Virtual Mechanic

VM Service maintenance analysis, Mitsu Colt 2010
Make Mitsu
Model Colt
Year 2010

The following vehicle is offered with a fixed priced service maintenance schedule
Mitsubishi is offering a 4 year or 60,000km capped price service (whichever occurs First) conditions apply.

The following spreadsheet will indicate the total cost of the capped price service.

15000Km $195.00
30000Km $195.00
45000Km $195.00
60000Km $195.00
 
Total Cost $780.00 but consider the following items

But it will not include the following items and please read carefully

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Under Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing Program, eligible vehicles are entitled
to receive up to the first four standard scheduled Diamond Advantage Genuine Services (eight Regular
Services for Ralliart and Lancer Evolution vehicles) up to and including the 48 month/60,000km service
carried out by a Mitsubishi Dealer for no more than the applicable Vehicle Service Cap per service.
Where can I have Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing carried out?
Eligible vehicles can only be serviced under the program at authorised Mitsubishi Dealers. Ralliart
and Lancer Evolution vehicles can only be serviced under the program at Ralliart and Lancer Evolution
authorised Mitsubishi Dealers respectively.
What is covered (in/under/by) the Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing?
Under the Program, eligible vehicles are entitled to receive up to the first four Regular Services (eight
Regular Services for Ralliart and Lancer Evolution vehicles) by distance or time (whichever occurs first)
for no more than the applicable Vehicle Service Cap per service. The final eligible service will be either
the 48 month or 60,000km service (whichever occurs first).
The Program covers all items specified under the R egular Service Tables for each vehicle type detailed
in the Service and Warranty Customer Information booklet, including parts, labour, oils and fluids,
workshop supplies and any applicable environmental or waste oil disposal charges.
What is not covered under the Program?
Additional service/maintenance items which are not covered within the Regular Services or the Program
include (but are not limited to):
• Those items identified as requiring more frequent attention depending on operating conditions
(as described in the Service and Warranty Customer Information Booklet).
• LPG additional maintenance items.
• Normal wear and tear and consumable items requiring periodic maintenance
(e.g. fuses, brake pads , wiper blades, batteries, tyres, wheel alignment adjustment etc.).
• Air conditioner pollen filter replacement.
• Fluids, additives and treatments not specified in the R egular Service Tables.
• Accident damage to any body, chassis or driveline components.
• Adjustments not specified in the R egular Service Tables.
• Additional maintenance and repairs which may be recommended by a Mitsubishi Dealer to suit your
individual driving characteristics.
If any additional service/maintenance work is required, you will be informed prior to that work being
undertaken that the additional service/maintenance work is not covered under the Program and what the
additional cost (if any) will be for performing that additional service/maintenance work.
When does the Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing become effective?
From the original warranty start date recorded in the Service and Warranty Customer Information
booklet for each eligible vehicle.
What is the term of coverage of Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing?
An eligible vehicle’s participation in the Program will expire upon any of the following three conditions
being satisfied:
a. The performance or expiry of all R egular Services covered under the program.
b. The expiry of 4 years from the original warranty start date.
c. 60,000km being travelled.
When can a Regular Service be carried out?
Service intervals are for a given period of time or distance (12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs
first except for R alliart and L ancer Evolution vehicles which are 6 months or 7,500km). Even if a vehicle
isn’t driven far enough to cover the nominated distance between service intervals, Mitsubishi vehicles
should still be serviced according to the time period shown on the R egular Service Tables.
Each Regular Service can be claimed within 7,500km either side of the specified interval (3,750km
in the case of Ralliart and Lancer Evolution vehicles). If the distance travelled is low, services should be
undertaken according to the time intervals. A specified time interval service can be claimed 6 months
either side of the specified time (3 months in the case of Ralliart and Lancer Evolution vehicles).
Note: Claims cannot be made for both a specified kilometres service and the corresponding time interval
service separately.
Is the Mitsubishi Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing program transferrable?
Entitlements are transferrable with ownership and remain with the vehicle until they expire pursuant to
the terms of the Program. Entitlements cannot be transferred to any other vehicle.
Who is eligible for Diamond Advantage Capped Price Servicing?
Retail customer vehicles are eligible under the program. Government and Rental vehicle customers are
not eligible and additional exclusions may apply. Contact your Mitsubishi Dealer to confirm eligibility.
Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) may add or remove vehicles from the Program, or vary terms of the Program,
from time to time without notice.
Ask your dealer for full details and conditions.In conclusion in my opinion until I hear otherwise a capped price service schedule offered by a car manufacture is by far the most secure option to maintenance a high standard of motor vehicle servicing.

