well your best bet before you buy the car imo, take it to a shop you trust have them do whats called a PMI, which is a Preventative Maintenance Inspection, even though it may only have 8k miles on it, certain rubber parts will go out due to heat time etc. I own an 03 VIII myself, and certain rubber parts have worn out on it, make sure the interior looks as the 03 did, another way to determine if its been messed with is looking underneath the engine bay, make sure the skid plate is still there etc. All vacuum lines underhood are still connected, and i would recommend it if it has no more then a catback intake and or boost controller with boost gauge.
Good luck, btw I bought my 03 with 39k on it 4 years ago, and other then a #3 cylinder and turbo went bad, everything else has been upgrades or maintenance on fluids struts brakes etc. But that PMI will have a mechanic check it, dont have the dealer techs check it sometimes they intentionally overlook stuff.

 

600 miles in 2 years? Let's do some math. There's 52 weeks a year, meaning 104 weeks in 2 years, 600 miles means this car was driven on average 5 miles per weekend for 2 years. Most likely it had extended periods of sitting around doing nothing.

You can take an Evo to a mechanic, but Evos are complex beasts, and not all problems are obvious. Electronic differentials, high tech all wheel drive systems, and many Evo-only components, they should at least be well versed in Evos.

Like any used car, you are rolling the dice - it might be a perfectly fine functioning car. All you can do is take it to a independent mechanic, get it inspected, thoroughly test it during the test drive (I'd recommend driving at least 50+ miles) and make a decision.

 

The only thing I would wonder is what are they selling the EVO for. This could help the advice you are receiving.

 

It's at a Mitsu dealer... I also found out that they bought it at Manheim auction for $26k! So, they're already losing on it... Been for sale a while now, & they've dropped from $26,990 to $25,090... Still too much IMO!

 

Thanks!

I believe it to be in 100% original condition.... But, it really seems like this was an old man's car or something.. Who barely drove it, then keeled over one day, & finally after the estate was settled they auctioned it off, lol!

But, I bought an '03 new back in '04, drove it 42k miles in 2 years until the clutch started to go, then traded it on a new '06 MR. Subsequently was forced to unload the MR 7 months later w/18k miles (lost $10k!) So, I can't fathom owning an Evo & not driving it!

 

well it happens very easy..not with evo's,it happens with all cars it just depends on the previous owners...we can expect a car with 8k miles to have 5 owners..

 

sorry for the stupid question...but the mileage is stored on the ECU too right?so take it the dealer and have them checked..

 

OK. I understand. Well, if that is still too much for you, then you might want to find one for sale on here that can be vouched for.

 

Low mileage doesnt mean It wasnt started regularly either. Maybe it belonged to someone in the military who was deployed? My friends car ( not evo) has very low mileage because hes been away for the past six years with the Marines. His father starts it for him and warms it up regularly. Maybe this car went through something similar. Just get it checked out like others have said.

 

Yeah... The real issue is I can't really finance the '03.... I have super credit, so a local credit union will do a loan on an 8-year old car. But I'd have to open an acct, & interest isn't great. So, I'd be looking at paying outright.

...not to mention I paid just over $27k back in '04 for my '03 viii new. (even if 27k = 33k today factoring for inflation )

 

It's unlikely there is any damage to the car with that few miles on it. It probably needs all of its fluids changed and new tires just because its probably been sitting for ages. The car mechanically and interior are probably mint. It was probably owned by a guy who hardly ever drove it (weekend car) and then died/went bankrupt and it got auctioned off. Because of the price people are trying to get for it, its likely people just haven't picked it up.

You said in the other thread that you don't want to ever mod it, and its RARE to find an Evo that hasn't been modded with at least bolt-ons. I think you should test drive it, get the dealership to pay for the fluid changes (and tires if they are dry rotted) and buy it.

 

At 21K miles, my stock Advans have 3/32 tread left on them. Never launched but I do take corners hard.

You should also check if the 8 you're talking about is still on original/stock clucth. If you have OCD like me , have a compression and leak down tests done as well. Better be sure than get ripped off again and peace of mind is priceless.

Good luck!

 

I'm looking at an 03 with 13.5k miles right now, so I'm in the same boat as you are. What is making me comfortable with it and likely about to purchase it is the fact that the owner explained exactly why the miles are so low and offered to have a mechanic of my choice look over any and everything on the car.

 

The guy got sick and quit driving - it happens. If Carfax says one owner you have a sweet machine.

 

Is this the BBY VIII? i thought it sold last week on EBAY for $22.2k?
It's still around?