I for the longest time have wanted an EVO, love the look and the fact that it is capable in EVERY catagory, handling, straight line, all season, spacious... did I mention sexy? but now taking into consideration the used pricing as well as the risk involved with buying a used EVO also mixed with the problems that love to occure with gear grinding and other issues with the car I just don't want to adopt a high maintinance headache, I have not yet ruled out the EVO, initially I was considering the cheaper side to get an 03 for low $20k's however I was told it is very much worth it to step up to a 2005 but that is really pushing my budget along WITH maintinence costs of the car, I love them though, just don't want to get burried in expense.

I considered other alternatives in the $15,000 range though, cheaper horsepower. I was thinking of a LS1 z28 but probobly an SS, I wondered about financing though because I didn't know if ALL banks or credit unions finance a certain amount of years because of a cars age regardless of its value, even if it were a 2002 the rule of thumb that I know of clearly states that an older used vehicle of that age would not be financable for 60 months, and MAYBE not even for 48 mo... leaving 36 months an option bringing my payment up considerably... I love the look of the car, the raw N/A power and bad *** appeal however the interior and chevrolet build quality= teh crap...

The other option I considered was a used 04-05 SRT-4, turbo and very modable... but always gets the "still a neon" which I could get over, issues like torque steer etc are crappy too but when it comes down to it the car is a TON of bang for the buck, I could finance for 60 months and it is not entirely unpracticle but definately something I can have fun with, sounds great and it may be Dodge but it is indeed newer and not so high maintinence... I just have not figured out any other options to consider I really hope I could get an EVO but the maintinence and risk involved with buying used turn me off of it, I want to be able to drive the car without being paranoid that cracking, creeking, scuff, grind, twitch I hear is a transmission problem, or something expensive to fix. What do you think, I won't be putting more than five thousand dollars down. I understand this may be baised however with the information I have provided I hope to get some help. Thanks a bunch

 

Well man im glad i found this one.. I have a IX and i work for chevy.. And my best works for dodge.. The evo will ALWAYS be faster than the 3.... if you are worried about headaches then stay away from the ss.. they are awesome cars But F-body cars (Camaros) ALWAYS have shakes and squeeks. ALL OF THEM.. They are a ***** to work on and cops look at them all the time.. SRT-4's are great too.. Can't beat em for the price but they aren't that fast... Even with 50-100 more hp than the evo or ss they will loose b/c of torque steer and spinning off the line. But if you are looking for ONLY 03 evos.. then go with something else go ahead and get a 05 evo and you will never regret it EVER

 

Well the problem is, Ideal price for me would be between $15,000-$18,000 but that won't get me much... the EVO to me is the ONLY car worth the extra cash and I really don't see myself being able to go $25,000 just to have an 05... the 03 is doable because they can be had with low mileage for low $20's... that is the good thing but it seems as if the 03's are just down right problems, I mean problems that are not cheap if they happen to you and that scares me away, I mean it'd be different if I could count on if I found an EVO that had been taken care of, that I wouldn't really need to worry but I'd hate to buy the car then 2 months later have to drop a $1,000 into transmission work...

the SRT-4 will indeed have torque steer, but they are quick... a buddy of mine ran a 13.3 with intake, TBE, AGP waste gate actuator and an MBC... the squeeks and rattles I don't care about as long as there not mechanical issues and just cheap materials etc... that does not phase me, if it did I'd buy german but with the EVO I'd fear those squeeks and rattles or weird noises may be thing that want to empty my wallet, if not then I don't care if it does... but so many have pushed my away from the used EVO from there horror stories, I wish they weren't so but it seems as if even finding that "right" well taken care of evo is a crap shoot, some win, some lose... I don't have the disposable income to fix fix fix.

 

I also considered a Honda s2000, it's RWD and a convertible so that is nice too, you would think it is reliable at higher mileage 60-90k however I hear different, because of all the important components they have so that in ways rules that car out...

 

I have a 2001 SS(auto trans) as well as a very heavily built 1992 Talon so I'm no stranger to the 4G63 AWD setup. I'm also considering getting an EVO or an STI or a Legacy GT.

This is what light I can shed on your question:

First, depending on the miles on the car you can get fairly long loans, for example I got a 5 year loan on my 2001 SS when it was 3 years old, it only had 3,000 miles on it however.

As far as SS VS EVO... 2 VERY different cars obviously built for very different purposes. Both great in thier own respects.

As far as speed, obviously AWD can ET good but stock for stock the EVO simply doesn't have the raw power to trap as high as a stong running LS1 F body.

Out on the highway stock VS stock a proper running LS1, stick or auto... will eat the EVO alive, I know....I raced my friends EVO several times with my SS when we were bone stock and destroyed him on the highway and at the track I usually won too, he usually ran 13.3's@101+ to my very consistent 13.1's@106+. Off the line he'd walk me due to my poor 2.0~ 60 fts, but I would catch him fairly quickly by around mid track or so.

My SS ran consistent 13.1's@106+ dead bone stock, and ran a best ever dead stock of 13.00@107.59, stock tires, air filter, the works, all original. With only adding a stall converter and drag radials it ran 12.68@106.5.

LS1's have been known to put up 320+ RWHP bone stock, especially 2001-2002 models.

An SS handles pretty good all things considered, it has suspension upgrades over a standard Z28. But beware in wet weather they are a handful, and snow is 100% out of the question.

Gas mileage with an LS1 F body is very good on the highway, up to 28 MPG, city 20 MPG unless you're a leadfoot.

There is talk of rattles, and yes any hatchback will have a few, but my SS is darn near rattle free still.

