So as the title implies I’m looking to buy my first evo, preferably an 8 or a 9. Would entertain an X but hear power is more easily obtainable in the 8/9. But con to that is they have been riden harder than the newer Xs.

Should I be scared away by a 2nd hand E85 8/9 I’m pretty unfamiliar with E85 although I understand the basics. Not sure what comes with the territory though on purchasing from someone else, if I should be looking for something specific that could be a major problem down the road etc

I plan on taking whatever evo I intend to purchase to a shop or dealership to have a compression/leakdown and just an overall examination of a vehicle as It’s easier and smarter to have that security than to hope for the best.

Maybe a question that could help me is what do you look for in an 8/9 when your in the market specifically. To maybe put specifics in, I want a under 80k mileage evo, minimal internal work other than cams.

Sorry for being a rook. Guess we all start somewhere.

Thats is definitely true and I’m aware of the costs and the usual fails for the most part. I’m not so much worried as to the cost of ownership as much as making sure the one I choose doesn’t immediately turn into a headache.

Here is my .02 cents that hopefully helps you some. Excuse me for any grammar or spelling errors as I’m typing this from my phone.
Don’t rely on just car fax for the vin report. Check the edges and various locations for “overspray” , crash repair etc.. My cousin bought a e92 M3 and car fax had clean report at the time. A year after the purchase car fax now shows it was in an accident years back !!!! When he emailed carfax , they replied with a “oh it was just reported/received just now” . I’m not sure what case he can have on that as it seems they are not going to take any fault.

Now for something Evo specific. I don’t like how the Evo X looks and also I don’t care for AYC or ACD. As for Evo 8 vs Evo 9 , I prefer Evo 8 with the following conditions listed below. Mileage is not really that important as condition of the car. You can have an Evo with 200k miles that’s much better condition and well kept over one that has 20k miles. Having said that there are a lot of shady people out there that replace the speedometer with lower mileage one and claim a “low mileage Evo” or they have two gauge clusters (one to add mileage and the other low mileage to install back when selling).

Honestly there is so much more BS that people do like modify then return back to stock to call it a “unicorn unmodified Evo” crap. You have to be smart and look at signs of parts/bolts being touched.. Also ask them how long they owned it and why their selling it.. I find it suspicious to sell something owned for a short while. You don’t want to end up buying someone else’s problems.

I don’t know about you , but I will not buy an Evo that’s ever been driven in snow/road salt. Unless you like rusty underbody and future growing rust problems!

-no ACD , it’s just another part that will break from the pump corroding over time or weather. Most people want to switch over to non ACD transfer case from what I’ve seen. The minimal gain is just not worth future headache in my opinion . My previous Evo 9 was daily driver and the ACD pump failed at around 38-39k miles..
-MiVec , I don’t really care for and I rather not have.
- I like ABS and power windows , so RS is least valuable to me. It’s funny because RS owners I’ve seen try to market their cars as if it’s some kind of “special” Evo but you can always change parts and take off ABS to make it an RS like but it’s extremely hard/costly to install ABS.
- I like 5 speed over MR 6 speed. Slightly taller gears to not have to shift as often on the non MR when normal driving . Also with higher horsepower on 6 speeds I read have issues with 3 or 4 gear. Not sure if it’s lubrication issue due to lack of space with the extra gear or weaker smaller gear or combination of both...
-All 2003 evo’s had HID, 2004+ had it on certain models. I feel the HID and fog lights add a nice aesthetics to the car. My preference would be the 2004 SSL evo because it had HID’s and leather door trims look much better. Seats are leather to but its mostly the door trims that I favor.
- I don’t care if it is modded or not. If it has mods it’s one less thing to spend money on if done in your taste or you can sell it to re coup some cash for buying other mods you prefer. Stock parts are not really worth much.
-Returned back to stock or demodded is what I don’t trust. And well modded is worth a lot more money to me than true “stock unicorn” . This is not a classic collectors item car to look for all original stock. Your gonna modify it eventually for higher performance or preference , so what difference does it make if you do it on a existingly modded car or stock ? As long as the car was treated right and modified correctly with no short cuts or cheap alternatives.

I hope this helps a little. Good of luck on your hunt.