The added benefit of having your vehicle service at any Mitsubishi dealer is the knowledge that most technicians are factory trained, as well as a dealer service stamp in your service history should maximize the resale potential

By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au, Worlds First, “VM Maintenance review” of all new passenger vehicles.

With the cost of almost everything increasing including the cost to fully maintain your vehicle, whether it be a fleet vehicle or a privately owned vehicle I believed its important to understand the true total costs of motor vehicle maintenance.

Mitsubishi Australia have been the first Car Manufacture to release motor vehicle maintenance information to allow me to provide a fair cost analysis

The first vehicle up for the VM Maintenance review  will be the Mitsubishi Colt, the VM maintenance guide soon to be released.

Rather than rate this area, you the reader will make your own judgement based upon the facts, this is raising the bar to all motoring writers, that seem to spend most of the time paraphrasing a carefully refined media release.

I will use my automotive background to examine the fine print and details of servicing, giving you the tools to make an informed decision, before making your next choice.

At this stage the service is free and for private use and fleet buyers, to help you understand the servicing costs without the need of an automotive background.

With so many options to motor vehicle maintenance carmakers need to keep the wolf away from the door of third party service centres.

Perhaps third party service centres keep the playing field even, time will tell as the winner keeps the customer satisfied with professional customer service.

Let me say some dealerships still need to understand the basic essentials of customer service.

MORE TO BE ADDED

By Darren Gow-Brown WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

ANCAP safety rating
You might say that the space saving wheel is only used when one wheel is subjected to damage or a flat tyre.
As we all know when using a space saving wheel the vehicle handling is compromised also the safety of the vehicle but the ANCAP safety rating don’t seem to factor this component into the overall score.
The 1st of august 2010, Australia has 20 more road fatalities than this time last year I really wonder about the ADR’s when it comes to the space saver wheel. perhaps there is no evidence to prove that accidences are caused be Space saving wheels but if you are forced to use a vehicle and fit a space saving wheel, how safe would you feel driving down a freeway late at night raining cats and dogs travelling at the maximum speed of 80kms. Do you think the motorist’s behind you are going to be understanding, with a strong potential for road rage to occur.
Perhaps it’s a problem when an organisation is funded by Car manufactures because sooner or later the funding may dry up from the government and so the funds must come from somewhere, I cannot be the only person to notice that nearly every TV commercial is now making reference to the ANCAP RATING, regardless whether space saving wheels are fitted.
Recently a university paper was released regarding Driver Education.
According to one Australian University is was suggested that there was no evidence to prove that Driver Education reduced the Australian road toll, well this would make sense to me because I have not seen any driver education program implemented to all schools within Australia.
Let me make this point clear
“Driver Education is teaching how to drive not how to pass the test”
We can drive the safest vehicle on the road but if we don’t understand how to prevent an accident or drive in a dangerous manner, the safest car doesn’t score in the fatal statistic all that well.

Road safety who’s hand is on the wheel

Lets start with the key stakeholders

Vic Roads, RTA, Queensland Transport, etc
TAC,
ANCAP,
Federal government,
State government,
Motoring authorities, RACV, NRMA
Insurance companies
Car Manufactures
Driver Education

The list above is not complete as I will add more later on, but something should already stands out with this list.

