High mileage shouldn't deter you from getting one if the car was maintained properly and priced accordingly. Any car can reliable if it's been taken care of. Good example on here would be the gentleman with 400K miles on his Evo; his car is far from stock.

Last time I picked up another Evo I took into account what kind of tires it came with and what condition. Cheap neglected tires is a deal breaker for me. Last thing anybody wants to do is cheap out on tires with this car. Not only is it unsafe, it ruins the whole experience. There is a reason they came with Advans from the factory. Makes you wonder what else they cheaped out on. But if you absolutely have to have that particular car with cheap tires, replace them immediately.

And as of late- check to see if or what TSB's and/ or recalls have been performed on the car. You can check the service history of the car here: https://www.mitsubishicars.com/owners
Granted the information provided by that site is limited to cars that are regularly serviced at dealerships.

Also in response to post # 3, in the decade I have owned these cars, persistent lifter noise is definitely NOT normal. Lifters that were bled properly will only be noisy for a few seconds upon startup, but once they fill with oil, the noise should disappear and stay that way until they are bled again. Doesn't matter if they are OEM or aftermarket. If they remain noisy that is indicative of a defective lifter and should be bled again or replaced. Worst case scenario would be the bearings causing the noise.

Be patient and good luck with your search.

 

i have $1,000s into my car and my daily tires are the cheapest i could find. don't think for a second my car is a bucket, though.

just saying.

 

Cheap has been the argument for some proponents of the stance movement (another topic altogether) which has shown to be safe - (being sarcastic) Would the OP buy an EVO with stretched tires on stanced wheels? Maybe, maybe not. I wouldn't. Just saying.

Also what about a car that had tires that have feathering or cupping? Would you buy a car from an owner that only replaced one tire prior to sale and there was a noticeable difference in tread depth and circumference among all of them? Hmm where is that whine coming from? Definitely no thanks on that one either. I look at tires and they say a lot.

But then again it's all relative. Cheap to me is just a little under $150 per tire when I replace them every 4-5 years. That's affordable for performance compared to say purchasing tires for a Z06. Cheap to someone else might be $200 a tire or maybe even $80 per.

Also if you have daily tires, then its safe to say you have more than one set. That's one more than most of the novice owners on here or your local FB group. So props to you for caring about more than one aspect of your vehicle. The OP might want to consider purchasing your car if you ever decide to sell it. Off topic.

 

when you said, "cheap" i was thinking in dollars, not improperly-fitting, not taken care of, ruined due to alignment, etc.

ruined tires = bad owner
cheap tires = hard to say.

then again, i never understood why someone would blow $1,100 on a set of tires just to drive to work, school, and/or the local In-N-Out to hang out with the buddies LOL. my brain is wired like an engineer...to a fault.

and i will never, ever, ever sell my car. nope. no way. ever LOL.

it's the best car i've owned and will be harder to find in the future. i'm keepin' this one.

 

Well I can't think of any other reason to forgo an alignment other than it wasn't in the budget. If someone bought some, say Michelins, they would probably want the most out of their $1100 investment and it's highly likely they could afford an alignment, proper inflation, frequent rotation, and balancing regularly. I personally would buy a car from somebody like that. Those things cost $.
But that's just my opinion.

I said to myself I would never sell mine either, but now I have 2 and one has to go lol.

 

IMHO this is Rule #1 for finding an Evo.