I have a few questions for those of you who own Evo's (which is probably everyone looking at this post...lol).

First, Ill explain my situation a little bit. Im looking into buying a new car within the next 6 months, and need a few opinions. I currently own an 02 Civic EX coupe which is fine for commuting, etc. but its not really that great of a platform for any kind of serious modifying (besides learning how to turn a wrench, etc.). So the civic's gonna be gone and Ive pretty much limited my choices for a new car down to the following: a used Acura RSX type S, a new 07 Civic Si, or a used Evo. With that said, here are my questions:

1. How does the Evo perform if youre using it as your only car (i.e. are there many reliability issues)?

2. Being an Evo owner and seeing first hand how they are commonly driven, would you ever buy a used Evo?

3. If you had around 21-22k what would you personally buy (Im talking outright, no downpayments)

4. Does anyone have any experience with Evo's as they increase in mileage, in terms of reliability (i.e. 60k+)


Let me finish by saying that Im attracted to the Evo because not only its incredible potential for modifying, but its awd would be great in the NE winters, and its pretty much my dream car (or realistic dream car if you wanna put it that way ). Id really love to find a used Evo around the 20k price range, but Im also willing to wait a few years down the road if this turns out to be not so sound of a move and move to my other two choices.

So whats everyone's opinion?

 

The 4G63 has been around for 15+ years.

I would hesitate to buy a used evo, only because I dog the **** out of my own. But as long as it works, I suppose you should be ok.

40k miles and still going strong.

 

Nothing wrong with buying a used EVO, just make sure it's in good condition. Every EVO owner pushed their car a little so you can't expect to buy a used EVO that wasn't driven hard a little. That is what these cars were made for. Still that doesn't mean not to go used, you just have to do your homework and make sure your not buying a lemon or something.

 

i bought mine used and drive it every day. for that money, i would buy an Evo...thats approx. what i paid for mine (didnt just put that down and buy new cause i dont want a car payment, im still in school, and yes i have plenty left over). it already had tbe and IC piping so i didnt really need to much in upgrades (cams and tune at Buschur coming) so i figure if anything is wrong with it i didnt pay much and that just means its time to upgrade

 

Same deal with me. Im in school, and I really dont wanna make car payments in addition to school bills, etc. so buying and financing a car is not something Id particularily like to do.

 

I got mine new in July '03 .I have 67K miles on mine, daily driver, drags/autox/road course racing. no problems so far (just exclude the self inflicted ones). great ride for sure.

 

yeah if you can find one it good condition it should be ok...like stated before, most of them have been driven hard at least occasionally. you dont buy this car to baby it. i wouldnt recommend dropping EVERYTHING you have on one though. finance a couple of grand if you need to but keep money in the bank! you never know with any used car (or anything else that might happen to ya) plus you'll probably wanna get it tuned/reflashed if its not stock, and def at least a flash if it is stock!

 

You'd be surprised purchasing a used Evo (or even a used STi). Many of them are bought because it was somewhat of an impulse.. Once the owner gets bored with the power, high insurance premiums, and relatively expensive maintenance, it's typically sold without much abuse, if any. You can find some that are in great shape, but I wouldn't buy one that's been modded or has trashed tires with low mileage because that's your first insight that it's been driven hard and possibly not maintained well.

It works fantastic as a daily driver, if you maintain it well it will last and treat you well. Owning a turbo car has it's nuances, (such as waiting for it to warm fully before driving hard, letting it cool naturally before it's shut off, etc). The clutch is the weak point along with the transfer case and such, so you can't beat the crap out of it and expect it to hold up forever (but that's normal for almost any car). If you don't have much of a cash reservoir for the potential $1500 fried clutch or $300 brake pads... it might not be the best choice. Hondas have a tendency to last forever, with or without maintenance. But the Evo really requires proper maintenance if you expect decent longevity.

There's a handful of owners that have exceeded 20k miles per year on their 03's and have had very few problems besides a clutch replacement or minor warranty issues. Lots of these little things have been fixed or TSB'd through the years on newer models. Lack of proper maintenance and excessive abuse is your primary enemy.

btw, most of these questions could be answered with teh search button.

 

Whatever you choose, I would like to say it is nice to see someone (especially a newbie) come on here a post a thread that is well written such as this.

 

For the most part Evos are strong cars.

If you shop around, you should be able to find a good clean used Evo.

There was a member on here that was selling a nice stock Yellow
03 with 8000 miles on it for a very reasonable price.

You should buy one ... you only live once.

 

Thanks, I try. Im not entirely new to forums (member of 7thgencivic and ClubRSX, and Ive been lurking on here for a while).

And I have tried the search button, although Im sure you hear that from everyone. But to be honest, I wanted answers to some more specific questions, thus the creation of this thread.

 

i disagree about the "high insurance premiums", mine is relatively inexspensive. and a car doesnt have to be modded for it to be abused...i know plenty of people with modded cars that drive them hard at times, but are far from abusive

 

hmmm... if ur gonna be paying 22k up front... why dont you seriosuly consider just paying a down for a new one... even though you say you dont wanna make payments it will only come out to about 210 a month for 4 years... just a thought.

I personally wouldnt buy used. im guessing youll be buying 03s with the budget you have..

considering the new civic isnt a bad idea either they are great cars... but paying 4k over for the premium doesnt seem right. my friend recently bought one for 24k out the door here in socal..... at the same dealership a new RSX type S was going for 23k out the door also..

 

I've beat down hard on 2 evo's and except for the clutch and the synchros on my 03 they have been bullit proof. Good luck. Evo's own the other 2 cars as far as preformance.

 

As much as Id love to put the money down on a new IX, I dont think its that responsible of a move for me. Im going into my sophomore year at college, and I know already that Im going to get **** about owning an evo at 19 (actually 20 by the time Id actually get one). The last thing that I wanna do at my age is put myself in any kind of financial burden that could effect my credit, etc for the rest of my life.