Getting rid of my 380 turned into an adventure.

[Anhevius]

Last month, my 380 decided to have something else break. Before that, it had this list of things needing fixed:

Lifter tick (had new lifters, just didn't have the time to do the swap, or the money for gaskets)
Aircon leak, so no airconditioning at all
The (nearly brand new) brakes kept making noise.

These were after I had already spent around five thousand dollars fixing other things on the car since buying it a year ago.

Went out to go somewhere, and the final nail was put into the coffin of the car. New oil stain on the ground under it. Checked the top end first, then got underneath to check the oil pan, and the bottom end. Found the leak. Went over it with a mechanic friend, he agreed that it was probably the rear main seal.

At that point, I decided that enough was enough. I went to the dealership where I got the Lancer, and had a chat with them. We did a deal for a much nicer car, 2010 Holden Commodore Omega dual fuel.

I had the car for three days, and then it had to go back to the dealership. Horrible misfires at idle/low RPM after driving for more than ten minutes. The dealership ended up pulling the heads off and sending them to a specialist, where the problem was found. Imperfection in the head surface around cylinder 2. Both heads were taken apart, milled, and rebuilt before being sent to the dealer.

The dealer did a whole bunch of other work while putting the Omega back together. If I had ended up paying for everything, I would have been looking at somewhere around eight or nine thousand dollars by the time everything was done. Luckily for me, new purchase warranty.

So, now I've had the car for a couple of weeks. I will say there are some major differences between the Commodore and 380, the primary one being the Commodore doesn't have the same mid-range power, and is a bit more reluctant to accelerate (on LPG at least).

Overall, I have to say the Commodore is a LOT better than the 380 when it comes to several things. There's only a two-year difference between them, and the Commodore has a LOT more available when it comes to the little things that make driving it more enjoyable (now that it's fixed and running right). The biggest thing though is that unlike the Lancer and 380, I can actually kick the seat back enough to stretch my legs out into a truly comfortable position.

I did, and still do, love my 380. When she was running right, she was a blast. Unfortunately, I can see where Mitsubishi went wrong with them and why the car failed to keep them going in Australia. It's not so much the 'big' features like a cutting-edge radio system, but the little things that let you individualize the car. The 380 (and the Lancer I gave to my fiance) are both a bit more 'fun' to drive. You can really tell that Mitsubishi put a lot of development into the drivetrain of their cars. But the Omega is just a few ticks higher in the list when it comes to a more personal ride that just feels 'right'.

[sleeper]

good to hear you`re finally happy with your purchase Jonathan

[Lancer1993]

Didn't like the look of the 380 when it came out, like a pumped up Magna, but now I think it looks good, especially the VRX.

[Anhevius]

good to hear you`re finally happy with your purchase Jonathan

Thanks! I still have my Lancer, and I steal it from my fiance whenever I feel like having a bit of fun. She won't let me tear the CV transmission out and slap in a manual though.

Didnt like the look of the 380 when it came out, like a pumped up Magna, but now I think it looks good, especially the VRX.

I like the look of the 380, because it was drawn from the US version, the Galant, and improved a lot. My Platinum...in platinum silver...was a gorgeous machine. The slightly higher stance over the other models gave it a more aggressive profile overall, and it really stood apart from the crowd.

If, in a couple of years, I have the spare money, I plan on buying another 380, and then tearing it down to rebuild from the ground up. I want to make a cross between the Mitsubishi GTO and the 380...a 3.8L twin turbo AWD psychotic beast. Simply because it'd be freaking hilarious to do.