The one group that seems to be the odd one out is Driver Education, yes that’s right it seems to have the least funded but the most important.

Why is driver education with the least funding?

Answer
It costs too much; it does not make any company rich.
It doesn’t sell cars
It requires too many resources to activate.

So lets try to understand public perception

It seems to be the perception of some that funding a company to crash cars then rate them thus factoring this information into some type of marketing tool

It seems to be the perception of some that producing TV campaigns this will solve the problem or do something towards reducing the road toll.

Vic Roads came up with a great idea for motor cycle riders, to increase motor cycle registration, to this day has not reduced the road toll, too bad for motor cycle riders now forced to pay a high premium for annual registration.

If you think I getting negative I haven’t even started.

Right now in July 29, 2010, Australia has 13 more deaths than this time last year, so lets look at the TV Campaigns.

What has it done to reduce the road toll

 It has been revealed that in 2010 
200 police officers have been caught for speeding, surely this can’t be right.

This brings me to my next point
Speed Cameras welcome to THE NEW TAX

The speed camera maybe the reason why so many people are getting caught is we seem to have a constant of variable speed limits.
So far you would agree the above has not been so successful but the Key stakeholders can say money has been spent

I’m saying lets funnel the funding towards Driver Education

Building a safer car helps, producing confronting TV commercials helps.

There are two factors left,
Dealing with existing dangerous driver behaviour
The ability to understand the changing road conditions.
How to react or prevent an accident.

DRIVER EDUCATION

Curriculum to be competency based rolled out to all schools to all year 10,11, 12 students, starting in Victoria.

Costs maybe provided if required

By Darren Gow-Brown WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

What’s important when buying a new small car

Purchase cost
Its seems one could spend anything from $13,000 to $35,000 the higher end of the scale may not reflect anymore features than the mid range, the question is what can you efford on the day, and we are talking about a small car in the practical sense 
Warranty
Warranty is very important but there are many factors in the warranty, for example its no good if your vehicle is under warranty but you keep taking your vehicle back for the same problem, car makes almost factor this in so your question is how far is the service centre if you need to return your vehicle for service or warranty.
Its almost getting to the point where buyers should enter into a contract where if the vehicle is repeating a issue more than three times then the dealer should offer a free vehicle should be provided.
Most people just give up after a period of time never to purchase the same type of vehicle again

Service costs
When it comes to servicing this is something to research, but not from the sales person perhaps you want something in writing. You want to know how much will your new small car from 0 to 100,000kms over the next 5 years, you may also compare the service cost of an independent service centre, remember the warranty is not effected if genuine parts are used.

Features
Recently I have noticed that features are so fluffed up they tend to hide the real benefits. Features are the new way to confuse you when it comes to technology, never feel inadequate if you are told it has ABS, BA, EBD, CVT, VVT, no these are no degrees behind someone’s name they are becoming the standard in most small cars.
After going shopping for a new small car if you look at more then 4 vehicles at one time the changes are that you may forget some of the important items.
 
Safety Rating  
This factor has got so much invested interest, there are many ways to achieve a high safety rating but let me ask you the question.
Are you a good driver ?
Are you planning to smash your car into a pole and walk away?
Are you planning to drive in a dangerous manner ?
Are you planning to tailgate driving ?
If you think you are a poor or bad driver then perhaps the Safety rating is important for you

Road test
When shopping around its always a great idea to take two people with you so when you drive you will feel if the car has enough power with three people as opposed to one person, when driving you are looking for engine noise, response from the engine to get from 0 to 60kms

Insurance
Before you decide on a particular small car check with several insurance companies to make sure there are no hidden factors that might give reason for a high premium 

Trade-in value
In the trade its common knowledge that if you are able to dispose of your vehicle within 80,000kms with full service history stamped in your owners manual, within the three to 5 year mark then the chances are you should get a fair or good trade in this will depend upon the car make and model, this research important to understand should you consider turning cars over on a regular basis

