The Irish Mitsubishi FTO Owners Club

Hey. Ok, I don't actually own a FTO.....yet , but I've always wanted one and was put off by insurance. Now I'm 26 and think it's a good time to start looking. I was wondering if you guys could give me advice??

Here's why I want one:
My last car was my kinda my dream car (other than an Aston etc) and I still wish I had it. It was an 04 2.7 V6 Hyundai Coupe. LOVED it! Tax was crippling and Hyundai built the engine very weak, so I got rid before I needed to spend too much money on a rebuild (big end bearings fall out after 50k miles). Plus it only had 170bhp.... But a lovely 190lbs/ft of torque!

Anywho, the FTO seems perfect for me as it has a V6 grunt, but only €710 to tax (instead of €1,300) and has MiVec
I currently drive a 00 Civic EM1 VTi. Great fun, but miss my torque . I feel the FTO will give me the best of both worlds in the engine department and unlike the Civic I wont get branded a boy racer or have a bad image lol. Plus, as standard, the EM1 handles like a boat and I'm used to an awesome chassis.

Can you tell me:
Do FTO's have big problems like the Hyundai ie: Big end bearings?
Is there anything I should look out for, if I'm viewing one?
Is the Mivec much much better than the standard V6?
Will mechanics work on the car? No one would work on the Hyundai as they said it was too hard to work on due to being a transversely mounted V6?

Any help is much appreciated
Thanks
Robbie

Hey,
Im 25 and just got a quote from Campion for €1060 to insure a GPX.

From my experience;
Do FTO's have big problems like the Hyundai ie: Big end bearings?
Only things you see issues with is stepper motor on the mivec, and some tiptronic gearbox's due to being neglected.
Is there anything I should look out for, if I'm viewing one?
Rust, roof, wings, underbody
Is the Mivec much much better than the standard V6?
theres what 20 ponies in the difference, The GR (2L non mivec) uses an air maf sensor which I hate on cars, there is a GPvR FTO that is the lightweight model but you'll loose luxuries such as folding mirrors and digital air con.
Will mechanics work on the car? No one would work on the Hyundai as they said it was too hard to work on due to being a transversely mounted V6?
There are some people who really specialise on the FTO so you should be okay. Basic work like changing plugs can be done by anyone but its just a tedious job really as the rear plugs are a pain to get at

As above, it's the stepper motor and rust to look out for.

But I would highly recommend trying to get quotes before buying. I was 28 with full clean license and full NCB and I almost could not get insured. You'll see the story in my hello thread. Plenty of people have bought an fto, only to have to sell it on, due to the almost impossible task of insuring it. I don't think campion are insuring them now.

Hi Robbie,

think the lads have covered it pretty well. As Goz suggested get a quotes before you actually buy the car. You could easily spend whatever you save on the road tax or more on the difference in insurance premium - that is if you actually manage to get one! I'm 32 with full clean license and full NCB and most insurance companies have either refused to quote me or the premium was sky high, your best bet I think it's to call few brokers.

The main thing to look out for when buying one (aside from the usual signs of neglect) is the underbody rust, the car can look spotless on the outside and have very clean interior but the underbody could be totally rusted - to the point where body shops wouldn't touch it. The cars were never prepared for use on salted roads, so car with no underseal could be ruined in few winters. The rear chassis rails are really vulnerable to rust as are the front wheel arches - look under the fuse box in engine bay and same spot on the opposite site (just behind the engine mount).

Other than that FTOs are pretty bulletproof and parts are available easily enough (other members, Camskill or Viamoto), also some would be same as on other Mitsies.

One last thing beware of people trying to sell GPX as GPvR, GX as GPX etc.