Hey guys,

I found a decent deal for a used 2008 Evo X with 30,000km on it. The car looks in great shape, however I am worried about the engine and transmission more than anything. We never know the driving habits of previous owners and will never find out since they wont tell us how crazy they went.

Should I worry about those components? I know the engine can take alot of abuse however I don't want something to crap out on me within the next few months....

Any personal experiences with used cars?

thanks

 

Having just bought a used 2008 evo x gsr I will share some thoughts.

Obviously buying a used car you are taking a risk and frankly a higher risk on a used evo than on your averages family car but it is a risk like any other and you need to used your brain and your judgement. In my case I felt most comfortable purchasing from a dealership and ensuring that the car was stock and that it was going to be covered by the remainder of the factory drivetrain warranty. Knowing that I had time and miles left on the factory warranty in case anything blew up gave me some additional peace of mind.

Without knowing anything about the car make sure to get a good test drive and also make sure to get a leakdown and compression test done on the car. If you can get maintenance records even better and on top of that do a carfax lookup on the car as well.

One other thing, don't let your desire to have a fun car get in way of you walking away from a bad car/deal...do your best to be clinical about it no matter how much you might be dying to have one of these cars

 

If you or a friend are not familiar with the typical things to look at, then maybe you can take it to someone for an inspection.

But here's a few suggestions..

Check for body work signs.. for instance, the gap sizes that run down all the edges.. they should be the same. Same with hood lines and trunk lines to bumper. Check for an orange peel effect on paint.. a sign of an accident, and quickly fixed to try to sell.

Ask alot of questions, be sure he's willing to answer them. He should definitely have service records/receipts. I'd be suspicious if he says no. Ask for the last few gas receipts.. see if he put in 91. If he put in 94, then maybe it was driven a bit harder. Tire wear of course, interior wear too.

Was it a daily driver? Ask where he worked. Calculate mileage to and from work.. see how much was just back and forth to work vs pleasure driving. The more "pleasure" driving, the more chances it was driven hard.

He may not be willing to show, but ask to see what he pays for insurance. If it's thru the roof, it's a result of tickets or accidents.

Be sure to google.. there will be a ton of info out there on what to look for.

 

thanks for the good replies, I'll make sure to do a complete check on the car and ask lots of questions. It is hard to walk away from a deal given how much I want one of these and been waiting for over 2 years, however I have to use my brain and choose the correct deal for me.

keep you guys posted!

 

Good luck!!!!

 

What do you consider decent? I was in the same situation last year. With the year end deals on price and interest on new vs used, I ended up getting a new SE. Be sure to compare all costs.

 

When I was buying my car at the dealership, they offered my a test drive. They don't let people drive the new ones at all until after purchase so guess what, they let you drive the used ones. I at that time didn't really know how to drive stick so I declined, but I sat in on a salesman that drove me around. He beat the **** out of the car like there is no tomorrow, just to show me the the capabilities of the GSR. Pretty much anything you can think of, launching, high speed turns, zooming down the street. I can't really contribute anything else about how long the engine and transmission will last for used cars, but judging from that single event, I don't think I'm ever really going to buy a used sports car again.

 

I prefer to buy an Evo or STI from a one owner private party so I can figure out how they treated the car. I'm not so worried that they drive the car hard, it's if they have finesse or not. The motor can take a ton of abuse, the 5 speed is tough too. The TC and Diff are something to worry about though.

Pay attention to the quality of the mods and if it's been tuned, then who tuned it?

I also prefer to buy a used Evo that has the original clutch replaced since it costs alot of money to do it and adds no value to the car.

I have bought a used Evo IX owned by a guy who didn't take great car of his car, but had zero mechanical issues, while the STI I bought was owned by a guy who supposedly took great car of the car and had $16k in receipts with big name, reputable shops doing the work, but the car was a nightmare to own.

 

I guess it can go both ways...I'll just have to test it out myself I guess. This is a private seller btw so if it was beaten, it was beaten by 1 owner and not a ton of them (some who might not even know how to drive).

There are mods on the car but they are little things like exhaust and intake, mods that will not necessarily take away from the car's lifespan.

I'm going tomorrow so I will see how that goes

 

go over virtually everything thats possible , fluid levels, tire wear, transmission goes through all gears well, compression test the whole 9 yards.. i plan on buying used evo x as well

 

The dealership by my house has five used 2008 x. I looked at everyone of them...Only one car had all the heat shield bolts over the turbo...I will never buy a used one...

 

I'd never buy a used Evo. Sports car... buy new. Can't trust anybody espicially a modified used Evo. Gives me the shivers thinking about it...

 

He lives in montreal... so a base GSR starts at 43k+ taxes.

To be honest, someone who takes care of their car will keep receipts of all work done.. oil changes included. I know when it comes time to sell my GTS, i'll get above averge considering i run full synthetic and have every transaction for the car on paper in a file folder. I have a full paper trail since day 1 including oil changes...

If that Evo has that... i'd say good chance he took care of it and didnt drive it like a douche 90% of the time.

 

would you buy a used evo that looked like this?