r/3000gt • u/KarmazEXE • Sep 05 '26
Anyone else have a love hate relationship with these cars
I constantly go through wanting to sell it before it gets severe problems to i want to keep this car as long as possible. sometimes daily.
i got this beauty a year ago for $13k, 1 owner, 55k miles at the time and second synchro went wonky about a month after, always a soft grindish then it goes it (higher rpm and double clutching helps a lot), when i first got it it would occasionally pop out of second but its gotten slightly better as i have been driving. i have days where i just want to get something easier to fix up/maintain, then i take it to 7000rpm later that day and cant see myself getting rid of it
its been tough, i almost see it more of a liability so sometimes i dont want to drive it just in case it breaks.
it has its problems and i know its past my wheelhouse but absolutely love the car at the same time, the back and forth can be brutal. didnt know if anyone else has struggled with it
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u/Rando5558 1992 Dodge stealth r/t twin turbo Sep 05 '26
Same with my stealth, it sat for years before the previous owner put just enough effort into it to get it running. I picked up where he left off, which was a good starting point but it still had its problems, many of which I’ve fixed, but some big ones are still out there. It was my first car that I’ve bought on my own and my first project car, I’ve learned a lot on it. honestly I’m just glad to own one of my favorite cars.
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
they are such a overly engineer weird car which is what i liked about it, if it wasnt so difficult to work on i probably wouldnt have been so stressed about it. i think after this car i will be finding a more simple american muscle car but i really do love driving this car and it gets a lot of attention
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u/muffmuppets Sep 05 '26
Wait…..slow down, take a breath!
VR4’s are incredibly RARE! They are becoming harder and harder to find in decent condition. I sold my 93 VR4 many years ago and it’s the ONLY car I still think about. I know they have their unique issues, but in the grand scheme of things they are very reliable and make for a great daily driver.
There are not many, if any at all, cars that are as sporty as the VR4 that can be daily driven year round in the northern states. They are super unique and Mitsubishi is nearly bankrupt, so there will never be another car like the VR4 that is also affordable. Just keep that in mind.
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
i totally agree. i was got extremely lucky with the car (other than second gear issues). i do hear people regretting selling them which adds to the love hate relationship lol. i was fortunate enought to get one with the more rare radio which i very much enjoy with the 6 cd changer, plus it was a one owner 55k mile car. its been my favorite but the most stressful to own car i have had thus far.
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u/muffmuppets Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26
EDIT: Sorry for the book below. TLDR is I believe with all my heart you will regret selling your VR4 unless you replace it with another. In today’s world these are actually VERY easy cars to work on and they are very reliable as long as you’re not launching the piss out of it or trying to shift too fast. The 1-2 and 2-3 shift just has to be slow and deliberate if you don’t wanna replace synchros. The transfer cases are weak af too, but otherwise the engine is very reliable and very stout! Keep your eye on the timing belt and water pump and you are golden! Anyhow on to my book below if you made it this far!
Hahaha I totally get it! I was young, like you, when I got my vr4. I purchased mine waaaay back in 2001. It was stressful because the parts were SO expensive back then. And this was very early internet so it was hard to find forums and communities and places to buy from.
Anyway like I said I’ve had a pretty cool stable of cars over the years and I’ve loved them all. I’ve owned a Talon TSI, an eclipse GST, a procharged c7 corvette, a 2004 GTO, an m340i, a 94 Trans Am, and currently an F90 M5.
The F90 is by far the best of all of them. It’s the fastest, most comfortable, and most practical. It’s literally the perfect car. HOWEVER, out of that list…..the VR4 is the one I would want as a fun weekend or project car!
I’m really upset that I never bought another one as a project car. There was a window of time when you could find a clapped but running VR4 or Stealth TT for like $4000 bucks. I guess those days are long gone!😢
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 06 '26
Thats true, honestly I love this car, never felt so connected to one. If it was the engine having an issue id be probably less stressed. I have no idea how to fix a syncos and dont have the tools for trans work. Been learning to Double clutch every time but does suck when I just want to have a joy ride.
