You're reading me all wrong. I don't think my Honda comes anywhere close to the Evo in performance. I just know it has fulfilled its goal perfectly. In 2001 when I bought it I was looking for a daily driver that I would put a lot of mileage on and still enjoy driving.

Now I am looking for primarily a performance car, a manual transmission, and yet still a car I can drive fairly-comfortably every day. Maybe such a car doesn't exist. I know the Evo would be it if it had the build quality and interior design to live up to its $30k pricetag. I'm sure it performs like a champ.

My angst is at Mitsu for having ****ty dealership service departments that i see many of you sadly having to deal with, and for putting such a tempting car in front of me that I have such a hard time convincing myself to part with the money for.

Who knows, maybe I will convince myself to just go for it and maybe my car won't have the weak clutch, the 5th gear grind, ****ty paint, or interior build quality problems. Maybe I'll get a Wednesday car or whatever the preferred build day is.

But after past car experiences I've learned to take forums like these with more than a grain of salt and to think twice before ignoring possible problem areas, lest I be sorry later AND broke.

 

Mitsubishi service does suck. I have a clear alignment problem and the damn service guy kept stressing that "it's a rally car." WTF does that have to do with it? Are rally cars supposed to be misaligned out of factory specs or something?

(ps - avoid Gillman Mitsubishi of north Houston)

 

I think one of the cool things about the Evo is that it's great as a daily driver, and it's also really fun to drive like it's meant to be driven.

And I totally don't understand people complaining about the cheap interior. Except of course those who have things peeling off or sagging or whatever, but I don't think many of us have that. I don't spend a lot of time fondling the dashboard, so I could give a **** less whether it's made of leather or cheapish plastic. I really only touch the excellent seats & steering wheel. I think the car is very comfortable and it has a really nice "feel" to it, so I drive it as much as possible. I think it's just generally very easy to drive, so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it as a daily driver.

And what's the deal with Mitsu dealers anyway? Why are they supposedly worse than say Honda dealers in general? No personal experience, but this is what most people seem to be saying. I have no experience with my Mitsu dealer yet, but I can tell you that my local Honda dealer sucks ***. Only dealt with them for motorcycle issues though, but they seem to have no idea what they're doing.

 

(above) Yah what he said. A dealer is a dealer. Some have great employees who like their cars and like keeping their customers and others just want to sell cars and never see you again. I don't know if this helps, but when I bring my Audi TT to the dealer for its service checks, there are still good and not so good dealers for Audis too. If you go to many other forums you'll see many car owners of many different brands have major issues with their dealers. It shouldn't suprise you. If you are lucky enough to have a couple Mitsu dealers around you check them all out. See if they all suck or maybe one just sucks less than the other. It is not just Mitsubishi dealers that suck. If someone that drives a Honda, Chevy, Subaru, Audi, Kia ect say their dealers are great, more than likely they are lucky to have a good relationship with their dealer or lucky enough to have a good dealership where they live. but more than likely there are 2 other crappy dealerships out there for that one good dealership of any make. my $.02.......

 

OK, maybe I am.... It's just that you came across rather harshly and your signature says you drive a Honda.... No problem, if you say you are not flaming, I accept it


Maybe a car as you describe does not exist.... At least not in the under $80K price range... All kidding aside, I too want a car like that but the reality of it is that such performance comes at a price or at the cost of certain compromises......


The big problem with is that their QC is just not as good as Honda's of Toyota.... Frankly my experience with Honda dealers and service people has been very disappointing. As long as all they do to the car is change the oil, they are OK, but when I really needed expertise and service they failed miserably. I took my Integra GSR to the dealer for service and they proved to be as inept and ineffective as the worst shade tree mechanic...... I promise you that if the Hondas or Toyotas were not so well made, the service and warranty work would be a nightmare as bad or worse than anything can dish out....


I totally agree with you on this, I've learned to take these forums with a pound of salt.... My education has been relatively costly
It's true that Hondas are very well made but in reality, even the highly touted German cars have their share of problems. My EVO has been quite reliable and well made (up 'til now anyway). The criticism of the interior quality is totally underserved. IMHO, the quality of the interior is at par with most cars and better than many. So far nothing in my car is falling apart and it seems to run well. The noise and harsh ride are to be expect from a barely tamed rally car. In actuality, the car is remarkably comfortable for long trips (I drove it to Miami and back from N.Georgia and it was great). Maybe I'm getting careless with my $$, but I think for under $30K the EVO is very difficult to beat.

