Mitsubishi FTO

I purchased my FTO in August 2005, from Awesome Imports in Bristol, i had been looking around on the net for one but when i saw this one i knew i had to have it. Deep Burgundy colour, 96 - facelift model and no mods - perfect. The model I have is a 2ltr DOHC 24v V6 Mivec .200BHP (so the manual says) When sitting in the car for the first time and even now it brings a smile to my face, it is relatively low slung with a good driving position, many people moan about the rear view but i have never found visibility a problem and the added bonus of electric (retractable) mirrors also mean they can be ... more

I was sitting at some traffic lights one evening when a gorgeous silver sports car drove up next to me. There and then I decided I had to have one. That car was a Mitsubishi FTO V6 MIVEC. I purchased mine for £5,300 from Cricketfield Service Station in Essex. Living in Kent and having to travel to Essex to find a good model illustrates that these are pretty few and far between. However, the car more than makes up for the effort it takes to find one! From reading reviews beforehand I set my heart on getting the 2.0l MIVEC model - manual or tiptronic I wasn't fussy - I just had to have one. I ... more

Importing I imported this beautiful beast in December 2004, it arrived on car transporter outside my house late one evening which was very exciting. I had to arrange for registration, MOT and uk conversion which was fairly straight forward. UK conversion and MOT was done at CMS auto www.cms-fto.co.uk and cost around £200 for rear fog conversion, MPH speedo and derestriction chip, the exhuast was blowing so had a section of that replaced too, after that it passed straight throught the MOT. One thing to note, i had to drive the car to CMS without number plates or being registered in the UK, i ... more

I was a little weary buying an import car at first and heard all sorts of horror stories about imports. However there is a dedicated FTO owners club which you can join for £10 a year. There is always someone who can offer advise and supply spares if required. Mitsubishi also support this car at their UK dealers, and can get any parts and service this car as required!! I have had the car for 6 months now and have nothing but praise. For £5,700 I got a 2.0l, 24V, V6, ABS, Traction Control, Climate control, all electric's, the works, Providing these cars are serviced as required you will have no ... more

But not particularly cheap. Being an import, you have to be weary of a number of things: 1) the service history of the car (unless you can read and understand japanese service history) 2) the cost of insurance 3) the availability of parts. Saying that, apart from insurance, the other items can be overcome. Buy the car from a good (and trusted) importer. Network with the HUGE online community (check out Smartgroups) and get to know the various breakers and parts importers. Once you build up these contacts, you'll find it a lot easier (and cheaper) to have items replaced on your cars. And ... more