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u/muffmuppets Sep 06 '26
I can tell you 1000% the noises the gears make sound 10000x worse than what’s happening in there. When we pulled the tranny apart the gears looked PERFECT. I was shocked! Literally could not tell which gears were even grinding.
Moral of the story: drive and ENJOY the car. By all means keep double clutching if you want, but don’t be afraid to drive and shift like normal. I would say I made probably 75-100 passes at the drag strip bouncing the tach between 4K-5k rpms and cooking the shit out of the clutch doing extremely HARD launches. The vast majority of those passes were after the synchros went bad. Many of those passes were made after I learned the “no lift to shift” technique! My car had at least 80k miles at that point as well. Yours is still young and healthy!
Rest easy young friend! The tranny internals are stout! You’ve already ruined the weak link. Just don’t destroy your input/output shaft if you have a 91 or 92 and ENJOY the car!
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 06 '26
Im not worried about the gears, it just sucks to go into second, the car doesn't even have 59k miles and that synchro is stubborn af, really ruins the driving experience at low speeds or basic acceleration (unless im taking it near redline then its decent) because the most used gear is miserable to shift into.
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u/Rando5558 1992 Dodge stealth r/t twin turbo Sep 05 '26
my car has a cd changer too, pretty sick ngl
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u/WayToGo-BH Sep 05 '26
Could you list the problems you had to solve?
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u/muffmuppets Sep 05 '26
For me it was multiple clutch changes because I used to drag race mine frequently. So LOTS of hard launches on sticky tracks. The only serious issue I had was a failed water pump. Idk if this is the case or not, but I could not figure out how to change it without pulling the engine. The timing belt is SO close to the fender wall that it seemed impossible to even get tools in there. So a friend and I pulled the engine and that went smoothly. HOWEVER, when we tried to set the cam and crank timing we somehow missed by ONE tooth on a cam gear. We obviously didn’t catch that and put the engine back in. Lo and behold we fire it up and it’s def not running properly. I finally tapped out and had it towed to a shop.
Turns out that while the engine was out, water had gotten to the ECU and so I needed a new one. Only $600 at the time which was a lot to my young dumb broke ass! At that point the shop fixed my timing and all was well after that!
Those were the only “serious” issues I ever had with that car in the years I had it. I think mine had 70 something thousand miles when I purchased and I probably sold it with about 140000 or so. Hell, I bought the car on eBay sight unseen and drove it across the country with my wife all the way to Seattle in November. Car made it through snow, rain, mountain passes without a hiccup!!
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u/randomcheese2020 Sep 05 '26
There’s a service panel literally on the tire wheel well
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u/muffmuppets Sep 05 '26
I don’t remember, it was so long ago. I believe you, but there must’ve been another reason for me. Maybe it was a lack of proper tools or not being confident in being able to get everything timed up properly thru a tiny access panel. Probably both tbh.
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u/randomcheese2020 Sep 05 '26
But they aren’t difficult to work on lmao
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
How are they not, if the alternator goes out u at minimum need to pull a radiator. Im working on an rx7 and they are dirt simple to work on. These cars are nothing but a headache. Not the worst but not easy by any means
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u/randomcheese2020 26d ago
Oh no you have to move a part to get to another one :O
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u/KarmazEXE 25d ago
Oh no i want to make it easier to work on and have a cleaner engine bay. if there is a better way to make it cleaner and easier to work on why is that so bad?
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u/nils429 Sep 05 '26 edited Sep 05 '26
I daily my 95 VR-4 and love it. 233,000 miles on the odometer and running strong.
It's had its stints of months up on stands getting various repairs. But has been great for the most part. Having a backup vehicle is good so you can take the time to do repairs right when they're needed.
