I think it really depends on your location and the demand on the vehicle in your area.

Here in the San Francisco bay area, 03 Evos with about 30K miles sell for $22-24K. Not bad considering they were $30K new and 3 years old. A dealer will probably give you less than that if you trade it in though.

 

Here are some listings in Ca

2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $30,988 13,672 Victorville Mitsubishi Sedan Silver 109 mi.
2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $30,888 30,053 Reno Mazda & Kia Sedan White 368 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $30,800 21,559 Southcoast Mitsubishi Sedan Gray 82 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $30,750 -- Lewisville Mitsubishi Sedan Black 1,279 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $30,750 -- Lewisville Mitsubishi Sedan Silver 1,279 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR $30,390 8,450 Individual Seller Sedan Gray 73 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $29,999 10,105 Max Madsen Mitsubishi Sedan Red 1,766 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR $29,997 19,000 Montecito Motors Sedan Graphite Gray 32 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $29,995 6,744 Orlando's Auto Specialists, Inc. Sedan Black 2,252 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution MR $29,990 12,351 CAL - Wholesale Prices To The Public Sedan Apex Silver Met... 334 mi.
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $29,974 19 Victorville Mitsubishi Sedan Black 109 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $29,895 14,130 Grava Chrysler Jeep Mitsubishi Sedan White 2,634 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII $29,850 3,000 Trend Imports Sedan Black 940 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $29,800 18,352 Southcoast Mitsubishi Sedan White 82 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $29,722 4,472 Herb Chambers Honda Sedan Black 2,633 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution VIII $28,999 3,060 San Rafael Mitsubishi Sedan Black 319 mi.
2006 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,995 4,108 Cars 4 U Grey 45 mi.
2004 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,995 20,452 Kirkwood Mitsubishi Sedan Black 1,624 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,995 11,532 Rosen Nissan Kia Suzuki Sedan Blue 1,782 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,995 11,034 Van Dyn Hoven Imports Sedan Blue 1,774 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,995 7,658 Jeff D'Ambrosio Dodge Mitsubishi Suzuki Sedan Silver 2,410 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,993 -- Auto Finance Specialists Sedan Tarmac Black Pe... 161 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,988 20,767 Southcoast Mitsubishi Sedan White 82 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,988 4,520 Puente Hills Mitsubishi Sedan Black 74 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,988 14,000 Classified Ad Sedan Silver 68 mi.
2005 Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution $28,988 14,999 Freeway Mitsubishi

 

When I looked at trading my car (03 with 30,000 miles) they were going to give me $21,000. I was getting the new car at employee pricing so there wasn't too much room for them to screw there.

I think it definitely depends on the area of the country you live in.

 

Best thing to do is call a Mitsu dealer and ask what they will buy yours for. We had an 05 with SSL package and couldn't give it away at $24.5k (last Oct) and it went to the auction for $22,800. On an EVO, figure 5 grand back of wholesale book. If your area is getting book or book plus, tell me what dealer so I can help a buddy unload his 8 for a 9.

 

i'm pretty sure the evo won a consumer award for retaining the most value as a used car

 

Edmunds.com has a section when you browse new cars that shows the estimated depreciation. Not saying its right but its probably just as good as anyone here guessing.

 

great thanks, i have been looking for something like that. where on edmunds can i find that though

 

http://www.edmunds.com/new/2006/mits...30522/cto.html

Just pull up reviews on a car and click on true cost to own and resale values.

 

now is that saying that an evo will have depreciated by 22,000 after 5 years? thats a lot more than i would have expected and that doesnt seem the case now. and according to this, an 03 evo will depreciate another 5 grand in 2 years? http://www.edmunds.com/used/2003/mit...65337/cto.html

 

It is saying in 5 years the total depreciation will be $10,500. So if the car stickered at $30,000 it will be worth an estimated $19,500 when it is 5 years old.

 

if u look at Yodobashi's link, that shows a new evo and how much it would depreciate-22,000 in 5 years. the link i showed, is if u buy an 03 now, that it would depreciare 10,000 more in 5 years.

 

it's all about supply and demand, later down the road there won't be that many VIII's and IX's since they were only sold here for 4 years, and i think the value will stay pretty high. not everyone listens to kelley and NADA. look at mk IV supras, made for about 6 years, blue book of under 18,000, and people sell them constantly for mid 20's with over 100K miles on em'. it's all about supply and demand.

 

This is very true, KBB on Supra's is WAY off from what the really go for. The thing to keep in mind is edmunds and KBB usualy rely on dealers and what they report for resale of used cars to arrive at these projected figures. One other thing that could have a large impact on VIII and iX values is how well (or bad) the X turns out. There have been some cases where new models end up not meeting market and consumer demand driving up the value on its predacesor. This has happened in recent times with BMW and some of there less well recived newer designs. A similar effect has also happened with the new mustang. The 05 was so hard to get it was beging to drive up the value on all of the older mustangs as well. This has senes cooled now that more of the new stang are on the market. I share this just to prove a point. In short it all comes down to suply and demand.

 

You are right it did win in its class for the second year in a row (2004, 2005). There is a post on it somewhere around here.

 

will dealers 'buy' your evo back in certain cases? i doubt the 2 closest to me in NW IN will buy mine b/c they're never in stock!