Hi guys, looking at buying a evo 8 Mr fq300 from interstate. I got a presale inspection by the local evo specialist which has been used for all servicing/replacements. A compression test showed 170,130,165,170 across the cylinders. Despite the low compression no faults were found in performance or when driving the car.
the owner didnt want to pursue the issue as he had already put too much into the car and just wanted a sale. Instead he dropped 2k in price for the chance of it being bad.
the car was in perfect mechanical order other than the compression issue and the car only has 107,000km.
ive been told it could be a variety of things, some of which are cheap fixes (carbon build up beneath the valve) other mechanical issues being expensive (rings, valves).
What do you all think is likely? Looking for advice..

 

Do a leak down test to check if valves are leaking. If the valves leaking, then you can pull head off and send to machine shop to fix and reinstall. If rings are bad, then engine needs to come out to be fixed. At this point, you should upgrade rods and pistons which will run you much more.

 

A leak down test will tell you exactly what it is. If it needs the cylinder head done, I would say a minimum of $2k price adjustment, I would try for more. If it needs an engine (rings) I wouldn't buy it for more than $6-$8k USD. Assuming the car is worth $20-$25k USD in your part of the world

 

What are the chances of it actually being a serious issue since otherwise it was perfect? Plus it has only done 107,000 km surely the rings shouldnt have worn out...

 

Anything can happen man. Bad fuel can hurt a cylinder, it can stick a ring, burn a valve, a valve eats a piece of carbon amd nicks the seat, and doesn't seal anymore. So much to go wrong in an engine its kind of amazing to think about how long they usually run...lol

 

I booked flights to fly over there to bring it home on the weekend for $25,000AUD. Was going to get the leak test done here myself, now feeling very worried this could get expensive. Ive spoken to my evo specialist who suggested the issues it could be, he said that 2k would go a long way if it is a valve issue.

 

Me personally, I think that's too much money for a car with engine trouble. I can get a fairly clean and healthy Evo here in the states for for about that price ($18-$20k USD). I would 100% suggest getting a leak down test by a shop of your choosing before forking over your cash. It could save you a lot of money to learn it needs the bottom end refreshed.

 

yeah good idea