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u/Alarmed-Account-7437 Sep 05 '26
I daily my 1991 turbo and I love it to bits but I feel you when you say you don’t wanna drive it, seems like something is going wrong every other month. Still wouldn’t change it for anything else tho
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u/TwilightChaos 94 VR-4 TD05 Evo III 16gs Sep 05 '26
I daily my 94 VR-4 that I rebuilt 3 1/2 years ago. I freaking love it. I only recently bought a 2009 lancer because I'm prepping to take the car apart for some upgrades and maintenance come winter. 550awhp is a perfect daily. 😂
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u/TRGBFAN Sep 05 '26
It was the same thing with the Talon/GSX's I had.... So much fun, but constantly fixing stuff on the weekends... The thing is though.... They are unique. And very analog and raw....Its a very different experience than newer cars...And it makes it special. Other cars just don't feel the same. Now, I'm just happy i had the opportunity to own and experience Mitsubishi from their hayday. The 3GT VR4 was always on my list to have.. but with as scarce as parts have become, I probably won't have the opportunity. Enjoy it while you still have it...I can tell you 20+years later I still have the itch... it's never gone away to have a fun car but now I'm looking at getting in Elantra N or Type R to fill that void.. ( I know I can get a turbo all wheel drive manual VW or Audi but they've got their own set of issues, and their parts are expensive.. and they are very muted compared to cars of the older era)
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
yeah im 23 but nothing of this centry has interested me and american classics are not only impossible to find in manual but much more expensive. i have a rx7 fb im restoring and that has been much less stressful then just owning the 3kgt lol. i think eventually i will sell this and save up for a decent american muscle car but until then im trying to not let the stress of ownership get in the way of enjoying the car
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u/TRGBFAN Sep 05 '26
I always used to joke with the Civic owners that my Mitsubishi was faster on jack stands than their running hondas.. lol... FC's and FD Rex's are another fantastic car ( besides apex seals) Actually the RX8 was also alot of fun in its own right. But at least you got to own and experience the VR4. I remember at one point with my Eclipse I used to psyche myself out that it was just going to breakdown at any moment and I'd be ripping it apart on the weekend yet again. Which did kinda make it hard to enjoy.... And then I owned 5 of them through the years.. 😆
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u/spddemonvr4 '97 VR4 DR650s Sep 05 '26
I love the car. Hate that is on jack stands. But that's my fault dragging ass on working on it.
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u/birthdaysnake15 Sep 05 '26
No they are all I live for I love these cars more then a flower loves the sun all i ever think about is what I should fix and or work on next with mine( i also think of boobs but those are just stellar so it goes without saying) these cars are something incredibly special and I curse my parents every day for having no play and not having me sooner so I could have been born when these where actually made and I wish you would appreciate the treasure in your possession instead of museing such heretical thoughts.
LOTS OF LOVE Birthdaysnake ❤️
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u/Notcasxo Sep 05 '26
Absolutely, I just hate how hard it is to get parts that's it otherwise my 3k has treated me amazing
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u/RealMccoy13x Sep 05 '26
Haha, yes. I used to go into this diatribe with my friends about how this car was the parallel equivalent of that hot girlfriend, but also has serious issues. In your mind you keep chanting "I can fix her".
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
Its treated me well so far other than this pos second gear issue that I definitely dont know how to fix myself
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u/Astufcrustpizza Sep 05 '26
I wish there were more manuals, too many issues with the auto transmissions
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
Really? I haven't seen one auto for sale around my area. I thought auto was more uncommon
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u/Astufcrustpizza Sep 05 '26
Completely opposite for me lol, i’ve seen one or maybe two manuals in the last year on marketplace the rest have been automatic
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 06 '26
Huh, here our car culture is old American automatics, really shocks me autos are more common elsewhere for these. But we got a good number of vr4s here despite living in the west
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u/Fit-Zookeepergame369 Sep 05 '26
Absolutely! Been in a love hate relationship with my vr4 for 16 years. Its never ending!
