Whoo boy, I couldnt come up with the right term, and now my "quality control" got handed back to me lol
What I really meant to say was that, of course what youll see are complaints, and not praises (obviously if it was perfect youll be out having too much fun to be posting anyway haha). But NO ONE can deny that surely there are a number of issues with the car, and it was certainly more than I had expected, despite the fact that it is a performance car.
My real gripe is the customer relations. Having gone to a number of dealers, they do not seem to be very erm... cooperative, which will probably be a similar case should I have problems with the car afterwards. And issues like the paint are undeniable. Others, clutch and whatnot, are more ambiguous. Arguably, for every 1 complaint, theres probably 30 or 40 happy owners.
For instance, I was actually filling the paperwork down at Anahiem Mitsu two weeks ago. When I inquired about the scratches on the paint, they actually denied coverage. On the sticker, they promised some Paint Protection package, which was originally negotiated into the final total, then they claimed it was not at all. VERY SHADY, I walked out immediately, total BS. My dealings with other dealers have been similar.
Its just that, I feel as though the Evo, once its off the lot, no longer has any bearing on the dealer or the Mitsu corp. Basically, the warranty is bull****, something I had planned on riding out before. Dont advertise the warranty if your dealers aren't willing to fulfill them.
The reason I mentioned the 04s is that hopefully the dealers wont be so ****-in-the-mouth about the evos, they need to face the fact that its not selling as hot as they make it out to be. If Mitsu Corp wants to improve their image, they need their dealers to stop treating their customers like 3rd rate garbage.
And for those who think people should suck it up and not complain about REAL problems with the car, then you should really get your head checked. Theres a difference between whining about rock chips and dealers refusing to cover your ***, after they admitted to abusing your evo before you bought it.

AND finally, NOWHERE did i say I planned on jumping STi wagon. I'm still pretty ticked, but I'm not stupid
*still searching*

 

AHHHHHH Please tell me your kidding!!! If you're not, someone body grab these feller and hog tie him. Get him to the nearest road racing circuit and don't let him out alive! Or until he's run at least 20 laps!

 

How many dealerships have you had interactions with? I've had 4. 2 very very friendly, thorough and willing to serve, 1 a total joke, and the other just brief dealings becuase I was just perusing, and the salesman was a total bafoon who kept spouting junk, until I said quite rudely, "Shut the hell up, I'm not buying a car today, and certinaly not here any other day, becuase you failed to comprehend when I told you I am just looking and would appreciate just looking at the car without interruption" I'll always remember his reaciton of utter shock. And hopefully he'll still be there when I swing back by sometime in the future in a friends Evo, my brothers, or my own and ask So how much commision did you lose out on for being a loud mouth *** who can't listen....

Great to hear so many owners are enjoying their cars as they should be!

 

I love my Evo. It's the greatest car I have ever owned.

--Dan
Mach V
MachEVO.com

 

I second what Dan said. And James (the gentlemen that sold us the car) goes out of his way to talk to us whenever we are at the dealership. He was sitting there selling another car to someone and briefly walked over to us to say hello and ask about the car then returned to the other guy.

And my Evo does have a paint problem, but it is presently being addressed. We spoke to the District Mgr (who was an *** to my wife, but changed his tune when I arrived, which totally ticked her off) and he took pics and was going to contact quality control and see if any other issues were brought up. So currently, we are waiting on a response back from them.

Other than that, 4500 miles and loving every step. Only part I didn't like was the breakin period. ::

 

well of course!! I'm waiting for someone to post they got into an accident and everyone wants to sue mitsubishi for front end's falling off!!

evo 03 owner, NO PROBLEMS at all... not a single one. and i drive my car hard and fast.

 

I love mine to death. If I had to chose between my Evo and my left nut, I think I would pick my Evo (I don't use my nuts for anything, I can deal with just one). THere have been no problems with my car at all. Perfect drive, no decell buzz, no shifter grind, no clutch slip......I think the majority of the flaws with the Evo are behind the steering wheel. Of course, if you modify a car, don't expect the stock clutch to hold up. If you beat on the transmission, you need to get a dog box. I don't know what modifications I need to do in order to get the paint up to road worthiness. Perhaps I should never drive in Virginia again.

The only real complaint I have was the way Mitsubishi came out and said "Go forth and modify" when the car first came out....Now they are saying "Go forth and modify.....but give us back the warranty."

That is just lame. I was told an aftermarket CBV would void my entire drivetrain warranty. This was by Mitsu of Notrh Maerica, not by the dealer/salesperson/district manager/whoever else.

Josh

 

Your wrong, I, like many others here, have had zero problems to date with my car. My clutch is fine, I don't notice any more rust than any of my other cars(Toyota, Acura). Is the paint perfect, no, but after several hours with polish and many coats of wax, I am happy with it, and I am picky. What exactly is the big issue? My only problem was that the Aluminum fenders were a little rough, but that was surface dirt, and polished right off.

I see, so with the introduction of the unchanged 04 model the dealer you don't like will miraculously have a change in attitude?

Quit trolling, and shut-up or put-up. If you don't like the Evo, fine, but don't come here and imply all sorts of problems you have no knowledge of as a non-owner. Haven't you learned yet to take everything you read on the internet with about 8 grains of salt. Notice that many of the "problems" are all happening with the same peoples cars. That should tell you something.

