hey guys/gals. I own a 2002 s2000 and now that there is finally a more raw car on the market, I am thinking about switching to an evo. I was at the dealership yesterday, but they want almost $200 more a month for a car that stickers at $5k less. That is an obstacle, but I am still thinking about an evo. One question I had was concerning mods. Are there any factory-backed, power-increasing mods that will not void my warranty (ralliart, etc)? Also, can you perform these mods (if they exist) on a leased car? My other obstacle is concerning insurance costs. I tried to check rates on geico.com, but the evo isnt listed. For those of you who own an evo, do your premiums reflect the evo's lancer econobox roots, or its turbo-monster WRC side?

Thanks.

 

I can only answer you about the insurance costs. I had my S2000 last year and now I'm paying 40% less for my EVO. The premium is even lower than my automatic IS300.

 

The reason your payments will be so much higher, is that they're probably rolling in a TON of negative equity from your S2000. I can pretty much guarentee, unless you put a HUGE amount down when you bought it, that it isn't worth nearly what you paid for it.

Most simple mods, like exhausts, intakes, etc won't void your warranty. Ralliart is bringing a lot of performance stuff over when the Ralliart Lancer (not as good as the Evo) comes this fall.

I'm guessing that most anything you want to do, won't be a good idea on an Evo. And last time I checked, leasing an Evo wasn't a good solution, it is almost less expensive to just outright buy it.

Insurance on the Evo will be a little higher than a 2003 WRX, so spec that out if you want a good guess. Insurance will reflect the price of the car, more than anything. They're insuring a $30,000 car.

 

If you go with Geico, they cover modded cars with their mechanical breakdown coverage! Geico will list your car as a Lancer OZ Rally, but will insure you for an Evolution. I made sure that they would cover me in case something happened. I'm picking my red Evo up tomorrow for $31,250 after everything, with sunroof, spoiler, floor mats, and wheel locks! I coulda had a silver one for $31k walkout, but I opted red at a different dealer.

 

Wrx and Evo insurance are very close. Intake and cat-back is all you can do to not void warranty. I hope chip soon.