Hey everyone, I know this question has been asked, but I've used the search function and am just not coming up with the answers I am looking for. So I figured I would throw my hat in the ring here and take the abuse, and hopefully some good insight lol.

So here is some background. I have always loved Evo's and have always wanted one, I just haven't always been able financially to afford one. That was until recently and now that I'm able to afford one I'm really debating pulling the trigger and purchasing a IX(I would even consider an VIII, but a IX just seems more in my comfort zone financially). I currently daily drive a 2007 Honda Civic Si and am extremely over it. It's a nice comfortable car, and has not really done me wrong, I'm just looking to change it up. I feel like an Evo is the perfect car for me right now. Their mix of beautiful styling, and decent power just has me hooked on it. Not to mention a 4 cylinder turbocharged platform which is what I have become accustomed to owning 2 turbocharged Hondas. Granted I'm sure the 4G motor is a different beast that the B18C's I'm used to.

So my questions are:
Is an Evo IX a good daily driver?
Can I turn the key every morning and be confident that the car is going to get me to work safely and without problems?
How pricey is maintaining one of these things?
Can I count on it to be as reliable as my Civic?

I'm sure every car is different and I know the answers to my question are going to vary depending on the exact car we are talking about. But as of right now I am only looking into Evo's that have under 80k miles and have been maintained with records. It seems finding one of these completely stock is probably the most difficult task ever. So I'm trying to stick to finding one with mild bolt ons and nothing that has been heavily modded. This is not a want to buy, this is me looking for insight before I go and pull the trigger and make a purchase I am not ready for haha. Thanks.

 

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...-opinions.html

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...evo-rs-dd.html

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...ly-driver.html

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...ng-evo-dd.html

 

had one for a daily and i mean i daily it everywhere, loved it, always started in any weather and never even debated about if it can make it. the evo is a hard to beat car for daily joy.
but... where i live traffic is pretty insane and it takes a toll on clutches. imo nothing will be as reliable as a civic.
finding a good maintenance one is tough but its out there, once u get it, it'll be a great daily.

 

Thanks for the links! I had seen all but the 3rd link and that seems to have been the most informative.

 

Finding one with good maintenance records is super tough. I have found about 3 that I have been interested in but not one of the owners could provide me any sort of maintenance records.
And I've read bad things about the trans and clutches on them, that's one thing that scares me. I just had to pull my trans and rebuild it due to a shift fork breaking and 3rd gear giving out. Luckily I knew how to do it all myself and saved a fortune from what places charge for that job.
But I'm hoping to get an Evo and not have to do anything to it for a while. Then later on when I buy another car to DD i can start modding it and really unlock the potential these cars have.

 

The answer to all of your questions is yes. I'm on my third evo ix now, and all of them were daily driven. I had two civics before, one with B16a and one with B18c transplants. The evo has been just as reliable as both of them.

 

Is an Evo IX a good daily driver?
I would say "yes". I daily drove my Evo 8 and put 102,000 miles on it before I sold it.

Can I turn the key every morning and be confident that the car is going to get me to work safely and without problems?
Yes

How pricey is maintaining one of these things?
Maintenance and gas are pricey.

Can I count on it to be as reliable as my Civic?
Yes/No. Two completely different cars. Civic-naturally aspirated. Evo-Turbo.

Everything that has boost on it, can cost money.

 

stock, theres nothing in these cars that make them unreliable, if you mod them they are still reliable if you use good quality bolt ons and keep the liquids up. But as you will see in these forums guys will have issues as you do will all 10 yr to 15 old cars. Daylying a heavy duty clutch is part of becoming a modded evo owner, alot of us come from the woods and wouldnt have it any other way.....now I'm off to play duelling banjo's on the porch

 

I've been driving a ix since 2010 that has boltons making about 340whp. I deal with some stop and go traffic here and there. It's never had a problem only except when the throw out bearing went (60ish k miles) and clutch being down to the rivets. As long as maintenance is kept up with it and isn't hard core abused it is strong.

I drove an automatic whIle the clutch was being replaced and I felt like I was going to fall asleep because it isn't as engaging. But the age of these cars expect thing here and there start to wear out. Radiator went out, a front strut/strut bearing and regular maintenance stuff.

I have been autocrossing the past 8 months or so and the car feels as strong as day 1 of owning it.

If you can find one that has been taken care of then go for it. If not then I wouldnt risk it..

 

Yeah, I know it's apples to oranges when talking Evo's and civics. My Si is N/A and very reliable, but I also have a '90 civic wagon that is running a Garrett 60-1 and it has been that way for almost 2 years now and is insanely reliable. So I know any turbo car done right is just as reliable as a N/A car. And I feel Mitsubishi just got it right with the Evo, as far as turbo 4 cylinders go.

 

I hear you on the automatic thing. I work for Lexus and was contemplating buying a 2011 Lexus gs350 a couple months back, but the automatic platform just kills it for me. I'm 23, soon to be 24 and I don't feel as if an automatic car is right for me right now. I need something lively and fun still. Maybe I'll switch to the Lexus in a few more years, but as for now, my heart is set on an Evo.

 

The EVO eats up tires at an alarming rate. I average around 22-23mpg. For a DD it's maintenance is a lot more than a standard FWD car.

 

Yes, it's a "good" daily driver. Not great though. It's a little stiff, it's a little loud, it's thirsty for gas if you're having any fun. But it can get the job done just fine, though the farther you go from stock, that may change. Same thing with it getting you to work safely and without problems.

I'm currently on my second Evo, which is a daily-driven IX SE that I have owned since purchasing it new in February 2007. It has 91k miles so far, virtually trouble-free, though I'm sure it helps that I'm one of the very few to have kept it bone stock the entire time.

Maintenance isn't too bad, but it's on par for a car with its performance. Assuming you properly maintain your Civic Si, budget at least twice as much for maintenance. Evo maintenance is generally pricier (higher-quality fluids and more of it, pricier parts, etc.) and done more frequently (driveline fluids every 15k miles, serpentine belt every 30k, timing belt every 60k though it's also a good time to check and potential replace the water pump and spark plugs, both of which I also did at 60k). Specialty shops should help keep the maintenance costs under control, particularly the more significant ones. For example, I paid just under $700 for my 60k with the aforementioned water pump and spark plugs.

It CAN be as reliable as your Civic, but you can't slack on maintenance the way that you could on a Honda or Toyota and get away with it (again not saying that you do, but it's one of the reasons why people like them so much). It just gets tricky with the used market, because at this point we're talking about cars that are 10+ years old, and not every owner treated theirs as kindly as I did mine, so you need to do your best to make sure the car you're looking at hasn't been neglected or abused, since that can't always be undone by immediate maintenance if the damage has already been done.

The problem is, that is basically the kind of Evo that everyone wants... and the people who have them know that they have one of very few, and rest assured they won't give anyone a deal on them. I know I wouldn't. I'm not sure what your budget is, but the going rate for the ideal Evo of yours is surprising for a 10+ year-old car, if you haven't done your research.

 

The EVO was not designed as a DD. Its a sports car, period

Youll end up hating it !

8 years of ownership, tearing up the track & town

 

The wife and I went to the cable company office to pay a bill in the Evo. The Subaru stayed in the garage.
The wife and I went to the Library in the Evo to return a CD. The Subaru stayed in the garage.
The wife and I went to the bank (closed we found due to it being a holiday) in the Evo. The Subaru stayed in the garage.
The wife and I went to the drugstore in the Evo. The Subaru stayed in the garage.
After dinner the wife and I went to Lowe's in the Evo to buy cutlery. The Subaru stayed in the garage.