Basically.
Yo.

 

Are you buying new or used?

 

As I'm scrolling down the page reading each response when I got to this I just laughed obnoxiously loud.

First of all, thank you for your service to our country. Making a deal long distance can't be easy but at least you have your girlfriend here to help. It's possible the dealers aren't taking her seriously, but the reality is, most sales folk know less about the Evo than the intended buyer.

Is it possible for you to contact these sellers through e-mail? Most of my success was through aggressive yet professional electronic correspondence. I'm not sure how well this would work with private sales, but dealers are battling with each other. Finding a good deal takes time, but you should know what you're buying. The sellers who have no clue what their Evo is worth are the hardest to deal with. I'd say your best bet is to scoop up a year end deal on a 2011 if you aren't too picky with color and options. Otherwise, search privately or get a 2012.

 

I found a 2008 GSR Grey 49k miles for $22,999.The guy there is actually being very helpful and so far so good. I dont think it has any mods outside of a CF hood and CF fuel tank cover and a pistol grip shifter (Which I got a kick out of).

 

Also the front bumper is different too.

 

Orodi that is a great price. As long as the mods are done well and the carbon fiber isn't yellowed or cracked. I guess even still that is pretty cheap you could always just trade with someone that really wants one if you don't like the CF.

I LOL at the race car comment too. Great stuff.

 

Why don't you just wait until you get home?

 

Hey Orodi,

I noticed you are from Columbus, OH. I live on the north side of town in Lewis Center.

Good luck on the search/purchase.

It seems that Murphy's Law on looking for a car goes like this...... there are plenty of cars one would purchase when they are either not looking or not ready to buy and when you decided the time is right to buy they all disappear.

Not sure how familiar you are with the X but I would be happy to help if you have any questions.

Let me know when you get one and we can meet up

~Ryan

 

op try being in vancouver canada looking for a cheap ix

 

+1

The reason is because they stopped making 2011's and there probably aren't too many left so all the dealers won't budge from MRSP, I bet if you or your GF wanted to order a 2012 she would have no problems.

 

I had no trouble getting my 2011 GSR recently...they had 5 on the lot. I drove MR and GSR, liked GSR, negotiated a deal (1400 off list, and we haggled over my 2010 Mazda rx8), they ended up giving me more than I paid for the RX8, +$1400 off GSR + 36 mos @ 0%....to me that was a deal thatI couldnt refuse.
It really helps to physically be there, phone calls with car sight unseen is tricky, many dealers have the car online to look at. Also, let's be honest, when they deal with a woman ( your wife) they automatically assume she doesnt know what she's doing based on her gender. So that makes things tricky also...

 

Seems your contacting the wrong people, I was in same situation back in May.

I am in afghanistan also I bought a brand new 2011 GSR from Don Herring in Dallas, TX.

My wife lives in san antonio area. Those guys worked with me I did everything over the phone/email and had the deal done within a week.

I even had the car delevered to my house. The only thing my wife had to do was sign for it when it arrived.
Now I see you are looking at used ones so I'd be a little harder but you should still be able to find somebody willing to work with you.

 

23k for an 08 is a good price? Brand new, 0-mile '11's are 32K here all day long...

Anyway, yeah, go with the professional electronic communication recommendation above. If it's a dealer and the car isn't on the site yet, use any other car to start communication with the Internet Sales Manager. These guys don't walk the lots trying to sweet talk there way into a sale, they make money by setting up deals and doing the work remotely.

Private owners? Follow up daily, and always ask for a mobile number (and offer yours, Google Voice on a PC works great for this). Be patient. When I bought my first Evo the seller was a busy guy, and would be days in between emails. If I had a serious, right-now question (like setting up a meet for that weekend, getting the VIN for my paperwork, etc) then I just texted and got a response right away. Be sure to keep texting to the emergency stuff only, not "wut size tires r those! looks hawt! giggity!".

Ultimately just keep in mind that if you can't make a deal on something, maybe that just wasn't the right car.

Also to think about, post some in the Regional Forums, find out who is the most helpful, has a clean car, and takes Evo's serious as hell, and ask them to keep their eyes peeled for a clean one, and ask if it's ok to have them check a car out for you if you find a clean one that you are SERIOUS about buying. Obviously don't abuse this assistance by having them look at every crapbox that Jimmy's-By-Here-Pay-Here has on autotrader, and CarFax it before asking them to see it. Personally, I'd try to limit having people help me out with this to once every two weeks.

Hope that gives you some ideas on how to improve your experience.

Oh, and:

 

There is a new way to shop for cars that really works. Consumer Reports Build and Buy program. They work with ZAG on invoice based pricing and dealers within ~ 100 miles are given a chance to bid on your business. I purchased a 2011 EVOX MR this way below invoice. Not all cars are available in all areas. I couldn't find any dealers willing to sell the new Infinity G37 Journey. It was highly rated by Consumer reports and in 500 miles of the Pacific NW, no dealers were selling cheap.

The build and buy program is an online subscription that lets you price as many cars as you want. $14 annual fee. Compared to the new car price report which is $14 for each report, the subscription is a great deal. I can't promise this will work for everybody but I can honestly say it is worth a try

 

thats how i felt for the longest time but I ended up finding one, it will happen