 

I completely agree with you as well. My last 2 cars were Hondas and I hold the nameplate in very high regard. I even had a great relationship with a local dealer service department -- but as we know, Honda does not offer an Evo type of vehicle - probably due to reliability concerns. Toyota dropped the All-Trac line from the American market, because of the potential for lowered reliability. Personally, the next vehicle in my household with be an Acura. The service of a particular dealer in this area is actually quite good.

I did struggle with purchasing a Mitsubishi. I wouldn't say that it's a "3rd-tier" brand, but not necessarily at the peak of reliability either. My experience with some American brands will prevent me from ever owning another one of those, and perhaps, Mitsubishi now too. The fact still remained the Evo is a superior design at a reasonable price. Don't get me wrong, $30k is a lot of money, so certain expectations WILL be met. The interior is nicely designed, but poorly implemented. The broken parts are getting fixed, and I enjoy the comfort when things work.

I also don't want people to run away from buying an Evo. I have one of the first to have been shipped, and the first one to roll off the truck in the Kansas City area. I waited for this car for a long time, and had a deposit in for many months. So, with it being of the first, is it reasonable to expect problems? I say maybe - but not so many.

I talked to the dealer today. I guess a technician from MITSUSA will be coming in to look at the car Monday to compare and contrast existing problems. The check engine code was apparently an oxygen-sensor problem. The tech will inspect that as well. That's a comfort, I suppose.

I guess the lesson learned so far is that this is Mitsubishi's most expensive car, and so a certain level of service should be expected. NO one should be fed lines that this is "just" a rally car, and certain specs aren't reasonable. That's BS - it's a street car with a warranty, and by law, every owner is entitled to reliable performance.

Evo 2003.5

 

I know what you mean. There are many EVO's out there with 0 problems and there are EVO's with a number of them. But I think if you compare the ratio of problems to no problems, in my opinion, i believe that the no problems will be substantially higher. This ratio, i might add, is the ratio of all the EVOs sold not just the EVO's on this site.

You were unfortunate to have had an EVO with these problems but there are some EVOs that are working just fine. My gf's BMW is 3 years old and she drives it fine but everything seems like its just coming apart from interior pieces to body moldings. She paid well over $30K. There are some BMW's though that have 0 problems.

I don't understand how most Mitsu dealerships have but service. Is it the highering methods or just there policy to higher uneducated and ignorent people?

 

Evo2003.5,
Where in Kansas city do you take your car for service? Is is the McCarthy in Olathe...I have had real bad experience with them and will never buy a car again from them.
I think we have enough Evo`s in Kansas city for a meet .....atleast b4 winter is here....

 

Yeah, it was McCarthy. I may be going to Northtowne to get further service done. McCarthy also tried to give me a bad deal on my used car when I traded - I sold the car on my own and got $4300 more for it than what they would've given me. (I had 2 car payments for a while, but it was well worth it). I may be writing a letter to on my experiences.

Evo 2003.5

 

Since the EVO is not a daily driver according to that dealer, I should tell the doctor that works here not to bring in his ferrari(which is his daily driver)!!!!!

 

I don't understand why people that does not own an evo keeps on *****ing about not willing to spend 30k on it. They want smooth rides, nice interior, performance, etc. The evo cost 30k because it is all performance!!!! If you want nice interiors, smooth rides and performance..you won't be paying only 30k!!! The only reason you are able to get if for 30k is because they decided to sacrafice the other stuff for the performance. Otherwise you could pay 50k or more for a M3....that has everything you want but the price! Also, don't compare it to other cars with the same price and say is better quality. They may have better other "stuff" but can they perform like the evo???!!! Because that's where mitsu put there money in. So why not ask another stupid question like why doesn't the other cars that have all the other better "stuff" perform better.

 

I think even for its performance the price is still alittle to high, i love the evo its #1 on my next car to buy list. I think if mitsu would have focused alil more on the interior people wouldnt make comments like that. I love the two-tone, but i haven't had the chance to test it as a daily driver(YET). People are just looking for M3 power and interior for a 20k less which is never going to happen. If they dont like it just go for 01M3 which is realy hard to find even at 35K.

 

great car, no problems. almost 6k miles. my car was out of alignment and the front tires were cupping at 2500 mi. i asked them to change the oil while it was there, i was expecting a bill for the oil change but they didn't charge me because of the alignment and tire wear. so far nothing but good vibes from my dealer.