 

Please dont flame me! I am one of the few that has had problems. My clutch went out under 5000 miles. I do love this car and I wouldnt hesitate to recommend it to a new buyer. Well maybe I would hesitate a little, cause I do like having one of only a handful of in my area. My only question is if there are so few of us having problems why wont mitsu stand behind their product and help us out?
Before you all tell me I dont know how to drive and all that other BS. I must say you havent driven with me so please give me the benifit of doubt. This is my first brand new car and I do baby the **** out of it!

 

No issues here...the car runs perfect.

 

We're not going to flame you for that. One of the first things I do for anyone who asks me "what should be my first modification?" is tell them to go to a pro driving school...No matter what kind of car they drive. I would have went to one before now, but I have spent the last four years in Puerto Rico. I just recently got back to the US, just in time to pick up my Evo 8 with (get this) 8 miles on the odometer.

Even though you can probably drive well, you can always drive better. I have owned 2 cars before the Evo that also had 4G63 motors and all wheel drive in them, and I still need to get used to the Evo even more. I baby my car, too. I don't get on the gas before the clutch is fully extended, never launch, never grind, never "speed shift" - which is stupid to try on a car with synchros, never decel without it being in gear, etc., etc.. Me and a friend of mine are actually going to a pro driving school in a few months, just for the hell of it (Knight_Redwolf on this forum).

Oh well...what can I say. Maybe your car was raped before you got it and there is no way to prove it. I would hope not, but what can you do?

Josh

 

This is why the EVO took so long to get here, and probably why it wont last long in its current form. American car buyers are a different breed. Did you know over 52% percent of people surveyed in the U.S. took into account cupholder amount, size and location before choosing their vehicle? The EVO is a steetable race car that pulls no punches. Sound deadening is lacking. Trim is not on level with other $30,000 cars. Paint (as on most Japanese cars) is not of the best quality. But what it does have is performance that almost no one can touch for the money. Mitsu held off so long with the EVO because it thought (probably correctly) that the masses in the U.S. car buying public would not accept the short comings as tradeoffs for its massive performance potential. And that is what we are seeing here. Nit picky crap. Surface rust on a bracket underneath the bumper is something I wouldnt even care to think about, let alone ***** about or let stop me from buying a car.

Heres my point, you as a customer with the money has every right to be picky about anything you want. You do not have to buy the EVO, or any other car for that matter. Its one perk of being a customer. But next time when Mitsu decides not to release a performance oriented model in the U.S., you have no right to criticize their decision. There are many people on this board who have bent over backwards to get their EVO, and are very happy with their purchase. I remember awhile back there were rumors that Mitsu might not even offer a warranty on the car at all. Im sure even that would not have stoped the die hard fans. Im not criticizing anyone for their comments or thoughts, but realize that if/when the EVO becomes watered down for the U.S. market, its opinions like these that led them to it.

Oh an as far as quality goes, my girlfriend has a 2001 BMW 325 XI sedan. and in one year a strut blew and a trailing arm got bent, for no reason. (No pot holes were hit, curbs ramped, etc) Cars are complex systems and even the best system can have something go wrong.

 

Exactly right! They are not stupid, they know that a good many car owners here don't know how to drive, and think stop light draggin is big fun. The Evo does not fit with the typical American ideals of what a car "should" be. I am sure some people have genuine warranty claims or issues that need to be resolved. Is this any different than any other car; no. Look at the Toyota Celica as an example of a similar scenario. I have a 2000, which does not hit the limiter until 8350 RPM. In 2001, they dropped the limit to 7800. Why, well according to a Toyota engineer I happened to work with last year, it was because a bunch of idiot kids that didn't know how to drive were blowing the engines and expecting Toyota to rebuild them. Now was it a bad engine design, no way, was it poor driving skills, all the way. They wrongfully assumed U.S. drivers would have the intelligence to drive the car properly, but instead they were bouncing off the limiter in first gear taking off on their fast and furious racing. All cars are mechanical devices, and will have problems, even more so if they are driven hard or worse yet driven poorly.

 

bunch of ****ing whiners...

the only issue i've had with my car is the brakes and the dealer has been more than helpful in my situation... well, not more than helpful... it's their job...

the car is loud, raucous, and not a comfy ride... if you think this car is a daily driver, you are SADLY MISTAKEN... if you don't have another mode of transportaion DO NOT BUT AN EVO...!

This is why i went out and bought a '00 VW 1.8T to tool around in... it's nice to not be abused while driving your car...

 

I have had my EVO for four months and over 4000 miles with 0 problems, 0 rust, 0 clutch slip, etc., etc. I don't baby it. I have run through the gears pulling 7000rpms on many occasions. (which I might point out the sales manager had me do on a test drive with a blue by you version) Grow up and make your own decisions. You sound like a scared little child. This is one of the finest and best performance cars in the world for the money. Drive it wrong and stupid, it will break - don't take care of it and it will rust. While I think Mitsu is a mile off base on their warranty position since they designed the car to race, but you can understand that many people will do some of the stupid things like overrevving, over boosting, etc. and then claim they were driving to the grocery store. If you want the car buy it, otherwise buy a Honda Accord.