School me
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From: RI
Before I go any further, let me say THANK YOU. I am a member of a ton of forums and I usually dont post much because they are filled with douches. You guys are informative and HELPFUL. Anyway...
You will have PM shortly!
Preventative maintenance I have no problem with, my BMW needs a fair amount as well. Its the constant breaking that im sick of, I've been through 4 radiators(made of some crappy grade of plastic), 3 fans, countless control arms and sway bar end links, secondary air pump, vanos seals....the list is never ending lol I see you track your car hopefully i can get mine on the track as well!
I agree! Luckily My business is two miles away from my home, so I wont have to sit in traffic very often. I wont miss the luxury of the BMW and living in New England I wont miss the rear wheel drive. You are right 90% of the evos i see for sale have been modded, Ill be certain to have it checked before i buy it.
This is good to hear!
I'm only 5'11 and my daughter is turning 2 so may not be too bad for me.
lolol If my wife gets her way ill have 2 back there before i know it!
Feel free to bring any Evo your looking to buy to the shop we will can give it a look over if needed. Main thing we find with people buying Evo's is the previous owner didn't change the trans, tcase, and diff fluid as much as should be. We pull the plugs and the fluid is black as coal. Tough to check but its worth knowing if they kept up on it.
Reliability is relative.
If you want a car that can go 200K miles with minimal service then probably NO.
Within 120K miles I've had to replace the clutch, rebuilt transfer case, rebuilt rear-diff, changed brake pads 4 times and rotors twice, tires about every 6 months, new timing belt and tensioner, and replace the radiator that was leaking.
Then, at 123K miles, the motor blew up.
Of course I do drive it like I stole it so that probably has something to do with it.
If you want a car that can go 200K miles with minimal service then probably NO.
Within 120K miles I've had to replace the clutch, rebuilt transfer case, rebuilt rear-diff, changed brake pads 4 times and rotors twice, tires about every 6 months, new timing belt and tensioner, and replace the radiator that was leaking.
Then, at 123K miles, the motor blew up.
Of course I do drive it like I stole it so that probably has something to do with it.
I'll just add a few points/counterpoints.
1. Evo's are reliable in the sense that it's a Japanese car with a motor that's incredibly old, and well sorted. They don't have "major" problems, but a reliable car... I wouldn't call it that necessarily. Reason being... it's an economy car with homogation roots. The idea behind it is, you're buying a wolf in sheeps clothing. Everything works very very well if it's maintained, as has been mentioned... but there is, quite a lot of maintenance.
That said, there are a number of Evo's with EXTREMELY high mileage. Like... higher than the mileage on my 87 Volvo 240 high. So that's a testament. But it WILL cost you money to keep it running in good shape, and MANY Evo owners slack on maintenance simply because the cars prices now are coming down, which avails them to the masses, but few people realize what it actually COSTS to own an Evo day to day. So things get skimped on, or rigged, and well...
2. The space and functionality of the Evo is great. Back seat has tons of room because of the Recaros, and I've DRIVEN my car across the country (from east coast to Pikes Peak for the hillclimb) with plenty of comfort. That said, a GT car it is not. No cruise, punchy accel, and drone made it challenging. But I never worried about it's reliability (because I do all my own work).
I'll be honest though, I wouldn't call it a great DD. While many will tout the inherent weakness of the OEM clutch, I'll disagree, but add that the Evo's have possibly one of the worst clutch mechanisms I've encountered. And I'm a long time Mitsu guy. So it IS a very difficult car to drive smooth, and of course... that coupled with the indiscretion of youth, and you end up with the stock clutch having a bad rap. To qualify that, I just swapped my stock clutch out, and I'm just under 60k. I also track my car, and launch it. I'm sure you can find plenty of other threads where I'm touting how most Evo's are "over clutched".
