Thinking of buying 03
Originally Posted by Warrtalon
25k for an 03 is absurd. It's a 3-yr-old car that was only 28-30k new. You can get a brand new 05 for close to that much, and the 05s are much, MUCH better. Buying a used Evo and paying that much for one that's 3 years old is sheer lunacy.
I put it up for 21k never imagining thats what id get for it, but to my suprise some dude from out of state drove up the the 2nd night it was on autotrader, bought it in the dark with cash.
i can see why people advertise at crazy prices because there is that small chance they will get i tfrom someone
i bought my '03 in '05 but it was a new untitled car that was never sold, it had around 60 miles on it, i got it for 25k
currently my '03 has 9,000 miles on it, if i decided to sell it id try to get 23k for it.
id look around abit first bro. you might be able to get maybe a leftover 05 for a good price. i mean not to rag on anyone who has bought a used evo. but after seeing alot of the 03s get wrecked and constantly seeing the same ones at the dealership for work. id say stay away from used especially if it was a younger driver because you know they would have beaten the crap outa the car.
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From: New England
Originally Posted by jmartinez1170
You know what i have a 03 for over a year and some i bought it new i have 47k on it yes thats right a lil over a year 47k i buy cars to drive not to baby. The only problem ive have with the car was that the clutch went out same time with the transfercase and that was at 42k there are no overheating problems thats a bunch of bull. 03 are the way to go why because ecu only has 2 maps vs the 04's and up the 9's have 6 maps man all that tuneing . If your going to buy the car just to say your going to have a evo your better off with a 04-05 there got a lil more topend stock with the 10.5 hotside and the acd crap. If your planing on keeping the car and makeing it a track car 03 is the way to go much more simple to work with dont have to deal with the many maps and acd and the other lil things that make it so call better over the 03.
No ACD or 10.5 hotside for 04 USDM.
Those were introduced with the 05.
Anyhow, getting back to the 03, the biggest downside I see is the lack of a standard front LSD which is really nice to have. Upgrading to one can be fairly costly (but definitely worth it).
In any case, I agree that it's better not to have a lot of the electrickery added in recent years. That's why I got a 2004 RS.
geo
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From: Las Vegas and HATING it
Originally Posted by donmeca2020
id look around abit first bro. you might be able to get maybe a leftover 05 for a good price. i mean not to rag on anyone who has bought a used evo. but after seeing alot of the 03s get wrecked and constantly seeing the same ones at the dealership for work. id say stay away from used especially if it was a younger driver because you know they would have beaten the crap outa the car.
Originally Posted by gklasse
Well, I should point out that this isn't entirely correct.
No ACD or 10.5 hotside for 04 USDM.
Those were introduced with the 05.
Anyhow, getting back to the 03, the biggest downside I see is the lack of a standard front LSD which is really nice to have. Upgrading to one can be fairly costly (but definitely worth it).
In any case, I agree that it's better not to have a lot of the electrickery added in recent years. That's why I got a 2004 RS.
geo
No ACD or 10.5 hotside for 04 USDM.
Those were introduced with the 05.
Anyhow, getting back to the 03, the biggest downside I see is the lack of a standard front LSD which is really nice to have. Upgrading to one can be fairly costly (but definitely worth it).
In any case, I agree that it's better not to have a lot of the electrickery added in recent years. That's why I got a 2004 RS.
geo
In the summer I'm planning on buying a used Evo so I'm trying to do a lot of research now to figure out exactly what I want.
Originally Posted by porque
So no 03 Evos had a front LSD, only 04 and up?
In the summer I'm planning on buying a used Evo so I'm trying to do a lot of research now to figure out exactly what I want.
In the summer I'm planning on buying a used Evo so I'm trying to do a lot of research now to figure out exactly what I want.
Originally Posted by Warrtalon
No LSD until the 04 RS, but _ONLY_ the RS had it in 04. 05 and up all have FLSD and ACD along with the 10.5 hotisde.
Yes, if you are going to autocross, the FLSD makes a huge difference when powering out of turns. As for the ACD, I don't really know. I know I do very well in both autocrossing and road racing with no suspension mods compared to 03/04s that DO have suspension mods, but it's hard to tell how much of that is driver and how much is the car. The ACD should make a difference, since it kicks in when turning, but I am not experienced enough to feel that difference.
I recommend getting an 05 or newer, because they are faster and handle better with the 06 being even faster than the 05.
I recommend getting an 05 or newer, because they are faster and handle better with the 06 being even faster than the 05.
Originally Posted by Warrtalon
Yes, if you are going to autocross, the FLSD makes a huge difference when powering out of turns. As for the ACD, I don't really know. I know I do very well in both autocrossing and road racing with no suspension mods compared to 03/04s that DO have suspension mods, but it's hard to tell how much of that is driver and how much is the car. The ACD should make a difference, since it kicks in when turning, but I am not experienced enough to feel that difference.
I recommend getting an 05 or newer, because they are faster and handle better with the 06 being even faster than the 05.
I recommend getting an 05 or newer, because they are faster and handle better with the 06 being even faster than the 05.
Good idea as long as you don't mind the lack of creature comforts. If you don't mind, then the 04 RS is a great idea. It's missing the 10.5 and ACD, but at least it has FLSD...
If you plan on modding, get the 03. For the price, you can't beat it. Once you add power, you won't really be able to tell the difference between any of the different years. I can beat a lot of 05's with my 03. That 03 you're looking at only has 13k miles! That's barely broken in. You could probably get it for $21k - $22k.
Check to make sure the heater knob works. Also check the synchros. The unfortunate thing is that the warranty isn't just 36k miles. It's also only three years, so it might be up already. You should check to see if you can purchase an extended warranty.
Check to make sure the heater knob works. Also check the synchros. The unfortunate thing is that the warranty isn't just 36k miles. It's also only three years, so it might be up already. You should check to see if you can purchase an extended warranty.
Last edited by SP00LIN; Jan 22, 2006 at 03:47 PM.
