Take Another Look at Mitsubishi

I have a general rule of not promoting automobiles that I like because doing so tends to cause some consternation among some of our professional counterparts.

So I try to keep my opinions about particular vehicles to myself and seldom write about a certain product. That said, I’m going to break my general rule and discuss a diamond in the rough: the pre-owned Mitsubishi.

This is, of course, contrary to the stepchild syndrome seen in how most dealerships treat their pre-owned Mitsubishi vehicles.

I am not involved with Mitsubishi, which has struggled in recent years in the U.S.

However, I did work with Mitsubishi and its dealers in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I found them to be some of the hardest-working guys and gals I’ve ever met.

They get up every day swinging a bat in a ballpark that does not have large crowds or concession stands. They are playing the game because they want to be there. 

I recently looked at one of our in-house inventories before they went to an auction. I was checking out the cars the manager deemed undesirable. There were a couple of Mitsubishi vehicles in that group.

I think they only were there because they were Mitsubishis. It was a question of brand weakness, certainly not product quality.

Based on my experience of vehicle serviceability, reconditioning cost, and cost of product, that manager had put a diamond in the rough. From then on I started watching how pre-owned Mitsubishi vehicles are marketed. I’ve decided to tout their profit potential that is often overlooked after a trade-in. 

Most pre-owned Mitsubishi cars are an excellent choice for a customer who needs to step down a car payment or doesn’t qualify for a new car.

If you want vehicles in your inventory that allow you to make up equity and pick up a little extra gross, look twice at Mitsubishi trade-ins. 

Personally, I like the product’s marketability, and with their new products they could become the comeback kid. If you’ll take a real look at Mitsubishis, not at the auto maker’s past woes, you may find that models such as the Galant sedan, Endeavor cross/utility vehicle and Eclipse coupe are cars that have something to offer to your profit line.

And keep in mind two of my favorite adages about selling used cars: “Every used car has a story, but if you can’t tell it, you can't sell it” and “If it has a history, there’s no mystery.”   

Auto industry veteran Tim Deese heads Progressive Basics, a training and consulting firm. He is at [email protected].)