Well, I bought my 1993 Mitsu Eclipse (the base model, with that whopping 1.8L, 4 cyl. engine) because I wanted something "sporty", with a MT and I happened to like that charcoal gray color the Eclipse donned. After much research, via the consumer guides, I bought HIM. Yes, my Eclipse is a "HE" because I am a girl. Well, I was a girl in 1993. I'm now all grown up, and stuff. I bought him brand new, and negotiated a fab deal.

I was brought up around cool cars. My dad, when I was about four years old, owned a 1969 Camaro, with a white hard top roof, and this very sparkly gold metallic paint. One night at the circus, someone stole all four mag wheels off the car. The only thing I could say about the circus to my inquiring grandparents was that "some son of a bitch stole the wheels off my dad's car". Then there was some green 70's something Monte Carlo, which my dad tricked out, and then in the 1990's, he bought a 78 Corvette and basically rebuilt the engine. So, I have a healthy admiration for cars.

The 1993 Eclipse only has 75K miles on him. He has never given me any problems. He was christened the Stealth Elvis, because I name my cars. There was Christine, the 1969 Nova. Lemon, the Datsun B210 and Little Red, the Honda hatchback Civic (God rest his soul, he committed suicide by crashing into a brick mailbox while left in neutral, engine running, by his new owner, my sister). When I bought the Eclipse, for some reason, I guess because I was born in Memphis, I had this desire to name him Elvis. Then, one night, while driving him up I-65 in Nashville, an 18-wheeler almost flattened us when it changed lanes, apparently not seeing me. It prompted me to say to my passenger "What am I? The f*cking stealth bomber?" A name was born. The Stealth Elvis.

Five years into ownership, the clearcoat began to peel off. People, I had a car cover, I did all that I could do to avoid UV exposure. Basically, all of the clearcoat is gone from the hood, the roof and the top of the trunk. About two years ago, I accidently hit some little, stupid, low and unseen yellow pole at the YMCA, and it dented the passenger door, which I have just resolved to fix. The thought of parting with my Eclipse literally brings me to tears. I'm sure that stems from attachment/abandonment issues, though I've never been abandoned to my knowledge. My husband just parted with his 1994 850 Volvo wagon (aka "The Dirty Girl"), and he and I cried. We donated her, though...so it feels right somehow, in some, psychological way. *Side Note -When I met my husband, the Volvo had been so neglected that I went on a rampage to get her cleaned up, bless her heart*

If I had a garage, I'd repair the paint myself. So, I'm at a crux. Personally, I think the SE would look great with some orange flames painted down the hood and fenders, and have those silly little 14" tires with plastic covers replaced with some 16" rims and raised white lettered, big fat tires. But, the sad thing is, I'm now 41, I've had rotator cuff surgery and live in Chicago, which makes a MT just appalling AND the SE sits so low to the ground, that getting out of him is becoming entertaining to the neighbors.

Has anybody on this board bought the 2006/2007 Eclipse? If so, is it higher off the ground?
What's the community's thoughts...can the seats be raised so I don't feel like a grandma getting out of him?
Do we know of any economical solutions to the clear coat disaster?
IF and WHEN I decide to part with him, are there any takers that will cherish him like I do?
Anybody want to dodiscounted body work for the experience? (Hey, you never know...maybe someone needs an internship experience on auto body repair).
Anyone know of any good body shops near the Evanston area?

All suggestions are appreciated and will be considered.
I wish I would have paid more attention to my dad and his engine tinkering obsession! But, at least I can talk to a mechanic and they know not to try to screw me over. In fact, I kind of get the "rock on" expression from the them. And my husband thinks that's just flat out cool.

Oh, the Volvo got replaced with a 1999 Honda Accord EX-V6. Alloy wheels, moonroof, spoiler, leather. Bought it from Carmax. Tranny started to slip, took it to my mechanic, made them flush the transmission and add Honda ATF (those VTECs are persnickety) and my mechanic found a leak. Carmax had to fix it for free! Hehehehehe. And I got reimbursed for the 14 quarts of ATF I bought. Priceless. A shady mechanics mantra: Chicks who know wheels are always a bad deal.

Anyhoo, hello, boys.

 

i... uh... whoa... hehehe welcome to the forum, a friend of mine has the 4g i gotta say is a bit comfy if youre not riding in a back, but i couldnt really tell you about the height, my RS is stock and its kinda at the same level as the 4g.. As for the clear coat, it was common on that model, you can take it to a body shop and they could polish the rest of the clear out and then get re-coated. Sorry if im not very helpful, im somehow a n00b.

 

Girls that know their cars are awsome. You sound like you really know what you are talking about. I too started with the big old school muscle. From 66 Mustang to my 67 pickup. I am new to the import sceene but hey thats what places like this are for. Welcome to the board.

 

there's a guy on the "Mitsubish Eclipse/Spyder" location that just bought a 4th gen (2006-2007) eclipse and would pobably be able to help you out. if not i'm sure you can go to mitsubishimotors.com and get all the specs for it... Welcome to the forums!

 

Thank you for the welcome! I just took the S.E. to a body shop, and they quoted me about $1600 to repair the door AND do the paint. Not a bad deal. I'm mulling it over. My fear is that I will invest in it, and then BLAMM-O! Some one will hit me and the Eclipse will be totaled.

I'll post my other thoughts on painting the car on another thread!