I've decided that my next car will be an evo, and i plan on buying hopefully within the next month...I'm looking for a 04+ blk or white evo, pref with SSL and some warranty left with relatively low miles...have about 23K to spend...all that being said...

any advice or any suggestions/tips, anything at all that i should look for when buying used? anything that bugs you imparticular about the evo? how is daily/city driving? i havent had a chance to test drive one yet, but the second i sat in the drivers seat, i knew it was the next car I was going to own...corny i know. but this is the first car i'm buying myself, im 22 so any help at all would be appreciated...

ALSO...if anyone is feeling overly generous and wants to give a future evo owner a car for free, i'll be forever grateful! or if anyone knows or is selling what i mentioned above, feel free to post or shoot me a pm...thanks in advance!

 

Congrats on you future purchase...I just bought mine a few weeks ago..And am really happy..I got a 06 WW GSR..Have you checked what your insurance is gonna be yet??Hopefully you hve a good driving record..Anyways..Youll be happy you bought one..Justin

 

I hope you like the police!

 

I would love to have an 06 blk or red evo...however my budget prob wont allow so...i could spend the extra cash but i dont know if i want to while im still a full time student?

how does the car drive when not in boost or in small town driving? is there still plenty of power?

 

Its fine around town. A little rough though, but nothing to complain about. Try to get one with as few miles as you can. They are reliable cars if they have all their maintence done. Make sure the drivetrain fluids have been changed though. Just as a good idea for price though. A local dealership has a LY 03 going for 22855 with 37k on the clock. They also have a 05 EB VIII that they want 28k for, so be careful with dealerships.

 

Daily driving is a breeze. The stiffer suspension will definitely be felt on rough roads or other uneven surfaces, but freeway onramps and offramps will be a lot more fun. It's a very small price to pay for people our age. However, the A/C is a little on the weak side

Out of curiosity, why would you prefer an SSL model? While MY personal opinion isn't going to be consistent with every single person, I feel that it's not a necessary step up from a standard model Evo. Some people want it for the sunroof. All three of my personal vehicles before my two Evos had sunroofs/moonroofs and I live in sunny California, and I haven't missed them yet. I wouldn't mind having one, but it's not a big deal to not have one. The leather isn't nearly as grippy as an Evo seat, and just sitting in one at the dealership, I noticed I would slide around pretty easily, so during hard cornering I figured I'd slide even more easily. I was actually a bigger fan of the standard IX seats, though the VIII seats aren't as nice. I'd still pick them over the leather offered from the factory, though. The upgraded audio system is definitely better than stock, but it seems like most Evo owners seem to think that the stock audio sound system is pretty decent once you swap out the head unit. I would consider finding the SSL subwoofer used and hooking it up to my car since it fits into the side of the trunk, seemingly taking up less usable space compared to a standard subwoofer box. However, having owned both a non-HID Evo and an HID-equipped Evo (IX SE), I must say that while I could've lived with the standard halogen projectors, the HIDs are FAR superior and I would seriously have a hard time ever buying another car without them. This was pretty much the main reason why I'd want an SSL-equipped Evo, but I didn't really want the rest of the stuff, plus at that point I might as well keep spending money and get an MR (at least up until the SE came out). I hardly ever use the foglights (usually once in a while just for fun), but there have been a couple occasions when I was in the fog, and they worked very effectively and really helped visibility.

So considering the car being high maintenance (expensive replacement parts for wear-and-tear items that seem to need replacement more quickly than most cars, synthetic oil changes, super unleaded gas), a little on the thirsty side (my personal best EVER was around 25 mpg, all freeway, no A/C, pretty much never boosting, going 70 mph the whole time at night), having a crappy turning radius (expect to make a lot of three-point turns, even into parking spaces), unwanted attention from various people (police, people wanting to race, haters), no cruise control, a pretty boring interior (mostly the center console), easily scratched paint... it's been my favorite car, and I don't regret it at all, even with all the cars that have come out afterward and even the cars that haven't come out yet.

And by the way, I've had:

1995 Honda Accord EX Coupe - stock F22 VTEC motor (though I had plans to swap in an H22A DOHC VTEC motor from a Prelude), intake, exhaust, coil-overs, 18" Racing Hart M6 1-piece wheels, carbon-fiber hood
1994 Isuzu Rodeo LS 4WD
1999 Mercedes-Benz E320
...and two Evos, currently a IX SE

 

I dont mind the stiffer suspension at all...the car i own currently (03 tib...yes major upgrade to the evo...but in fairness the tib has been great to me and a great first car! would recommend the v6 to anyone looking for a DD) has a pretty stiff suspension, it's not stock obviously, but i used to live out in the country so i dont think i will mind it...infact i prefer it.

the SSL...I want it for the major reasons you stated above...I like having a sunroof, i rarely use AC even in the summer, the leather looks a hell of a lot nicer than the crap blue 2-tone interior and doesnt stretch like the cloth does, even though i will give you the leather did seem slippery...upgraded speakers are definitely something i would like as well with out having to go aftermarket, and the stock sub would be fine as i do not bump my music like i have 2 12's in the back, I do want the interior ect..to be somewhat nice (as you said it is pretty dull) so that atleast my female company can enjoy it as well...HIDs are def a must, i purchased a 6000k philips kit for my car, and it was night and day, a must have! i just figure it would be easier to get all these things on the evo when i buy it rather than spend the money to upgrade...the only problem being it is a lot harder to find and could take sometime?

any suggestions on where/how to a good used evo for sale? ive monitored the FS forum for MONTHS now, look at autotrader weekly...and ive checked local dealerships ever so often...not so much luck esp with my budget??? any help???