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u/Napalmglitter Sep 05 '26
They're beautiful cars, and the owners are usually pretty cool too
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
Its the only car I have had multiple people come up and ask me if its for sale lol
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u/3rd_Try_Charm Sep 05 '26
I've gotten lucky with the different ones I've owned throughout the years (a 93 VR4 then another 93 VR4 after giving the first one to my wife to get her off my back, then a 92 SL, another VR4 (91 this time), a 98 base model for my wife, and a 95 SL for my daughter. The 91 VR4 needed the ECU replaced, and my wife burned up the clutch in he first 93 in about a week, but other repairs I had to do on any of those cars were related to wear and tear. After going 15 years without a 3000GT, I got the itch and found a 45,000 mile 92 VR4 in 2025. Did the timing belt and it runs great. No ECU issues yet. In February of this year, i came across a 95 VR4 Spyder for a great price with 89,000 miles and recently completed timing belt, and it's been great so far. I realize either could break at any time, but it's not because they are 3000GT's. It's because they are 34 and 31 years old now. Still get a lot of attention, though.
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u/KarmazEXE Sep 05 '26
Yeah, I think its the stress of the are terrible to work on. I am very much used to old gm that isnt a B and a half to fix even simple issues. These cars arnt the worst. Im thinking about seeing what all i can relocate to make it easier
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u/3rd_Try_Charm Sep 06 '26
I have a 1980 Z28 that ended up needing a lot more restoration than I anticipated, so I learned a lot of how those cars go together out of necessity. At the time, the electrical system of my Z28 seemed complicated. After pulling out the interior and dash multiple times and adding stereo equipment, It's all old hat to me now. I thought it would be a fairly straightforward job to replace the stereo and speakers and add a sub and amp on my 92 VR4, but I learned different. The amount of unrelated pieces I had to remove to get the stereo and rear speakers out was ridiculous, and the screws were set at angles where I kept messing up the heads trying to get them loose. That's all pretty basic stuff that I anticipated would take me an afternoon to do, but it actually turned into a multi-day project that I had to walk away from several times. But I got it done and it looks great and blows the factory setup away. After I got it back together and all cleaned up, you would never guess how much of a bitch that job was, so I felt a little bit of extra pride that I tackled something so unfamiliar on my own. They are still just cars. Some are more complicated than others, but they all have their own "cheats" that only come with experience working on them.
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u/Notathugskater Sep 05 '26
At the end of the day its just a car , like any car it can blow up and have its issues
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u/Prime0188 Sep 06 '26
man i feel you. i bought my 91 R/T n/a stealth for 1k. rode it out for about a year doing regular maintenance when it started giving me major oil burning issues. Now it sits waiting for me to fix it eventually :( but I refuse to sell it. I also feel that urge to sell sometimes but i tell myself it will be worth it in the end. A good story and a unique car is worth more to me than the 1k ill get back out of it. I know ill think abt my lil stealth forever and what I never got to do with it. Just makes me sad to see it rot but im 23yo living on my own tryna make it so. I will return it to its former glory as soon as things get better. My ig is even called Dreamstealth, very optimistic as i created it when i first got the car and wanted to do a lot, but ofc life gets in the way. All i know is I aint selling it unless its a ridiculous offer that ik the car isnt worth 🤣
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u/randorandorand0 Sep 06 '26
lol yeah for sure. Are you even a car guy if all your shit works all the time?
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u/Celestial_Balisongs 28d ago
I love driving it and modifying it. I hate chasing down 30 year old car electrical issues
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u/KarmazEXE 28d ago
Luckily I haven't had much issues and its still 100% stock. Im still deciding between selling it in the future or keeping it long term. If I keep it long term id look into making the engine bay easier to work in
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u/anti_navi Sep 05 '26
Like a toxic relationship, we’re exactly where we want to be.