This will be my first car, and I'm just wondering how it is daily driving, as well as reliability.

 

Depends on your budget and for a DD you might be doing some work on it so you should be handy with the wrench.

 

Very reliable unless you mod it, and then, who knows.

 

Not a good idea for a first car. These things do get expensive real quick if you want to modify and stay maintained 100%. With the car being 10 years old it is very likely it needs to be freshened up. Also 8 vs 9 is just a preference, but you can always swap interiors, wheels, and front bumper to appeal to your liking.

 

Ive wanted an evo since need for speed underground, i'll find a way to get one if its not in my budget lol. I wasn't planning on doing any big mods, just like bolt ons.

 

Oh boy! Lmao

 

Does the e85 tune on it effect reliability ?

 

from the time I began owning it in 2006, with minimal mods, my evo has been daily driven, and very reliable. however, I have spent probably about between 7-10 thousand dollars in the 9 years I have owned it. all on maintenance. I do all my own work, except for the first 60k, and the tires. I have gone through 3 sets of pads, 3 sets of tires, 60k and 120k services, rotors, and basic maintenance like oil changes. my clutch is still going strong, but I have a clutch waiting to go in. I have a few items like a fuel pump, boost controller, and o2 sensors at home, ready to swap. I had to do a fan controller, battery, and all exterior bulbs recently.

all in all, it has been the best car I have ever owned in my lifetime, but also the car I have spent the most on. it helps if you know how to work on cars, to limit some of the costs. I, myself, would not recommend it as a first car, but if you put the time and effort into it, it could be a great first car.

 

call your insurance company and get a quote first---if YOU buy the insurance, then you will think twice the cost alone will determine if you get the car. If the folks are buying it--well, have them get a life insurance policy as well. Just not a good idea.

 

Reliability will depend on a lot of things: how you drive, how you maintain, and how your Evo was treated by previous owners.

My Evo has been reliable, but it's basically stock, not driven hard, and has been carefully looked after. I've spent a grand total of $500 in unscheduled maintenance in the three years I owned it. Once it had an oil leak and once an exhaust hanger got loose.

However, if you buy an Evo that was driven by a Fast-n-Furious(tm) wannabe who couldn't afford to maintain it, but could afford some cheap and badly thought out mods, then you proceed to put your own stamp on that poor car in a quest to become a teenaged Ayrton Senna, don't be surprised if it turns out to be a money pit. Oh yeah, to save a few bucks youou get some dude who works at Tuffys to turn up the boost and tune you. He says he knows what he's doing so its all good.

As far as whether you can DD an 8 or 9? Sure. Keep in mind that it will lack things that some consider necessary creature comforts.

Is it a good first car? Ask your insurance agent. They'll tell you no. Just statistics, nothing personal.

 

Like any other some what fast car out of the box things do wear faster and you will need to turn a wrench from time to time.

 

Soo, I bought my Evo Back when I Turned 16.... Just 3 Days before I would turn 17 and take my test for my license. Lets just say if I could do it all over, I would have never of bought her as my first car.

I put 6K down on it (Drained my bank account). Monthly payments were 320 + 230 for full coverage. First thing I did was jump on the first one I saw for sale around my area (Bad Move)... Clutch needed to be replaced in the first month of owning it and the syncros would grind going into 4th....

Now Imagine being in that position (Young kid, with no money, Parents wouldn't help) ... I had to drive around half assed for a while until I could afford to get the parts replaced, including the transmission rebuilt.

Ohh by the way be ready to loose half your social life because you will not have any money to go out with friends every night.

Unlike some other young kids who bought evos, I always stayed on top of my car and made sure not to let anything maintenance wise go. (It was in fact my dream car ever since I was 13)

I learned to do all my own work and tune the car my self.(If it's already broke why not try and fix it yourself) This saved me hundreds of dollars.

Fast Forward to today (6+ Years). I Am happy to say that my baby is paid off, and she is now a weekend/summer car since I bought a DD 2 years ago.

But all in all, I had my ups and downs with my car. It kept me out of trouble as a kid(Constantly working on things, or just because I had no money to go out), even though once in a while I would find my way into trouble.

Back then when I was younger all I had was a minimal wage job. If that's your current situation, please do not do it. You will respect that decision down the road when you are financially stable and can actually afford the car. I Never realized what i was getting my self into at that young of an age. And my Dad told me, don't do it. But I never listened.

 

Like most have said , I would wait for a first car. I believe if you have a loan you need collision and comprehensive insurance which is rather pricey on top of a pricey car in itself. I also completely disagree with forcing yourself to afford a car at a younger age, I did the same thing and regret it.