Are Eclipse's good & reliable cars?

(2011-08-25 14:15:15)

1. Jordan Says: I'm looking into getting an eclipse and I just want to make sure they are good and reliable cars to have.
And also, what is the best year to get between 1995-1999?
Thanks!

2. Walt Kowalski Says: no, definitely not. i've known 3 people with 90's Eclipses(myself included), and just about all of them had serious issues once they went over 120k. i had a '94 GSX, i went through 3 different engines before the transmission finally died at 200k. another thing about these cars is that they're pretty hard for a mechanic to work on, the engine compartment is pretty cramped and it makes simple repairs take a lot longer. as a result, you'll pay a bit more on labor costs.

seriously, find yourself an old Acura Integra or Toyota Celica. same type of car, just as fun to drive, still looks cool, decent mpg, and they both have much longer lifespans and amazing reliability. 90's Mitsubishis are notoriously unreliable, an old Eclipse is going to do nothing but give you unnecessary grief.

3. Jay S Says: If you could buy a new one, they are great. Problem is, all the used ones out there are worn out from people modifying them and ragging the engines out. Extremely popular cars for the "fast and furious" fans out there. Cheap to modify, cheap to run and unfortunately most all of them have been ruined.
If you can somehow find a spotless low-mileage granny owned model, that's great. But how many grannies bought Eclipses? ;)

4. Rory Says: I have owned 2 of them. first a 95 5 speed. pretty good car but the engines in those cars are very soft and break easily. the motor out of those is called a 420a motor and these motors come in all non turbo eclipses. the second one which i own now is a 98 spyder (convertible) and it has 160000 miles on it and it runs great. if you change the oil in them when you are supposed to like all cars you dont have to worry about them. very fun and very fast even for the non turbo models