DetroitEvoIX

iTrader: (3)

@4G63_Crazy - man, I hope you got your Evo for a really good price ... that list looks quite long and expensive.

- Gas door spring is $5 and is an easy fix
- HVAC temp knob is a known issue - may be able to be repaired with the updated gears from Mitsu
- Timing belt / water pump / tensioners, etc. all necessary maintanance
- A/C could just be a simple $20 shim kit (that fixed mine)
- ACD pump - likely not able to rebuild (I tried) ... new one is $1500
- Ebrake cable - can't say it's typical, but could be a relatively simple repair
- Burnt ECU - this could be the source of all your issues. Sounds like a nightmare to repair / diagnose. Ugh.

Sounds like you got a 'project' rather than a mode of transportation. Some of your headaches are just overdue maintanance and typical, but things like the ECU issues could be really difficult to repair.

Nevertheless, best of luck.

4G63_Crazy

iTrader: (3)

Yea, I think the previous owners really trashed this car... When I bought the car, I knew that there were some issues with it, but after buying the car, a lot of these issues popped up.. I bought it from a dealership up in NY. The car was from a trade in -the guy traded this car in and a tundra for a dump truck which I found kinda funny.. However, that's all I had about the previous owner. Car came with no records. I did a carfax on it and it seemed to have been maintained regularly, which was a plus - it recently had a timing belt put in, oil changed after I am trying to find the previous owners to this car, to see what they did with it exactly to make it break so often or if there are any other mods I don't know about. But, it's been difficult because of that law put in place in 97 which doesn't allow you to track down past owners through the dmv. The dealership was asking 16900 for the car, but talked them down to 13 with a new set of tires. And I thought it was a pretty good price for an Evo with a clean title and no accidents, but didn't know about the soon to come issues.. I was sure in for a suprise! So I'm about like 21 or 22 into the car and even if I were to sell it, I would be losing money.. So i might aswell just keep it. I was originally doing all the repairs myself, but as more and more popped up and as I didn't have the time to do them, I was like, time to take a trip to the shop..

DetroitEvoIX

iTrader: (3)

Ugh ... it should be a sticky that you should never under any circumstance buy an Evo from a typical used car lot. It pains me to think how nice of an Evo you could have bought for low-mid $20K range.

Nevertheless, it sounds like you're already committed, so might as well bite the bullet and address all the issues. Try to find a local Evo-savvy shop in your area, and be prepared to write some checks.

I will make you feel better though ... Evo values aren't going anywhere but up. So likely the money you put into yours to make it 'right' will not be a waste. You could have bought pretty much any new car last year, and have lost more money in one-year depreciation than it will take to bring yours up to snuff.

My hope is you get all your issues worked out so you can really experience what a truly brilliant car the Evo is. I've had mine for 11 years, and I can't think of any other car I'd rather be driving.

4G63_Crazy

iTrader: (3)

Thank dude! I appreciate the awesome words! Yea, I really want to drive this car until it goes beyond 200,000 miles. And considering its my first car, it has that special charm factor that makes me want to keep it forever.

Wanted EVO IX

Not a lot of people can say the Evo 8/9 was their first car,

DetroitEvoIX

iTrader: (3)

That's a great point - just out of curiosity, how much do you pay in insurance as a young driver with an Evo?

I only ask because I'm an old man with a great driving record, and insurance for me is pretty ridiculous...

4G63_Crazy

iTrader: (3)

the insurance for my car is not under me, it's under my dad because if it was under me, that would be insane amounts.. But even for my dad, it's still ridiculous. Hes in his 50s, clean driving record -the car is insured under statefarm and is covered for everything, but accidents - and the price is $5600 a year.. And that's crazy. He has a G35, and for that its $2000 a year.

butte

The drivetrain, engine, and turbo have always been very reliable for me. Little things like the gas cap spring, trunk release cable, power window motors have always been a pain in the *** but I didn't buy an Evo because it's a luxury car and those kinds of fixes are usually pretty easy and cheap.

Biggiesacks

$5600 a year for a car thats worth like 15 is literally insane

DetroitEvoIX

iTrader: (3)

OMG - I love the Evo, but I think for $450/mo in insurance premiums I'd ride my bike...

OneSlowEvo8

Evo 10 was my first car, 151k miles, horrible paint, but it had some really nice aftermarket parts. (ARC front mount, Apexi exhaust). It was extremely reliable. Mines around $5k a year as well. Now a year later i own a blue by you evo 8, 77k, really nice paint, good interior, stock besides cat back. Clean title. EVO’s aren’t cheap, i see a lot of beat ones out there. Drive it like a race car, maintain it like a race car 👍🏼

DeeezNuuuts83

Same here. I'm thankful I was in a position to buy one brand new 10+ years ago and still have it today. Aside from regular maintenance, I think the only thing I've had to change was the fuel door clip/spring (twice, but it's loose and doesn't stay in place anymore so I always have to push it all the way in after the fuel door is opened) and the radiator around 105k miles. I had a CEL (engine misfire) a month or two ago immediately after changing out a dead battery and the car ran weird when rpms would go above 2500 rpm, but I took it to a shop a day later and it just went away on its own before the mechanic tried doing anything and ran just fine after that. Still running strong at 111k miles.

My first car was a 1995 Honda Accord EX coupe and wasn't nearly as reliable as my Evo has been.

DetroitEvoIX

iTrader: (3)

Agreed. My evo has been the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned. Yes, the maintenance intervals are a little more often than say, a Toyota Camry. And due to it's focus, you'll go through consumables a little faster. But they're so easy to do in your driveway it's a non-issue for most.

I think the only items that have failed during my 140K of daily use has been the ACD pump (corrosion) and the radiator (leaking at the top). That's it. So the ACD pump stings a bit, but everything else has been no different than any boring, run-of-the-mill car. You're going to have to replace struts and fluids on any car - just normal wear and tear.

I think where problems arise is owners (often young, paying $5+K on insurance / year with little extra funds) don't keep up on the preventative maintenance (and spend what little money they have on poorly-chosen mods). That's where I think things go wrong on the Evo, hence why it's getting more and more difficult to find good examples.

My advice to any potential buyers reading this would be to not focus so much on mileage, but service history. I've enjoyed my Evo daily for 11 years. I do an occasional track day, drive in all kinds of weather, and when something wears out (struts, control arms, etc) I replace it promptly. I change the fluids every 30K, timing belt and water pump every 60K. It has 140K+ miles, and if you went for a ride, you'd swear it had less than 40K. It doesn't leak anything, I never add any oil between changes, etc.

Sorry about the humblebragging but I just wanted to point out how reliable of a vehicle the Evo can be with some reasonable care.

barneyb

I think this is sad but accurate in many cases.

ineedboostman

iTrader: (2)

Damn you guys need to find new insurance company's. I'm 31 and pay $92 dollars a month full coverage on my 05. Go thru an insurance agency and have them shop Ins Co. for the best price. I was paying $150 and told the lady I can't afford it and she shopped around, wham cheap ins. I have a prior DUI too so don't say it can't be done. You could drive a Mercedes or Range Rover for the price your paying insurance omg. Sorry to get off topic, just trying to help...