Car looks
I have to add this item as I have sited some very ugly looking small cars of late and if you are planning to purchase an ugly looking car please consider other road users, family and neighbours, or build a garage to hide it away at night

Virtualmechanic checklist to buying a small vehicle

Make _____________

Model____________

Price_____________

Cost to service or is there fixed price service available

10,000 $___________

20,000 $___________

30,000 $___________

40,000 $___________

50,000 $___________

60,000 $___________

70,000 $___________

80,000 $___________

80,000 $___________

100,000 $___________

What is the total cost of an ignition key including programming to the vehicle
How many ignition keys come with the vehicle
Engine sizes________

Transmission Options_____Auto________Manual

Spare wheel___Full size_______Space Saver_________

Warranty period and what are the service conditions to maintain the warranty ?

ABS

Airbags
Traction control
More to come

By Darren Gow-Brown WWW.virtualmechanic.com.au

News when deciding on a new vehicle, check if the spare is a full size wheel, or a space saver wheel.
If you are unfortunate enough to get a flat tyre and find out that your spare tyre is a space saving wheel, there are precautions or limitations whilst driving with a space saver wheel.
Most space saver wheels are to be driven at a maximum speed of 80 km.
Most space saver wheels are to be driven at short distances. The life of the space saver tyre is measured in hundreds of kilometres not thousands of kilometres, for this reason your space saver tyre should be checked for wear before placing it into the boot.
Check your owners manual handbook, when using a space saver wheel is it will also required the correct tyre pressure.
Any time the space saver wheel is used this will effect the handling of the vehicle, especially in wet or poor road conditions.
In my opinion a vehicle safety rating should include the spare tyre choice, it’s no good crash testing a vehicle if it’s fitted with a space saver wheel.
A car are designed to transport people in the safest possible way but for some reason the spare room in the boot is more important than the spare wheel itself.
 
“RACV chief engineer Michael Case says nearly 25 percent of all new cars sold are fitted with the space- and weight-saving spares and the organisation is concerned that many people don’t know the tyres’ limitations.”

If a vehicle is involved in an accident proven to be travelling over 80 kms, insurance companies may use this knowledge to there benefit. If you have a choice between a vehicle with a space saver wheel and a vehicle with a full size wheel, three guesses to the correct choice.

Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

Fixed priced service, DEALER OR INDEPENDENT SERVICE CENTRE ?
Some car manufactures are coming to the party to protect their brand, offering fixed price services.
This may appease the minds of motorists with the view that your dealer is now in competition with third party service centres. Most large corporations want your business at the least possible cost so if they are able to break your habit and get you away from your independent dealer.
Lets analyse this in greater detail, in the hope that you will be able to make an informed decision.
Lets compare two small cars on fixed price servicing
Toyota Yaris, using the TOYOTA SERVICE ADVANTAGE PLAN.
Mitsubishi Colt, using the MITSUBISHI DIAMOND ADVANTAGE CAPPED PRICE
Compare both vehicle using and independent service centre offering capped price servicing

Toyota will service your Yaris for $130  every 10,000 kms but only for the first 6 service intervals, or up to 60,000kms.
I need to understand why a car maker will not offer the capped price services up to 100,000Kms
 
To keep this vehicle in warranty it must be serviced every 6 months even if it stays in your driveway surely this cant be right, or did I misunderstand the fine print.
What does the capped price service include?
As from what I can ascertain, only the following items to be replaced.
Oil.(Every 10,000)
Oil Filter, (Every 10,000)
Air cleaner (Every 40,00)
Sparkplugs (Every 40,000)
Brake Fluid Flush.(Every 40,000)
Fuel filter, including in-tank filter (Every 80,000)
According to the Service schedule the transmission fluid is never changed
Hopefully the dealer will access the engine management system to download any faults logged
The question remains, what is the cost on the following items
Front end alignment
Front disc Pads
Rear Drum Shoes
The cost of Spark plugs
Wiper blades
Valve adjustment what type of adjustment
Engine coolant
– — – — – — – — – — – — – — –
Mitsubishi will service your colt for $195.00 every 15,000 but only provide the capped servicing up to 60,000km
MORE TO COME
– — – — – — – — – — – — – — –
 
