RA assistance

[Wong]

Its Wong again. Before I commit to buying a RA, my spreadsheet needs to give me the green light.

I drive <5,000km per year. From what I gather, the RA require:

Fuel price: $25 per week (100 to 150km per week)
Oil and filter (every 6 months or once a year?) = $70 per 6 months.
SST: Ford fluid and filter $300ish or $650 at mitsubishi (45,000 km). Is there a minimum yearly interval for the SST oil and filter change?
Insurance & tyres are not an issue.

Is there anything I am missing? My biggest concern is the SST failing. I will have RACQ check over the car before purchasing. Id like to keep the car for atleast 200,000km. Is this possible?

Theres a RA for really good price listed on http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/stapylton/cars-vans-utes/2008-mitsubishi-lancer-cj-my09-ralliart-tc-sst-blue-6-speed-sports-automatic-dual-clutch-sedan/1076978079

Did anyone here own this car or know of its history?

[sleeper]

i dont know of it re CCJ membership.

theres no minimum interval for changing the SST fluid/filter, 50k maybe depending on how aggressive u are, maybe 90k if your a granny.

but realistically u dont buy a awd turbo rally car with an sst gearbox if ypur concerned about the bottom line.

the RA can be as efficient as u like, it all depends on how much u press the throttle

[sazman]

Sst is service at 60000 km.

[aspir3]

I would try to get MY10 on as some earlier models had SST issues

[Wong]

thanks for the reply team. My current car is a GTT Caldina and I frequently rev to to 5k RPM. Not quite a granny nor aggressive driver.

Seeing as I drive around 5k km per year. I am happy to service the SST every 8 to 10 years lol.

This forum has a wealth of info and ive read look for my10+

[efod3]

Is that really that cheap? From the pictures it has had some work done to the exhaust, maybe query what else.

[aspir3]

From the pictures I can tell it has been lowered, front chrome ring blacked out and quad tip exhaust

[Wong]

If you are looking at a 50K+ RA, budget for a SST fluid and filter change after purchase unless it has already been done or they let you open the filter housing to inspect the oil. BTW, if a pre MY11 car had a hard life, timing chain stretch is on the cards.

Yes, I have logged the additional servicing onto my spreadsheet. I have a habit of changing all oils and filters when buying a used car (I have purchased 2 used cars in my life) and if required change all seals especially when conducting 100 k services.

Yes, its the cheapest RA with that amount of mileage. Its been on the market for 4 weeks now which means potential savings to be had! .

[SEB15]

Is that a N/A snorkel in the last photo?
Back to the topic, if i was you was looking at the latest RA models, MY11+, only concern is the SST and timing chain on that car. Check if the car has any warranty repair and any recalls done, service has been done in time etc
I have a 09 RA (MY10), sadly i only find out about their issues only after i bought the car, but lucky (so far, touch wood) it didn't give me any major problems. But i over service it and check everything regularly, to make sure everything is in good working cond

[burfadel]

Is that a N/A snorkel in the last photo?

It certainly looks like one. Either the better snorkel was added later, or someone decided to swap their NA snorkel for the RA one.

[aspir3]

That is a good pick up. I never noticed it had a NA intake snorkel. I'm guessing it had a short ram intake that was removed before selling.