I own both 8 and 9 SE seats and when I get bored with one set I swap to the other. I can't find a 100 times worth of difference. There's barely any difference. In my opinion the 9 seat looks better and the 8 seat is more comfortable. Other than that, this is the post I've been wanting to make but figured no one would agree.

People with RS models prize them for maybe their rarity. But you are giving up a lot for minuscule weight savings.

"RS deletes from the base model (aka GSR): audio system, ABS, rear wing, power windows, power locks, power mirrors, sound deadening, trunk-compartment trim, rear wiper, map lights, rear assist handles, parking-brake handle leather, center-console lid, and keyless-entry system. The door mirrors and handles are black instead of body-colored. RS adds front LSD and aluminum roof."

Actually, the rear wing was an option most dealers installed.

 

But power windows can fail like ACD...

To many the RS is indeed the most valuable Evo. All personal preference though.

However they are smart to buy because they have good info sometimes and can save you a lot of money.

 

Not true if you're talking about the RS.

 

If you are buying a street car and plan to daily it get the creature comforts. But even stock the evo is not exactly a comfortable car... It comes down to what you plan to do with the car. If you are building a drag car for example an 03/04 evo8 might be better. No MIVEC, no ACD etc. Mivec I dont think matters much when you are going for high boost high revs.

Most people buy these cars for performance. And the RS is the most raw version.

 

I want a DD with a light curb weight and about 400whp. I prefer the older evo then remove the wing to make it look as unassuming as possible.

 

Creature comfort is climate control and where your butt lives. Any car has climate control if you keep it working. Fifty miles in my wife's WRX and my back is killing me. In my Evo - drive all day.

 

Perhaps the seats are a matter of opinion and condition one has them. My IX seats (owned new to 49k miles) were more comfortable than my current VIII (from 55k mile Evo). They had more "cushion" to them. The fabric on my VIII is in good condition as well without any tears. But the Blue center section feels "rough" texture wise. I've sat in a couple more Evo 8's in the past and all were the same rough material feel and less cushion comfort to them.

Gauge clusters can fail , Ecu , power locks etc... I was referring to costly power train or drive train components only . One less thing to fail in that area is a huge plus for me.

I didn't mean to make it seem like car fax is useless. I used it too when searching for my evo. But one can't trust it blindly . It is only good for things that get reported. In my search for an evo I ran across cars with clean titles but upon inspection I saw that they were in accidents that should not have been a clean title car.

 

Is rust important to you ?

I daily drove my IX and in Illinois they salt the streets when it snows. I hated driving my car in the snow because of the salt but I had no choice.

The Evo in my opinion is too precious of a car to be a daily driver in salt states. I was looking for a long while for my current Evo 8 and wasted traveling money flying out of state to see potential purchases and realizing pictures online make the cars look better than they actually are. I am happy to have purchased my current Evo that was never driven in snow . The previous owner cleaned stripped down and cleaned the heck out of it during the mod'ing and never drove it in the rain. I will only drive mine when there is zero chance of rain and good climate conditions . It is just a weekend car hand full of times around mid/end of Spring through beginning Fall.

There are many Evo's for sale everywhere. It's the condition and never driven in snow/salt that matters most to me. Most if not all crap out there are in the low to high teens area price wise. When you get in the $20-30k price range you see the quality difference . But there are also those with crap cars that still list them for 20K+ when it should be $12k

So having said all that . Do you want some semi poor to ok condition surface rust on the underbody or body panel Evo that will make 400whp easy or do you want a good to excellent condition Evo with zero rust ?

 

I agree 100%. With the salt/snow sentiment.

Hence why mine is a low mileage Florida car

And why my previous one was a Texas car

And the one before that a Georgia car.

And I live in NY 😆

 

The folks that say that fall into 2 camps:

1) They are fast enough that ACD doesn't give them any advantage
2) They BELIEVE they are fast enough that ACD doesn't give them any advantage

Most average Evo HPDE drivers fall into the latter whether they will publicly admit it or not. ACD in salt doesn't seem to have held up well but I'm almost 13 years in on mine and it's tracked with no reliability issues to date. Can't ask for much more than that IMO.

 

Unless you know these cars inside and out, you will save money in the long run by paying too much for an absolutely clean, straight, no excuses, no stories example, than hunting for a bargain.

No offense intended, but if you are here asking these kinds of questions, you probably shouldn't be bargain-hunting. If it makes you feel better, I knew that I didn't have the skills or knowledge to find a diamond in the rough when I bought my Evo, so I didn't try.

 

I found this tread quite interesting. I'm trying to sell my Evo at the moment and it's so difficult trying to figure out what the right market price should be. There are so many diverse opinions about models and years. Our cars are such a niche market that Blue Book is almost irrelivant. I guess it comes down to simply finding the right buyer for your particular car whatever the model, year, and condition.

 

So what about an Evo 8, 2004 RS, 137k miles and is stock, one owner for 13,500? In excellent shape, no paint fade, runs great, some small rock chips but otherwise really clean.

 

Where is it? I'd buy it, just because.

 

1. Is the RS what your looking for ?
2. One owner , 2 owner etc.. It doesn't matter how many owners, what matters is condition. Usually the less owners it had the better condition it might be but not always.

It's up to you if the car is worth it. For me I don't value the RS much because it doesn't have 2 things that are important for me , power windows and ABS.

If an Evo is in good shape like you say and no rust or accidents with 137k miles for 13,500 , I say it is a steal . Don't buy any evo model (RS , GSR, MR , SE, SSL ) because it's a deal. Buy it because it's the model you want that happens to be a deal.

Also , what's the point of never being modded ? That doesn't add value to me. Your going to mod it anyways. If it has good/tastefully done mods , now that adds value IMO. Besides many lie about never modded" or "never raced" . I consider WOT pull a "raced". Never "tracked" or "road course" well that's a different story .