An independent service centre, is offering the following
fixed price servicing, on a 2008 Toyota Yaris
Out of 10 service centres to perform a 10,000Km fixed price service the prices range form $136.00 to $195.00, etc

  Toyota Yaris 
     10,000     20,000   30,000   40,000   60,000    
1 $136.00 $209.00 $136.00 $289.00 $166.00
2 $146.00 $184.00 $146.00 $322.00 $180.00
3 $148.00 $196.00 $148.00 $328.00 $184.00
4 $154.00 $235.00 $154.00 $339.00 $192.00
5 $159.00 $180.00 $159.00 $339.00 $195.00
6 $159.00 $166.00 $159.00 $343.00 $195.00
7 $160.00 $195.00 $160.00 $343.00 $195.00
8 $160.00 $192.00 $160.00 $346.00 $196.00
9 $174.00 $195.00 $174.00 $368.00 $209.00
10 $195.00 $195.00 $195.00 $407.00 $235.00

– — – — – — – — – — – — – — –
An independent service centre, is offering the following
fixed price servicing, on a 2009 Mitsubishi colt
Out of 10 service centres to perform a 15,000Km fixed price service the prices range form $168.00 to $241.00, etc
 Mitsu Colt 
    15,000    30,000   45,000   60,000  
$168.00 $357.00 $198.00 $357.00
$183.00 $403.00 $219.00 $403.00
$186.00 $407.00 $221.00 $407.00
$193.00 $418.00 $228.00 $418.00
$197.00 $418.00 $232.00 $418.00
$197.00 $421.00 $232.00 $421.00
$199.00 $426.00 $236.00 $426.00
$214.00 $456.00 $253.00 $456.00
$217.00 $469.00 $262.00 $469.00
$241.00 $512.00 $288.00 $512.00

To be fair we don’t know what parts are replaced or what additional work is performed, for example the price may include a car wash, drop off the customer, front end alignment etc.
NOT FINSHED AWAITING FOR MORE INFORMATION
Written by Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

Apart from and ugly looking car it was lacking the bare essentials to entice a test drive
 If you are a tall person this is not the vehicle for you
It you are conscious of service interval costs then the gets gets up you as the price is between $330 and $700 ranging through the services at 10,000 km intervals
The driver seating was hard is it felt like a seat you sit on and sit into.
I would be concerned about the resale value of the gets given a bad track records of resale values as the interior seems to deteariate over time now of cause there is the now 8 year warranty and 200,000 km warranty to consider but let me ask how many people have the time to keep taking there car back under warranty and how many people give up only to accept faults as there occur.
There are many ways to achieve a high ancap rating for the people basing their decision on this factor.
A car maker can build a vehicle with enough airbags to achieve a high ancap rating or build a vehicle to a standard of quality this I may elaborate on later but for now
Without putting the salesman in I was not really impressed with the ability of the salesperson unable to even try to sell the features
If  Hyundia have such a fantastic product why is the cost of service intervals so high and the resale value so low.

