inside, but both are extremely shallow (<1mm) without creasing and near invisible in normal light. Hopefully it should be possible to repair those.
The remaining two or three are confined to two removable panels, so I can either repair those or replace the panels cheaply. Around $15 for a guard, and $20 for a boot lid from a self-serve wrecker, give or take.
Shouldn’t there be some liability on the management of the complex to ensure the chain is at least visible or not closed until all the cars have left?
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Yeah, they’d probably bog. If they’re not structural damage, then as long as they are well epoxied, properly prepped, sanded, primed, painted, and cleared they ought to be fine though.
Insert Might Car Mods references here.
The estimate came back. Dents are repairable without filler, windscreen isn’t as bad as initially thought, but an exterior respray may be required.
$7000.
That’s assuming it needs a complete back-to-metal respray though. Paint correction, removing the dents and addressing the problem areas only would be closer to $2500. This is sounding like the most appealing option so far.
I’m waiting to get some estimates from other repairers as well. The repairer that assessed it does great work, but they are the most expensive, and I’m not after a “brand new Mercedes” level of finish. “Five year old Mitsubishi” is more than adequate.
I haven’t a clue. Honestly, It’s not something I’m particularly interested in bringing up. My concerns are valid, but it’s on me to prove their validity, state my case, acknowledging my involvement in the incident without accepting all responsibility for it, which means getting a lawyer involved…
It’s another headache I could do without. I’m already stressing about some other things, and if I can get the cost of repairs somewhere on the lower end ($2500 to $3500-ish) of that scale, I’ll just fix it, consider it a learning experience, never visit that place again, and be done with it.
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In NSW, at least, fair trading can give you some advice on your rights and how to proceed with making a claim.
@iMic - You should be able to get some free advice on the situation from your local consumer affairs type people…
It sounds like hopefully it will not cost more than you are “hoping” and comfortable with. You could still put together a letter to the property owner / management, showing them the quotes you’ve received to repair the damage, and asking them to contribute (ie say 50%) to the repairs. Just keep it matter of fact.
If they help out, great, if not, and the repairs are within your means, nothing ventured / nothing gained…
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Went looking around at new cars this past week or so, at all different price points, some Mitsubishi Magna, Verada and 380 sedans at different trim levels, along with entirely different makes and models of car, and -
- decided to fix this one.
Because anything I purchase has to be better. Better paint, better tyres, better mechanics or better features, otherwise there’s no point buying another car at all. And finding another all-rounder, that is a combination of those factors, isn’t as simple as I thought.
There were cars with good exteriors, but incomplete service records or outright skipped services. Some had excellent interiors, but scuffed, scratched, faded and dented outer bodies. Some were mechanically excellent, but had worn out interiors and exterior panels.
And while there were cars better than mine, there were none that were so much better that they justified the extra upfront cost and later hassle of selling mine. That is, until we started getting into the high four, low five figures. There were some good all-rounders there, but then I’m spending more on the purchase than it would cost to resolve the issues with mine, especially considering that if I were to DIY some of the repairs, those costs would come down further.
Plus, any repair work would be fresh - new components, new trims, new paint - compared to purchasing a car with parts or paint that looks good now, but could be only 6-12 months away from starting to present issues.
So it seems as though the 380 stays, and I now have some work to do.
I upgraded from steel wheels with plastic hubcaps to genuine Toyota Alloys which were offered as an upgrade for my Corolla - I got them cheaply second hand and they look a lot better!!
I have to say, I’m loving CarPlay. Finally moved onto my full license at the beginning of last month so I can finally use it. I put the new Sony head unit back in January, its been a long wait to properly use it 
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