Hi I'm shopping my for my second car right now. I went to a Honda dealership and was shopping for a civic si coupe, but this WW Evo caught my eye. It has 88k miles on the dash and it costs 20k. I wanted a civic si for mpg and fun, but this Evo has so many miles I don't know if I want a high mileage turboed car.

What are the most common problems for VIII MR's, and are these cars reliable? I'm pretty sure the insurance rate is going to be high for me since I'm 17.

 

Obviously, the cars are in two different classes. You know this. But as far as a high mileage Evo, these cars can be just as reliable as anything else if they are taken care of. The trouble is, you don't know the history of this car and 88k is an awful lot of unknown history.

Things to look out for: any sign of modification/demodification, clutch wear, transfer case issues/whine, transmission problems (especially on the MR). Others will add to this list.

 

both will be fun cars and i cant see a huge difference in what the insurance will be for both cars... evo is better lookin though imo... and more street cred haha

 

compression test

 

Thats what I'm scared, I know most evo's are usually beaten to hell.

 

Dude, EVO my god


AWD > FWD any day of the week.

 

Evo...however...your insurance is easily going to be at least $4000-5000 a year full coverage if you are the primary driver

 

you can get an evo with a lot less miles for the same price if you look around a bit more. Evo is def the way to go

 

as far as performance, its a no brainer...


but you're also 17 - do you have the budget to afford all the maintenance and repairs associated with a possibly abused Evo? do you have money for insurance + payments + a new transmission clutch and transfer case?

 

I'm paying for the car, my parents are paying for my insurance. I can pay for the maintenance for minor issues, but if it is major then its a different story.

 

unless you know a bunch of evo guys in the area that are willing to help you out, if there is anything wrong with the car - the dealer is going to take you for all your worth, and make you sorry you ever bought an Evo. buyer beware is what i say.

if you do a compression test - you can be pretty sure the engine is fine, the transmission and transfer case are another story though. $$$$

 

i would get the civic. i was 18 when i got my evo, and i love it, but with school and whatnot, its just so much to keep. evo=$$$$$ civic is obviously a cheaper car to have. if i could go back.... i would still get the evo. lol

 

I would suggest the civic if you're only 17. Not only is the evo a lot of car for a young driver but it's expensive to maintain properly especially if you start to modify it. What's going to happen when you want to move out but have a car that costs a small fortune to maintain, repair, insure, etc? Moreover, at this point in your life, you don't need performance, you need reliability, safety and fuel efficiency. Wait until your old enough to pay for the entire car (including insurance and bills) before you go for a sports car.

 

I'm almost 30 - and i have a decent salaried job, and i still think the Evo costs too much. *shrugs* i have no idea how some of these young guns can afford the maintenance + mods.

 

Take someone with you that knows how to talk to the dealer (assuming the Evo is at the dealer). Look for everything you can that will need to be replaced/fixed to make the car mint or close to it. Look the car over very good and do a long (as long as possible some places allow over the weekend) test drive on it. After looking the car over well you should be able to talk them down even as much as 5k or more.

Being 17 though you’re ins. Is going to be a killer, hopefully you do not have many points or none at all on your DL. Payments should not be too bad and though somewhat expensive parts not too bad either if you do as much labor as you can by yourself.

Definitely I would chose Evo over the Si for every reason there is accept for warranty, though you can get after market car warranties that will cover most everything on your car. Some cover everything from your turbo to the windshield wiper motors and AC.

Ultimately the choice is yours and what you like the most. If you just can’t decide though flip a coin .

Raist