I'll be looking for an 8 or a 9. Don't really car if it's an MR or not.

I know it'll be tough to find an unmolested one. 8s and 9s demand a crazy high price here too. Bolt-ons would be about the extent of my mods, at least for a good while.

Aside from initial cost, what am I looking at as far as maintenance costs go? Are these cars (in general) cheap or expensive to drive? It will be my daily driver.

Fluid changes, tires/brakes, turbo parts/maint. (I've never owned a turbo car before), insurance, etc.

I know the gas mileage won't be great, but that's ok.

Any other advice would be great! I'm pretty much a newbie to AWD and turbos.

 

Expect to spend ~1,000$ a year in random maintenance, not including oil/gas

 

i think you should keep the little honda if your looking for a DD....evo isnt a DD vehicle

 

These cars are 8+ years old, I would keep 3-5k available for problems that can arise. When these cars break, it is not cheap. I would suggest getting something newer like a evo X or a wrx. If you have to get a 8 or 9, please do yourself a favor and get a beater just in case.

I wish you the best of the Luck in your search.

 

I guess I could get a little Civic or something for $1,000 as a beater.

 

I dd my evo, but it has had times where it has been down and i've had to drive another car to work for extended periods of time or bum a ride from co-workers. I should be getting a daily driver come this winter though

 

An Evo, like any sports car, is going to cost more to maintain vs a regular passenger car. However, for all the guys that say they aren't reliable enough for a daily driver, that's BS. Of course, if its been modded like crazy, yea, expect stuff to break because the car has now been pushed beyond what it was engineered for. I've had my Evo since new (coming up on 8 years now). Its my daily driver and the only problem I've had is the dreaded ACD pump failure. That is an expensive part but it didn't sideline the car either.

Good luck finding your Evo. Hope you can find one that hasn't been beat to death.

 

They're reliable, if of course they have been kept up. You just don't know the full story of these cars unless they have been owned by 1 owner since day 1. I bought my car in 08, and it only had two owners prior to me. However I did not found out until much later that the first owner of the car was TurboTrix and it was their test car. I've damn near replaced everything on the car, 40k just in parts so far. I just don't want people to jump in to the Evo without knowing what to expect.

 

{thum bup}
lesson learned

 

+1 for getting a beater. I've had to DD mine since I got it and I'm not too fond of it. Definitely getting a beater civic this summer.

 

That is such a stupid response.... Evo isnt a DD vehicle... RIGHT becauses its OMGERRRDCRAZYBOOSTBOOSTPSHSHHHHHHLULZCRAZY race car
This is the same stupid thought process with DSMs. DSMs are great and can be DD. It just depends on how the car was cared for.

Evos ARE DD vehicles. As long as maintenance is kept up with you'll have no problems. These cars are about 10 years old already so initially expect to pay 2/3k on any used one you buy to place it back in great running condition. This can range from changing out TB seals, random hoses, PCV valves, AC service, diff/trans oil changes, brakes, suspension work... etc
You get what you pay for is what I'll say. You can spend more on a stock evo... but just give it a good once over because majority of the time people return them to stock after beating them to hell with bolt ons + bigger turbo.

Just know what to look for ie engine bay cables/hoses indicating any changes, clutch inspection via clutch inspection hole, any fluid leak *esp from rear main seal, timing belt, and any weird random cables under neath the dash panel.

Biggest give away is checking the car's ecu map, but that might be too advanced for you. I busted a car dealership trying to pawn off an all STOCK, NEVER MODDED low mileage evo.... they had on an infamous DYNOFLASH map on the car. LOL We walked away from that one.

 

+1. I got my evo 8 with 48k in 2012 from a supposedly reputable shop and it has been nothing but problems. It was mostly stock as well besides some bolt on and cams. First the turbo went out, then transfer case, then transmission, and just the other day a rod took vaca through the block. Its my current DD too, but ill be looking into a beater. Cost~6k not including regular maintenance. I am not saying that the evo 8/9 is not a DD but you may want a back up plan. Eventually everything on mine will be new at this rate.

 

Yeah, I mean I figured an Evo would be a better DD than a Mustang - the other car I'm considering. AWD and 4 doors is more practical than a RWD coupe. Especially in the winters.

 

Here is some advice I used from a friend of mine when I was looking for an EVO and I did buy a IX. Take you're time and look. I don't care who it is or what dealership it is at. Make sure you have a couple hours to look the car over. I personally even took a car jack with me to places without a lift or would not let me use their lift and got under the car to check it out. And trust me I did come across some with blown axels. I also took compression testers with to check. The one I actually bought I did not compression test and all the other ones did not even make it that far on my inspection.

Like everyone has said you will be spending about 2-3k in maintenance after you buy it. There are some out there that you wont have to spend a dime to maintenance once bought other than an oil change but they are pricey.

So in all my advice is take your time and do not just jump in to it. Make sure you know as much about the car before you buy it as you need to know so you know exactly what it might need and a ballpark price of what you might have to spend to get it back to great condition.

 

Thanks. I may have to end up going with an X, as they are oddly going for the same prices (or cheaper!) as 8s and 9s here.