I am going to pick up an '03 w/ less than 9K on the clock. It hs seen a lot of time in storage. I am curious about any evo-specific issues caused by this situation of long-time-storage. Not worried about the obvious (ie. flat spots on tires and other problems any stored car can have)

What I found via searching was the following list:

Check the seals around the transfer case; check for tc whine in general when buying used

Check seals on transmission and rear end/differential

Make sure the temp control in the hvac system changes air temps appropriately

Check clutch for slippage.

I used terms like buying, tips, purchasing, concerns, etc. Any other suggestions would be appreciated, either searching tips or things to look for before I hand over the hard-earned-cabbage to the seller.

Kind of long, but as it says up and to the left, I am still learning :] Thanks in advance for any help rendered.

Tom (I think this is the right forum for this question)

 

 

I am sure the car is probalby fine. I would get a carfax repsot to see if you can figure out why it has been sitting so long. If a dealship is selling it other than a Mitsubishi dealer is probably been in a accident or was way over priced.

 

Only 9K on a 2003 EVO, wow that's pretty sweet. I'm sure it's fine with only 9k miles, but all the things you mentioned are things you should look for. But pretty much when buying an used EVO or any used car in general your taking a leap of faith. But not all problems are caused by the previous owner and can be normal wear and tear, such as the tires, check them, make sure they aren't really worn, shouldn't be at 9K miles, but then again you never know. I met a IX owner, who had 8K miles on his IX to my 11K and his tires where gone and mine are just fine, I'm like WTF? Says he likes to drift, LOL. Cool guy though.

 

Good idea about the title check. Thankfully the check results sounded good when I recieved them. No salvage/rebuilt/flood/accidents reported/etc. The idea of the tread possibly showing driving habits is a great thought. The previous owner had gone through bankrupcy last year and I think he's just been working a ton to get caught up. Poor guy has to give this up to get a new truck for work. He said he never drove it in the winter or the rain. It would be nice if this turns out to be true :] It could explain why the miles are so low...

Again thanks for the insights and I hope to get a few more suggestions! Glad to have the research I did confirmed.

Tom (sorry so long-winded)

 

Check for rust on the rotors, exhaust and underbody too. Thats very common when cars aren't moved enough and can be expensive to fix. I know he said it's been in storage, but it could have also been outside before.

 

^Rust on the rotors expensive to fix? I'll give you a special secret free tip on how to remove rust from the rotors for free.


























Drive your car.

Scorke

 

+1

 

Good idea as far as any rust on the undercarraige and on exhaust. I was wondering if there are specific areas that tend to rust on the evo? (you know how there are "Honda spots" where the rear quarters meet the top of the rear bumpers at the rear of the wheel arch). Hopefully any rust on the rotors will be minimal so the "drive it" method will suffice :] and the brakes won't be siezed. I appreciate the thought. If the car has been sitting for too long a time without moving, they may very well be too far gone. Happened to an aquaintance's 535i. He had to replace (or turn, I don't know which) some very expensive Baer or Brembo rotors from sitting in the snow for too long here in Vermont.

Thanks for the suggestions again. I will be taking possession in about a week!

Any more out there? :]

Tom (learning something new every day)

 

Yeah that's fine for light surface rust.. but you think that's gonna fix 3 years worth of possible rust? Did you read the thread and are you trying to help? Or are you just looking to insult someone?