Mitsubishi Montero 2008, thoughts?

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
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Hey guys.....a friend of mine that is coming to live here from the States is looking for a vehicle. He really likes the Mitsubishi Montero and Ive seen a good amount of them for sale on supercarros....I wanted to get some feedback to see if anyone owns one or is familair.....thanks.
 
Aug 6, 2006
8,775
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Consumer Reports will have a reliability report on this and other SUVs. It would not cost much to download a copy. Mitsubishis are generally not rated as high as other Japanese brands.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
I'll never buy a montero again. I have to add mine was of 2002, but never had as much trouble with a vehicle as with that one.

Suspension especially sucks for an off road vehicle.

Nice looks though.

Problems I had were with:
- front suspension
- transmission
- fuel pump
- fuel tank (supposedly due to the bad quality of diesel in this country the tank would release some material which damaged the fuel pump regulator.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
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we had montero shortly after i moved here, maybe 2002 model? i loved that car: spacious, comfortable and good on tough roads. very solid built. it is very popular car here so easy to get parts and find a mechanic to fix it.
downsides: high petrol consumption and crappy breaks.
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
we had montero shortly after i moved here, maybe 2002 model? i loved that car: spacious, comfortable and good on tough roads. very solid built. it is very popular car here so easy to get parts and find a mechanic to fix it.
downsides: high petrol consumption and crappy breaks.

I guess I had a lemon, or you were lucky...
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
we both liked the car and it did not get many issues although now i think of it we fixed some valve when we bought it (used). really, the only bad thing about that car were the breaks. tragic. i needed to press all the way to the floor to get any effect.
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
721
0
0
I'll never buy a montero again. I have to add mine was of 2002, but never had as much trouble with a vehicle as with that one.

Suspension especially sucks for an off road vehicle.

Nice looks though.

Problems I had were with:
- front suspension
- transmission
- fuel pump
- fuel tank (supposedly due to the bad quality of diesel in this country the tank would release some material which damaged the fuel pump regulator.

Ouch....reading online, though there aren't many reviews, they do say that the 2007 and under were pretty bad....don't know about the new chassis.
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,898
2,226
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Hey guys.....a friend of mine that is coming to live here from the States is looking for a vehicle. He really likes the Mitsubishi Montero and Ive seen a good amount of them for sale on supercarros....I wanted to get some feedback to see if anyone owns one or is familair.....thanks.

Truck like ride, good for off road, prone to tipping in quick collision avoidance maneuvers, terrible on gas, slightly expensive to repair, but very much loved in the DR.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,898
2,226
113
Consumer Reports will have a reliability report on this and other SUVs. It would not cost much to download a copy. Mitsubishis are generally not rated as high as other Japanese brands.

Consumer Reports will not be of much help as they have not rated the Montero for approximately ten years.....and when they did...they hated it.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 
Jan 9, 2004
10,898
2,226
113
I'll never buy a montero again. I have to add mine was of 2002, but never had as much trouble with a vehicle as with that one.

Suspension especially sucks for an off road vehicle.

Nice looks though.

Problems I had were with:
- front suspension
- transmission
- fuel pump
- fuel tank (supposedly due to the bad quality of diesel in this country the tank would release some material which damaged the fuel pump regulator.

Two major recalls on the '02 and you had both problems;
Brakes, and fuel system....and no it was not bad diesel.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
 

Mauricio

Gold
Nov 18, 2002
5,607
7
38
Two major recalls on the '02 and you had both problems;
Brakes, and fuel system....and no it was not bad diesel.


Respectfully,
Playacaribe2
It might be that mechanics here blame everything on bad fuel. The ones who repaired mine were mechanics that came from Bonanza and started their own shop. I could imagine that in Bonanza circles the easy story is 'bad diesel', instead of : we have to replace the fuel tank for free.
 

DOC1727

New member
Aug 30, 2011
285
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I have owned several Montero full size and sports for over 20 years and currently own a 2004 Montero in mint condition (My baby) and never have had any mayor problems with them. They are very nice SUV. I have also owned the l200 turbo diesel pick up truck and the 3000GT sport car. If you do regular maintenance on Mitsubishi they are very reliable. The only drawback you have to order all the parts at the factory only and repair can be expensive.
 
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TravelHippo

Active member
Mar 24, 2008
504
32
28
We have a Montero.. maybe 2001 or 2002.. and have had it for about 3 years now. We really like ours!! Sure, we have had a few small problems here and there, but no more than any other car we've ever had and nothing major. Plus the great thing is that they are all easy fixes with the car being so common down here and mechanics having no problem working on them.
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
721
0
0
I have owned several Montero full size and sports for over 20 years and currently own a 2004 Montero in mint condition (My baby) and never have had any mayor problems with them. They are very nice SUV. I have also owned the l200 turbo diesel pick up truck and the 3000GT sport car. If you do regular maintenance on Mitsubishi they are very reliable. The only drawback you have to order all the parts at the factory only and repair can be expensive.


Thanks guys lots of good feedback....seems as if they are as reliable as any other "good" car, just have to take care of it. While asking around I've been told that the gas mileage isn't great, for a Diesel, and the resale value is pretty low.
 

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
When I first started coming to the DR, the Montero was all I rented. Granted I didn't leave the city, but I remember gas mileage was crappy but it off roaded like nobody's business.

Now I normally rent CRV's and RAV4's since I drive quite a bit. Well on my last rental I had a breakdown and my car rental guy offered me a Montero that runs on propane and gasoline. With $2,000 pesos of propane I went from Santiago to Sosua and down to Santo Domingo before that gas gave out, then all I did was flip a switch and was running on gasoline.

I highly suggest doing that retrofit to a Montero, it really takes the bite out of the fuel cost on that gas guzzler. I have already put in my request for that Montero again LOL
 

El Tigre

El Tigre de DR1 - Moderator
Jan 23, 2003
2,306
57
0
I had a hand me down montero from my mom. It was a 95 and had 287,000 miles on it. How it lasted that long I am not sure maybe because I took good care of it. She died a slow death during the end and I parted ways. I had it for about 7 years.

Would I have bought a Montero? Hell yes! But I had a little extra cash and went with a 4Runner as the car I am driving now.
 

Dolores1

DR1
May 3, 2000
8,215
37
48
www.
Family had a Mitsubishi Montero 2001 that traveled comfortably all around the country. Was easy driving for mom, pop and son. It was rugged and comfortable, and never gave a problem until 2012 when now it needs an overhaul of something major. It is parked. But it was a great vehicle. It has been replaced by a Toyota Fortuner for rides into the mountains. The Fortuner was prepped to make it more comfortable when driving through bad roads. I understand the Fortuner is more economical on gas, but I preferred driving the Montero. I have also heard there were years when the Montero was not good.