1998 VR-4: 10 Years of Mods, Repairs, and Maintainence

[RichJ8990]

Hi everyone,

This post is basically for everyone that recently bought a VR-4 or is considering purchasing one for the long-term, and will not work on the car themselves (they will instead take it to a specialty shop). I know that at least 1/2 of the members on here work on the cars themselves, which is great, but for the rest of us that don't have the tools and know-how to mod, repair, and maintain the VR-4, the information below should be very useful.

1998 Mitsubishi VR-4, purchased 12/31/2003, 59,205 miles. Today's post is 12/23/2012 (10 years later), 223,800 or so miles (about 165,000 miles in 10 years).

Total Mods: $9640

Total Repairs: $16,640 in 10 years; $1664/yr; $139/month

Total Maintainence: $17,190 in 10 years; $1719/yr; $143/month

Total Repairs plus Maintenence (no mods): $33830 in 10 years; $3383/yr; $282/month

$282/month for repairs and maintainence on a high-performance car is not bad, in my opinion, especially when the equivalent performance of a new 2013 auto (for example, the 370Z or 335i) would be monthly payments of almost $1000/month.

Mod breakdown:
Intake $200; Exhaust $1000; Brakes $2600 (I need them again soon); Underdrive Pulley $400; Intercooler $3400(!); Stereo system and rear speakers $1270; Wheels $550; Misc. $220.

REPAIR BREAKDOWN:

Air Conditioner $1970 (it was the condensation collector in a very hard place to reach that went bad, so this total cost was after 3 times of filling the freon and then trying to find where it leaked out). Bummer.

Windows $1790. Three replacements of the automatic rollup/down motor: Driver's side 2, passenger side 1. Moral of the story: Don't just hit the up/down button on the bottom of the switch and forget out it. Hit the Manual down or up (as in keep pressing it) and stop just as the window finishes going down or up. This will save you money later.

Transmission $10,560. $6500 for the 4-wheel drive and about $4000 for two clutches. The tranny was not in good shape when I bought the car. The dealership first said the fluid was leaking, and then they balked and said everything was fine. Later, of course, the tranny went out. Bastards! What can you do in that situation? Sue them? First replacement clutch was a semi-racing one, and that was a mistake. Second clutch is 100% organic and works fine.

Door remote: $220

Starter: $900. Starter went out three times in 4 years. 1st time replacement was free. I don't know why the other two went out so fast, and why the last replacement has lasted so long.

Misc.: $1200

MAINTAINENCE BREAKDOWN:

Oil Change: $2040 (fully synthetic only), 5000 miles

Tuneup: $3470

Tires: $3090

Diagnostic Tests: $3750 (yes, tests are frigging expensive)

Cooling System: $470

Brakes (rear; front are modded): $1130

Batteries: $360

Struts: $1600

Belts: $860

Misc. $420



A lot of repairs and maintainence, but it still runs great at over 220,000 miles and should have at least 360 horses (theoretical with the mods is 410). On the other hand, buying a VR-4 now is going to mean a lot more money into the car AFTER purchasing it, since the car is going to be at least 14 years old now.

[DuTTch]

And I have 4 of these cars lol.

[dbest671]

And the reasons listed above is the sole reason why I learned to work on our car. The stealership tried to charge us $2000 for a damn o2 sensor, by saying we needed all this other stuff (like a rear header because the original was cracked and a front o2 housing because the o2 sensor was seized in there). We decided to get a second opinion and the only thing the car needed was an o2 sensor, and less than hour worth of labor to change it. No wonder why that stealership had to close their doors LOL. Ever since then, I have used the forum as my "repair shop", have amassed a ton of tools, and a hoard of parts LOL.

We bought our own scanner/logger for $125 (which is less than two diagnostics test at the dealership).

Parts we order from Cherry Hill Triplex and save 30% off of listed prices (highly unlikely you get that kind of deal at your local dealership and you have to pay taxes).

Change own oil with the good stuff, about $60 for redline plus filter.

The only times the Spyder has been to a shop was A) exhaust because they had a lift and B) complete coolant flush because I couldn't get the distilled water out of the block

[Hard AttacK]

You got your butthole wrecked.

[HellBringer]

Goood lawd!? Does it hurt when you sit? Walk funny?

I've owned 9 or 10 of these cars over the last 12 years - from stock to fairly heavily modified - and I've spent less on mods/parts and maintenance between all of them combined.

I guess the point being, if you can't turn a wrench and/or have no desire to, then prepare for an embarrassing quantity of regular stealership RAPE!

[BlackStealth]

Thanks for post with the break down in costs. I've own the same car for 17 years and have performed most repair work myself. I only bring the car to the stealership when it's a difficult task.

FYI, it's even worse in Canada for maintenance costs, stealership often charge 40% more than USA stealerships for parts, even though currency is par. For example, when I ordered 60K timing belt related stuff from the USA, the savings alone would pay for the stealership labor.

[CO3kGT]

Wow. Spectacular breakdown! Thanx buddy, merry Christmas!

[1stStealthN/A]

Wow, that should scare any possible new owners away. Glad you enjoy the car but a dealership is the last place to go for repairs.
Good info though, thanks.

[westcott]

Now you know why most of us turn our own wrenches.

1) You can not trust most mechanic shops to tell the truth or do the job properly.

2) The costs associated with shops do reflect their overhead, warranty, etc. but there is nothing like the satisfaction of doing the work yourself. Plus, you sleep better at night.

3) Very few shops understand the intricacies of these vehicles, the importance of following torque specifications, proper maintenance, and using quality parts.

4) Most mechanics will do more harm then good, either from negligence, or down right abuse and corner cutting.

Where do you live? I would love to be your mechanic.

Happy Holidays to you and yours!!!!

[Syght]

Wow, thank you for posting this. I'm always curious just how expensive 'expensive' is , when people try and convince you just how much cheaper it is to do yourself.