Hey guys. I'm flying into Tampa, FL to pickup an evo 9 and was wondering if anyone could recommend a good shop? I'd like to get a few things checked before attempting to drive 9 hours back to NC. The car has 80,000 miles and the dealer can't tell me if the timing belt has been replaced. Any info would be much appreciated. Thanks!

 

i live in tampa and there used to be some good shops here...as of now i dont know of any good ones to be honest...i just do everything myself...one thing i will say...be careful...theres alot of shady people here...eyes open man...one of the only guys i trust is in orlando...an hour away...

 

If it were me, I would take it to TTP in Orlando http://www.ttp-engineering.com/ and have the car gone over, and maybe even consider having it tuned and do the 90k service early if they say the belts look worn (who knows if the 60k service was done). Remember to get a new water pump too.

Preventative maintenance is the name of the game with an Evo.

 

if you want to stop by orlando and have it checked out or have maintennce done on it i can give you the number to my guy if you decide not to go with ttp...thing is, orlando is an hour or so away from tampa...

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I will certainly be weary before buying the car, especially given the distance they are from home. I'll be bringing a mechanic friend of mine with whom I trust, so I should be okay before purchase.

According to Google, Orlando is only a 30 minute detour from my route to NC. Unfortunately, I'll be traveling on Sunday and according to ttp-engineering's website, they are closed on Sundays. I'll try to make it in on Saturday though. I'll just see where the wind takes me. Thanks again everyone!

 

Def email ttp instead of calling. They rarely pick up or return calls but ttp does good work. Thats where I take my evo whenever I need to do anything I can't do.