3. EVERY Evo has been driven like hell. If they say it's stock, never modified. They're lying. If they say it's never been launched, they're lying. Whatever they say... they're lying. That said... I'm not so sure why it's BAD that a car that's meant to be hooned around a WRC stage gets hooned on the street, or *gasp* run at the track? So long as the proper maintenance is being done, which it typically is if it's a track person... the car should be fine. BUT... you NEED to do your due diligence. My car for example, was originally tracked (in full weighted trim), but the second owner... god love him, made a few poor choices. He had only owned it for a handful of miles, and I was quick to service out, and repair all of his "trial and error", and the car is a fine example of the breed. But you should be aware that buying an Evo is definitely going to be tricky, because you'll end up with someone elses project. And you NEVER buy someone elses project.
Anyway... not trying to sound all doom and gloom, but the Evo is not a Porsche, or a BMW. It's a Japanese econobox with the drivetrain from God. Most of the issues people encounter are when they come out of a luxury car expecting the Evo to be like them. It isn't. Heck... it's not even like the GTR. But it IS a fantastic automobile, that if maintained properly, will be able to shred the doors off of 90% of the other crap out there. But do your due diligence.
Let us know if you have questions.
1. Evo's are reliable in the sense that it's a Japanese car with a motor that's incredibly old, and well sorted. They don't have "major" problems, but a reliable car... I wouldn't call it that necessarily. Reason being... it's an economy car with homogation roots. The idea behind it is, you're buying a wolf in sheeps clothing. Everything works very very well if it's maintained, as has been mentioned... but there is, quite a lot of maintenance.
That said, there are a number of Evo's with EXTREMELY high mileage. Like... higher than the mileage on my 87 Volvo 240 high. So that's a testament. But it WILL cost you money to keep it running in good shape, and MANY Evo owners slack on maintenance simply because the cars prices now are coming down, which avails them to the masses, but few people realize what it actually COSTS to own an Evo day to day. So things get skimped on, or rigged, and well...
2. The space and functionality of the Evo is great. Back seat has tons of room because of the Recaros, and I've DRIVEN my car across the country (from east coast to Pikes Peak for the hillclimb) with plenty of comfort. That said, a GT car it is not. No cruise, punchy accel, and drone made it challenging. But I never worried about it's reliability (because I do all my own work).
I'll be honest though, I wouldn't call it a great DD. While many will tout the inherent weakness of the OEM clutch, I'll disagree, but add that the Evo's have possibly one of the worst clutch mechanisms I've encountered. And I'm a long time Mitsu guy. So it IS a very difficult car to drive smooth, and of course... that coupled with the indiscretion of youth, and you end up with the stock clutch having a bad rap. To qualify that, I just swapped my stock clutch out, and I'm just under 60k. I also track my car, and launch it. I'm sure you can find plenty of other threads where I'm touting how most Evo's are "over clutched".
3. EVERY Evo has been driven like hell. If they say it's stock, never modified. They're lying. If they say it's never been launched, they're lying. Whatever they say... they're lying. That said... I'm not so sure why it's BAD that a car that's meant to be hooned around a WRC stage gets hooned on the street, or *gasp* run at the track? So long as the proper maintenance is being done, which it typically is if it's a track person... the car should be fine. BUT... you NEED to do your due diligence. My car for example, was originally tracked (in full weighted trim), but the second owner... god love him, made a few poor choices. He had only owned it for a handful of miles, and I was quick to service out, and repair all of his "trial and error", and the car is a fine example of the breed. But you should be aware that buying an Evo is definitely going to be tricky, because you'll end up with someone elses project. And you NEVER buy someone elses project.
Anyway... not trying to sound all doom and gloom, but the Evo is not a Porsche, or a BMW. It's a Japanese econobox with the drivetrain from God. Most of the issues people encounter are when they come out of a luxury car expecting the Evo to be like them. It isn't. Heck... it's not even like the GTR. But it IS a fantastic automobile, that if maintained properly, will be able to shred the doors off of 90% of the other crap out there. But do your due diligence.
Let us know if you have questions.
change the fluids normally, and have had 0 problems with stock parts. Im only at 50k miles on an 06, but i beat the sheet out of her.lolol If my wife gets her way ill have 2 back there before i know it!
. Good luck and keep us posted.
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EvoDude13
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Sep 29, 2008 06:06 AM