Special Notes
The Hyundia Gets requires about 4 glasses of good wine if you are planning to park this car in your driveway as it may start to look better after this time.
This vehicle was not given a road test due to the fact that the head room test failed upon the initial inspection, not to mention the lack of interest displayed by the salesman on the day failing to sell the features if any, on the day

Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

The Mitsu colt is at least a vehicle with the mitsu badge now to me this means a lot as Mitsubishi is a strong brand for many reasons
Sorry Mr. Mitsubishi but the contour design has something to be desired but step into the colt is where you need an open mind to realize the colt has the most comfortable seats for a vehicle in this price range, my client was shopping for a manual but we were given an auto to test drive, wow the Constant variable transmission was something to experience this 1.5 litre engine was giving me enough power to be satisfied. It was a wet day at the time but I never had to fight we the tyres spinning on take off
I was very impressed with the power produced from a 1.5 litre variable cam-timing engine
Basically this means that the ECU or electronic control unit is maximizing fuel and power efficiency in many more ways than just fuel injection.
The Mitsu colt is giving you a lot of value for you money
Note Mitsu is offering buyers fixed price servicing, at 15,000 intervals at a fixed cost of $195.00 per service.
Fixed priced servicing does not include sparkplugs, wiper blades, fan belts, globes, wheel alignment..
So why even offer a product if it does not cover all these hidden extras.
In my opinion the Mitsu Colt is a strong contender to the small car market.

Special Notes
The Mitsu Colt has the most comfortable seats out of all the small cars reviewed
This vehicle has plenty of power due to two factors
The CVT and the VVT however I would like to know if the transmission is reliable over the next 250,000 kms
Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au

Virtualmechanic overall rating 4.0 out of 5.0 
Toyota Yaris 2010
Date or Review
July 2010
PRICE
 $19,788 Drive away (using the online Pricing calculator)
FEATURES
VSC ,ABS, EBD, BA, Safe-T-Cell, EPS
Full Size spare wheel.
Driver and passenger SRS airbags.
Digital speedo.

MODEL
5 Door Hatch

ENGINE OPTIONS
1.3 litre Engine
1.5 litre Engine

IN MY OPINION
The Toyota Yaris ticks most the boxes
The diver seat is height adjustable the rear seats are able to slide forward and backwards, the spare tyre is a full size wheel meaning it is not sacrificed by an emergency wheel to which we will touch on later.
We had the opportunity to road test the 1.3 litre on my opinion if your planning to travel with anymore than 3 people I suggest considering a 1.5 litre engine as the 1.3 was lacking in power with 3 people in the vehicle, let me further explain here. If you are planning to drive the vehicle with one passenger then the 1.3 Yaris is suitable
If you plan to have some weight in the rear and drive around with extra passengers then you may want to consider the 1.5 litre engine.
Digress for one moment whilst shopping for a small vehicle I naturally ask as many questions as I can to be informed about my decision, and yes I’m critical about any level of service, and willing to observe good or poor service with feedback given.
When we were at the Toyota dealership at Frankston it was Joel’s positive and enthusiastic attitude that made it easier the make the decision to buy the Toyota Yarris
In my opinion the reasons why the Toyota Yarris rates 4.0, in the small car value for money are as follows.
Low service interval costs at $130 per fixed priced service every 10,000Kms but only up to 60,000 Kms or 36 months, what ever is first.
Good resale value history
Low engine noise whilst driving from 0 to 60
Adjustable driver seat height
Same size spare wheel, no funny wheel
Appealing exterior design, yes this car you feel ok to park in your driveway when you get home, you don’t need to hide it away as it wont win the ugly car competition
Plenty of room inside the rear if you need to rear passengers
Don’t stop there whilst we were looking at the Yarris the salesmen Joel, used this time extremely well as he added that apart from the fixed price servicing Toyota have a procedure where two mechanics are given the task to perform the service thus reducing the down time of your vehicle at the service center. It gets better it takes just ONE HOUR to service the Yarris this means anyone time poor would almost considering buying a vehicle just because they no longer need to leave their car at the service center all day.
SPECIAL NOTES
Take a close look at the terms and conditions when it comes to servicing.
What lets Toyota down is the BELOW AVERAGE customer service when ringing the head office, I was placed on hold for 28 minutes only to be told someone will return my call…..Oh what a feeling 
Written By Darren Gow-Brown, WWW.Virtualmechanic.com.au