1991 Mitsubishi Galant GLSi – Classified of the Week

There are a lot of cars here on Car & Classic. But not all of them require you to start looking for buyers of your internal organs. Some can be quite the bargain. But does a bargain, or cheap car mean you’re going to be stuck with something old and tired and falling apart? No, not at all. Just look at the 1991 Mitsubishi Galant we have selected as this week’s classified of choice. It’s pretty much mint, and it will set you back a mere £1,600. Okay, so it’s no E Type or F355, but it’s still special, it’s still rare, and it’s still more than deserving of being saved and more importantly, enjoyed.

It might not be for you, and if that’s the case, then fair enough. For us though, and for a fair few of you we reckon, this is a brilliant buy. High-end exotica is always nice, but cars like this that were once a common sight on our roads hold a special appeal. They were just… cars. As such, nobody bothered to save them. By virtue of the fact this one has survived, it’s special. It’s a wheels nostalgia trip. One of those cars that, every time you put fuel in it, someone will giddily state “I can’t remember the last time I saw one of those.” Cars like this are arguably more significant than any £100k classic, because those cars were destined to survive due to always being valuable. This Galant though, has a far more interesting and diverse story. It’s not only survived the pressures of time, it has survived scrappage schemes, it has survived being used as a hackabout only to end up in the scrap yard. Unremarkable though it may be, it has been loved and cared for without question.

And we’re not alone in our love for this Galant and cars like it. Take a look at the massive Festival of the Unexceptional. A show that has grown year on year as people celebrate the cars that time forgot. Having been this year, we can attest that this show is full of wonderment, full of surprise and full of nostalgia. A visceral, giddy thrill brought about with cars that transport you back to your youth, to your parents, to your first car, whatever. Cars that were once celebrated, only to be forgotten in the name of something newer. This Galant fits right into that.

Furthermore, this Galant is the kind of car you can buy, stick on a classic insurance policy, yet still drive every day. It will cost peanuts to run. It will be reliable to a fault. It’s automatic, so it’ll be nothing but a breeze to drive, and by being a hatchback, it will be remarkably practical, too. But it’ll be unique while doing so. You’re never going to park next to another one in the supermarket car park. You’ll have something fun, something special and something different. What’s not to like?

This particular Mitsubishi Galant has covered a mere 85k, it had the same owner up until a couple of years ago, there is an MOT in place until February and it’s in really rather excellent condition. The seller states that the tappets are a bit ‘ticky’ but that’s not a hard thing to fix, if you want to fix it at all. And all for £1,600. That is a bargain in anyone’s book. Some people spend hundreds of thousands to be unique, when as this Galant shows, you really don’t need to.