Hey all,

I've been looking at getting a new Evo, and I've narrowed it down to two options, the primary difference being that one has a lot of custom work done on it, the other does not.

They're selling for relatively the same price, and I don't know what the mods are exactly, but supposedly the previous owner put $20k into it (idk if I believe it, but I don't know enough about Evo mods to question him).

My question is: is it better to buy an Evo that's stock or has had custom work done? I don't know much about cars (let the jokes ensue) so I wouldn't be able to service any problems myself, so is it more expensive to service a car with a bunch of custom mods on it?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

What are you looking to do with the car? Generally I would say buying as close to stock as possible and mod from there. I personally have no problem buying basic bolt on cars simply because that's a little less I have to do since I get board at power levels quickly and spend money to make more.

Also, before you consider a car that has $20k of customness on it... I would get the full blown list of everything done, the shop that did it, ect.. ect.. If the shop was a known and reputable shop I would consider it, if it was all garage done by someone who you have no idea knows what they're doing or not, stay away.

 

As I understand it he did the work himself. I'm just planning on driving the car, I don't care to do any work on it (some would say a waste, I know, but I just want a fun fast car to drive). He traded it into a dealership so I don't have any communication with the previous owner to get the details.

 

I would by the closer to stock one if you're just going to drive it. It will 99.9% of the time have less wear and tear, easier on maintenance, and less problems randomly arising.

 

Buy the stock one. It sucks to have to spend money to fix someone else mistakes.

 

^agreed. fast cars are going to be pretty expensive period tho. labor=$$$$

 

no one wants a car that is a basket case and bandaid fixes... build it yourself so you know its done right

 

where is the car located, maybe someone here will speak up if it is there old car, and that way you will know exactly whats done, who did it...etc

 

If its work "he did himself" and you don't know what he did, you probably want to steer clear. Then again, I am skeptical anytime I hear about someone buying a "stock" Evo. I don't think stock Evo VIII/IXs exist anymore. Most of the time its been modified and/or beat on and then reverted to "stock" to sell.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

I'm located in the Salt Lake valley in Utah.

Some more info on the cars I'm looking at if anyone has any advice:

With mods: 2005 Evo VIII, 48k miles
Without mods: 2004 Evo RS, 44k miles

The thing that makes me nervous about the one without mods is that since it's the RS model, I understand it doesn't have ABS, which is troublesome for winters here (one of the reasons I'm interested in this car is for the AWD in snowy conditions). However, the mods in the '05 do make me nervous...

Also, they're each selling for about $19k, does this seem reasonable? I'll probably have to put it on a 5-year loan to pay for it, which means they'll be 11-12 years old by the time they're paid off and will have around 120k miles on them, assuming 15k miles of driving / yr. Are Evo's known to last this long with relatively minor service issues?

Thanks again for the help everyone, just want to make sure that I'm not shooting myself in the foot to get a car I've drooled over for so long.

 

There are a few out there, mine is a 1 owner and I've never modified it.

But definitely go with a closer to stock one if you're not mechanically inclined and just want a fun car to drive. The dealer is likely bull****ting you anyways and doesn't have a clue what is done to the car

 

If you need a 5-year loan on a $19k car, then maybe you shouldn't be looking at an Evo yet. These cars require regular maintenance on fluids and wear items so be ready to have some flexibility on your budget. My advice, is to save up to when you can easily afford it.

Just my .02 cents.

 

05 VIII with supposidly $20k in mods and only 48k... sounds kind of fishy. I don't research the cars for sale section much but I would imagine a well put together, well running evo with lower miles like that and that much money invested would probably sell for more than $19k

Just my $0.02.

 

Are these fluid and wear items more costly on a regular basis than other cars? The purpose of the 5-year loan is to give my budget some flexibility, but if my standard yearly maintenance costs or going to be $1000+ or if Evos are known to need heavier, expensive maintenance before hitting 120k miles, then yes I may need to look elsewhere.

For the record, I should be getting a salary increase relatively soon that would let me pay off the car in only a couple of years, but I'm not going to count on that when buying the car, hence the 5 year loan plan.

So does anyone have numbers for yearly maintenance costs or information on how often they require heavy service issues that are costly?

 

tranny and diff fluids are a bit costly but you only change that every 15k. other than the regular oil changes the clutch is the next typical thing that will need to be replaced. i would suggest the abs since you live where there is heavy snow. i would suggest going to the regional forums there is probably an evo club in your area. they could probably help you checkout the cars you are looking at.