If ANYONE knows of a good deal, please point me in the direction!

 

I still think you'd be better off in a standard Evo rather than the SSL. Like I said before, I've always had a sunroof until I got my Evo, and I don't miss it. I hardly ever use the A/C (only if it's ridiculously hot or if I have company in the car). Though I agree that the black-and-blue interior of the VIIIs isn't all that fantastic to look at, it's not too bad, especially since you're consider either a black or a white Evo. If you wanted a red Evo, then it might look a little weird. But what you can do is just buy a used set of IX HID headlights, which are better looking than the VIIIs (since they are smoked)... there is a set on sale for $750 obo at socalevo.net here --> http://www.socalevo.net/forum/index.php?topic=44898.0

 

Good luck on your purchase, if you look hard enough you may even be able to find a 05 EVO VIII. But anyways remember the EVO is an expensive car to own. Not just monthly car payments, but we are talking insurance , maintenance that is usually more expensive than the average car, and the EVO just demands to be modded, you can try to fight the urge, but it is very hard. Other than that you should absolutely love this car. I love my EVO IX to death. I waited for this car for 2 years and had such high hopes that it seemed impossible for the EVO to meet my such high expectations. But not only did my EVO meet them it surpassed them. Has everything been perfect, nope! But hey my biggest expectation was performance and this is the best performance vehicle I've ever driven. Not just acceleration, not just handling, it's everything put together to make this car one of the most awesome performance vehicles around.

 

i bought a 05 ssl for 23$.. great car.. lotta fun...thats all i can say

 

yea ive been looking more in depth and i have found a couple good deals...by the way, want to sell that 05 ssl?? haha

I agree, blk or white evo...i will get the black headlight/tailights...but i am confident i can take it apart and do it myself

any other suggestions on way to go with the loans or how the preapproved loans work exactly? i need to go talk to a loan officer i know, but i wanted to know if anyone here has any info? also any other input is appreciated...thanks to everyone already!

 

Make sure before you get your loan payments set to get an exact insurance quote to factor into your budget. Being younger(I am only 19), the insurance on evo's is pretty high. I actually own another car that is registered as my daily driver just to keep the price of my insurance down. Just a suggestion, although I am sure you may have already done this.

 

I, for one, really do feel like the sun/sound/leather package is definitely worth it. If you plan on using a car mostly as a daily driver you will really appreciate the extra amenities. The leather gives the interior a stealthier/classier look and feels GREAT, i'm definitely not sliding off of it in turns or whatever...

The stereo will probably not blow you away, but rest assured that it's bangin enough that while your crusing with the sun roof open and all windows down going 80mph down the highway you won't have any problems hearing your tunes loud and clear including the bass from the sweet sweet infinity sub.

The sun roof doesn't need selling, it sells itself. I wouldn't trade it for anything (not even an aluminum roof :P). I don't drive anywhere without the sunroof open, it pretty much guarantees happier commutes everywhere. I've owned three cars with sunroofs and this is actually the best quality of the three (porsche 944/rsx type s). When you retract it it actually tucks into the roof of the car instead of angling it'self out of the roof and sitting on the top of it like most imports do. OH, and if you plan on actually having people in the backseats, they DO really appreciate the nice rear headrests that come with the SSL package too. HIDs own.

You can say what you want about the lighter roof/different shocks/extra gear/gauges/BBS rims you get with the MR. I have NO trouble keeping up with my MR driving buddies, spend some time searching the forum and you'll see people's 6 speed woes, the KYB suspension is a little stiffer than the bilsteins, but it's still a great ride. AND for a daily driver you don't really need those gauges do you? or at least you can get aftermarket ones that are more visible than those that sit in the bottom of your center console.

Can't diss the MR BBS wheels though, those things are sex. No complaints on the enkeis though, they are much easier to clean. Don't worry, you'll enjoy whichever model/trim you get for sure.

 

Nicely put. Good argument for the SSL package. I will say that the sunroof seemed pretty well-made, especially compared to the ones that Subaru used to put in the WRXs with their whatchamacallit package (sunroof, heated seats, spoiler), as their sunroof was seriously like ten inches long... pretty short.

You also pointed out some good things regarding the MR, with its known issues with 4th gear on heavily tracked cars, plus the gauges are in an inconvenient spot (though some people buy the aftermarket kit where you can swap them and the head unit), and the boost gauge isn't in psi.

 

I may be a bit biosed though here's my baby: