Hello all,

I am about to buy an EVO with low miles for a decent price. I was wondering if I could get some pre-sale advice as to what to watch for on that car? What are telltale indications of racing, abuse, etc... ? I did drive the car and it seems fine, there seems to be a slight pull to the right, however I am sure it was not involved in a wreck (besides I test drove it on twisty back roads which had very irregular pavement). Furthermore, the Pit Pass does not come with the car, as I was told it is not ransferable. Should I worry about that? What is the average maintenance cost for maintenance, as well as frequency? How strong are the trans/gear box/diffs?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Best regards, Stephane.

PS:I am a long time stick driver (10 year +) and the clutch seemed fine although a little grabby.

 

See if there is another Evo that you can test drive to compare. I almost bought an S4 even though it pulled a bit. I test drove a used one at the dealer and I realized how bad the other one was. I bought a new Evo for the same price.

Also spend the $20 and do a Carfax report.

I'd be suspicious of any used Evo. The used ones were probably repo'd from dumb kids who got overextended trying to buy it. Who's going to take care of a car when they can't make the payments? Find a way to buy a new Evo or buy something else.

 

how many miles is low miles? and if the price is over 25k, u can probably get an evo for less than that..

and do what phillip said and get a carfax report

 

Thanks guys, glad to finally get some feedback!

Well, I am planning on checking the VIN with carfax before going any further.

The price the dealer is asking for is under 25K, and it includes the warranty but not the Pit Pass (why? I don't know)
The car has 5400 miles on it and was purchased in July 03 (although I will verify that claim with carfax). It is really spotless inside and out and... yellow, which is fine by me.

The only mistake I made was to drive it and hopelessly fall in love with the handling and power. truly amazing!!!

By the way, I disagree with all those who feel the evo doesn't have much below 3 to 4K rpms. I thought it was actually torquey in 4rth on back roads of CT.

Any further comments truly appreciated.

Stephane

 

That pull to the right could be just the ADVANs tram-lining. Due to their width, they do that a lot - to either side, although it is typically to the right, depending on how you drive. Try edging the car towards the white line on the right side of the road (inside lane) and see if it seems to start pulling to the left. If it does - that's tram-lining. The tires just follow the dips worn into the lanes from where most everyon places their tires.

Clutches have been a weak spot on some of these cars - does it engage high or low? Could be a sign that it's either used up or was adjusted by the dealership to make up for the loss of clutch material. Good advice from xphil - try to test drive a new one to compare it to.

I'll warn you right now - if you're going to drive it in the snow - you MUST get different tires for it. The ADVANS are outright dangerous in snow and ice.

 

hey stephane- my g/f's lease is up and we talked about getting her another car and selling mine(which is an evo).It may be for sale.. tarmac black no sunroof,carbon fiber wing ,carbon-e brake..about 1100 miles.Im orginally from ct and now reside in vt.Car sits in garage and still has temp plate and never registered.Drop an e mail to rmb20003@yahoo.com with an offer and ill talk to her and see what she says.The car is totally stock.