In the end they really are 2 very different cars and you need to consider which will suit your needs the best.

 

The way I see it is if I were to get an SS Camaro, as long as I would be able to finance it for at leaste 36 months, ideal would be 48 months however when I went to my credit union they told me that if a car is a certain age, it cannot be financed a certain term which sucks... I'd love to spend $15,000 on a car because I can be comfortable in the payment instead of stretching myself for an EVO... the creeks, rattles I don't care about but how well build are LS1 Camaros, I love the car but I don't want it to fall apart or give me greif, I understand things at certain mileages need to be replaced but I plan on finding an LS1 with under 50k... I like the car because the exhaust note is awsome, when one turns the corner it screams bad *** and is very fast bone stock, but I have owned domestics before and ick... if it is a well built car then sweet... I also wouldn't mind a convertible SS.The financial part is the wonder, I can't have a short short loan term on a $15,000 car... the payment would be too high, I also have insurance to consider I am 20 with two stop light tickets and thats it.

 

Before you go any further you'd better check insurance, at your age an LS1 F body is going to cost a good deal to insure. You could get a 4 year loan on a 2001 I'm willing to bet, and a 5 year on a 2002 through the right loan place.

As far as the build quality. They are good. The main complaints are weak power window motors, the door panel upper plastic likes to crack early on, front rotors like to warp on hard stops, and the stock 10 bolt rear will not hold up to slicks, sometimes even ET streets or even lesser drag radials can break it on a sticky track if launched really hard.

It takes very little to get them in the mid 12's at 110+, and prices are coming down.

I'm going to be selling my SS this spring, with only 10,000 miles/mint condition my asking price will only be around $15,500 or so. So you can easily get into one for your price range, IF you can handle the insurance.

Personally I wouldn't buy a Vert, unless you really are going to get alot of top down time use out of it. IMO Verts are a kinda PITA unless you live in a sunshine state. The T tops my SS & most F bodies have are almost as good as a vert anyhow for open air feel.

 

i traded in my 01 camaro ss (black 6spd.) for my 03 evo 8, which i traded in for my 06BR350#005. Bone stock you right about the ss pulling the evo on the highway and on the track. i ran 13.2 @108 spinning the tires in the ss,and i ran 13.3@103 with the evo with a descent launch(1.8 vs. 2.2 in the ss due to wheelspin).But overall the evo is a 10x better all around car and much more fun to drive than the ss.The build quality in the g.m. wasnt even close to the evo.I honestely miss my camaro sometimes until i get into my BR and all i can think is (great choice Danny). never been happier with a performance car in my life and i,ve had a few

 

If you can afford it, get the Evo. If not, dare I say it, get the SRT-4. I was seriously considering that car for a while until I figured out exactly what my budget was. Compared to the Evo, it has lower insurance rates, easier maintenance schedules, and better gas mileage (23 city/30 highway rating). It's not a bad car, yet it offers some pretty decent performance (0-60 in 5.4, 1/4 mile in 13.9, slalom at 68.6 mph, 60-0 in 112 feet) for minimal money. If you go that route, be sure to get an '04 or '05 (since they have a slight bump in both hp and torque as well as a standard front LSD). But if you can, BUY THE EVO!

 

+1

 

The insurance on an LS1 will be about $350 per month, no not cheap at all... the EVO would be $280 and the SRT-4 would be $250, maybe less. The only reason why I wouldn't be able to get into an EVO is the cost of the vehicle... I feel I could surely be stretching myself even with a healthy down payment so I think as hard as it may be to say... the SRT-4 or LS1 would indeed be the more practical route, not car wise but when it comes to funds. It just depends on weather I want a FWD tuner car to play with or a RWD monster... bad *** appeal goes to the LS1, I'd never have to defend my car being in one of those, though the SRT-4 can be made very fast no matter what you get the "it's still a neon" crap... even though it says nothing NEON on the entire car or even in the owners manual...

 

I had an srt before I bought a used evo. Its an 03, but it had barely 30k on the odometer when I bought it. Yes there are some things that worry me...like differential, or transfer case whine as I drive down the freeway. But i dont regret my decision at all. When I had my srt things were ALWAYS breaking and I was spending sometimes 200 bucks a month to fix it and the neon would be in the service dept for a week. So al In all I was spending 500 bucks on my srt, and I only got to drive it 3 weeks a month.

Get the evo man its totally worth it. You dont want to be lumped in with SRT owners.

 

I dont know why everyone is afraid of the 03 evo. I have one that I race quite regularly, both drag and autocross. All I do is change my fluids and I have no problems with the car. Any car you buy is going to break when you modify and then beat the ever living crap out of. IMO most of the problems with things breaking on these cars is do to driver stupidity. A lot of people who bought evos came from 2wd cars and you drive them differently. Im not saying that everyone does but trying to do awd donuts is going to break something.

Do a little research, try to find one that hasn't been modded and get the evo. Trust me you wont regret it.
Take care of your evo and your evo will take care of you.
Good luck.

 

Well see, if I didn't really have to worry about buying a used EVO as long as it had been taken care of and that was 100% of the case then by all means I would be buying an EVO... I just worry is all, but if there not as much as of a headache as there made out to be then I'd go the extra to have one considering with an LS1 the insurance would be $350 vs $80 bucks less with an EVO, I wouldn't worry about space, OR have to have a second car etc etc... I love the EVO always have but I just don't have all that disposable income to be fixing stuff on a newer car, I don't plan on driving it hard out of 1st, drags etc etc. but the EVO I have a love for, as long as it is not going to be a service shop queen. I only plan on going with a BR stage 1 or 2 kit, some wheels and that's IT!...

 

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