Great story and a great idea.I'm in Chicago!
02/97 Legnum VR4 COTY
Here is a little back story about the purchase of the car.
Spent a few months looking for a new car but couldn't find the right one. I knew I wanted a turbo AWD car but didn't want all the beeping, auto braking and other safety features newer drivers could use. I grew up driving in the 90s so I don't need all this nonsense. So I decided to see what was available from that era. Not many options came up. 92 Celica GT-S but couldn't find one with decent miles. Subaru's but my wife already drives the 22 Outback Onyx XT. I looked for a Nissan R33 Sedan but impossible to find one with the right motor I was looking for. Then I stumbled upon the Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Fell in love right away. Couldn't find any in the USA so I started to look overseas. I came across @goonet_exchange out of Japan. Found a few Galant's but then stumbled upon the Legnum. USA rule states the car must be 25 years old. Without physically seeing the car in person or test driving I took a gamble on a 97 Mitsubishi Legnum VR4. I just had a feeling about her when I saw her online. She only has 32,000km (20,000miles) !!! I requested a Shaken report which is America's verison of a Carfax. She had one owner and very well taken care of. I don't think anyone has ever sat in the back seat, not a wrinkle in the leather and the buttons on the dash look like they never were touched. I will have many more posts coming. Just finished her brakes, all fluids and coolant. The car price was $14,000 plus $3,000 for shipping then with all the custom fees and taxes. I ended up paying close to $20,000USD for the car.
That's an awesome story to hear man!I'm in Chicago!
02/97 Legnum VR4 COTY
Here is a little back story about the purchase of the car.
Spent a few months looking for a new car but couldn't find the right one. I knew I wanted a turbo AWD car but didn't want all the beeping, auto braking and other safety features newer drivers could use. I grew up driving in the 90s so I don't need all this nonsense. So I decided to see what was available from that era. Not many options came up. 92 Celica GT-S but couldn't find one with decent miles. Subaru's but my wife already drives the 22 Outback Onyx XT. I looked for a Nissan R33 Sedan but impossible to find one with the right motor I was looking for. Then I stumbled upon the Mitsubishi Galant VR4. Fell in love right away. Couldn't find any in the USA so I started to look overseas. I came across @goonet_exchange out of Japan. Found a few Galant's but then stumbled upon the Legnum. USA rule states the car must be 25 years old. Without physically seeing the car in person or test driving I took a gamble on a 97 Mitsubishi Legnum VR4. I just had a feeling about her when I saw her online. She only has 32,000km (20,000miles) !!! I requested a Shaken report which is America's verison of a Carfax. She had one owner and very well taken care of. I don't think anyone has ever sat in the back seat, not a wrinkle in the leather and the buttons on the dash look like they never were touched. I will have many more posts coming. Just finished her brakes, all fluids and coolant. The car price was $14,000 plus $3,000 for shipping then with all the custom fees and taxes. I ended up paying close to $20,000USD for the car.
100k miles isn't that much for one of these, they will easily do 200-250k Kms (what ever that is in miles no idea)Great story and a great idea.
My story:
I had been contemplating selling my fun car to get a more family-fun car. However, my wife and I couldn't agree on what would be a good choice. After going on a JDM binge at 2AM, I stumbled upon a local dealer (who I won't link here just in case of rules) who had several cars in inventory. I was immediately drawn to the 110k mile Legnum VR4. I found out it would be at a car show and drove down the next day (well, same day, technically). After seeing it in person, I had to have it... and the next week went and bought it.
The car has miles on it, but mechanically is great! I have a ton of service records from Japan which is nice too. A little bit of blow-by, but that's to be expected for the age and mileage. Interior feels new. I ended up paying around $12,000 USD. So many plans! I can't stop driving it and my family loves it.
Yeah, I've swapped it out and put a catch can in the middle, and it is catching stuff. Startup blow-by is a lot less now. I suspect I should check the rear as well. It only happens on cold start and only for about 5 minutes.100k miles isn't that much for one of these, they will easily do 200-250k Kms (what ever that is in miles no idea)
If you're getting blow by, first and easiest thing to check is your PCV valve on the back of the front rocker cover.
Replace that and the little grommet and see how you go.
Also isn't uncommon at this age for the turbos to start failing, especially if they've had a hard life.
Glad to see more Legnum's coming to the states.Meister Blue 97 VR4 Leg here in Denver CO. I do my own work with importing and have done several cars now, this one being my 8th along with other cool Mitsubishi's like an L400 Delica, a couple of diesel Pajero's, and an Evo 3. Have also owned 3 E39A VR4's so this is kind of coming full circle. Car runs awesome but leaks ATF lol appears to be the TQ converter seal which I was able to deduce with the help of this awesome forum. I bought mine off the USS Tokyo auction house, it was a 3.5 grade car though if I'm being honest I think that was a very generous grade for it as it does need paintwork and has a little bit of underside rust, 127k km, all in about $8500 but it does need paint work and the trans work, and I get to deal with all of its title processing.
Very cool, I know of one in Georgia and Phoenix. I am in Chicago, I got a unicorn. 20,000 miles, no rust, no scratches, super clean leather. No issues besides brakes and change out the fluids. Timing belt water pump and bearings are being done next week. I added rims, a Mishimoto Intercooler and a carbon fiber engine cover. Exhaust and ECU are to follow after the timing belt.There are two more in Denver, one black one white, the black one is a 5 sp owned by an exporter I work with but he got it from the UK and its in rust hell. Any help convincing him to part the car out so I can get the 5 sp swap would be appreciated lol
Also in Detroit (Dearborn) I get my Legnum will land in Boston for me to pick up sometime in april. Would love to meet up if your still in the area ( I know your post is a few years old)Detroit checking in!
'97 VR4 TypeS. 42k miles.
My story: I recently returned from a work assignment living in Japan for several years. I am a long time Honda fan and road racer, but when I moved to Japan I wanted to try something different. My requirements:
-Japanese
-Not available in the US
-A good car for family road trips.
I ended up with an EVO IX Wagon which I absolutely loved and fit my requirements perfectly. When it came time to move home, I was fortunate to find another American there and ended up trading my Evo for his Legnum plus cash. Everything considered including transport I got the car here for a little under $13k which I'm pretty happy with. Now that it's here with only a couple minor issues to fix up, I'd like to get to know what knowledge resources and parts sources are available here in the US.
One question from my side: I noticed there is a premium membership on this site which hides what appears to be better technical info. However I also get the feeling this community's haydays are over here and I'm not sure it's worth the subscription still or if the content is even still there. Any insiders can shed some light on that?
hey man. I’m stoked another Leggy will be in town. I haven’t seen another yet. I’ll send you a PMAlso in Detroit (Dearborn) I get my Legnum will land in Boston for me to pick up sometime in april. Would love to meet up if your still in the area ( I know your post is a few years old)
You guys will have to come to Mitsubishi fest over the summer. I am always the only Legnim therehey man. I’m stoked another Leggy will be in town. I haven’t seen another yet. I’ll send you a PM
You guys will have to come to Mitsubishi fest over the summer. I am always the only Legnim there