I'm looking to buy a used stock Evo 8 or 9 GSR. Ive liked evo's for years and now am looking into buying one. Ive done hours of research but still have a couple questions that I cant find solid answers to. I found this site and thought this would be the perfect place to get them answered.

#1. This is my biggest concern about buying an evo. When something goes wrong with it, Do you have to take it to the dealership to get it fixed. Im thinking that could run into alot of money if you don't have a warranty. Where do you guys take it?

#2. Reliability. How reliable is an evo? I will be looking to use it as an everyday car.

#3. Gas mileage, Tires and brakes. How many miles do you get on average?

Those are the biggest concerns I have. I don't want to jump into it without doing some research first. That way I know 100% what im getting myself into. I love the car and would really love to own one.

 

Buy a used Evo9GSR from a dealership with a warranty.

1. You should be mechanically inclined to do stuff on this car if it breaks down. If not find a local mechanic that works on DSMs. Otherwise if you find a used one with a warranty don't modify it until its over, unless you know how to work on cars somewhat.

2. These cars are reliable depending no how well you do the scheduled maint. and how hard you beat on the car. I've heard many mildly modded evos past the 100k mark pretty easily.

3. You're going to go through some money for oil, tires, scheduled maint. The evo is maint. hungry. If you look at the severe maint. schedule you'll know why. For example: I changed out my copper spark plugs every other oil change. When I do the oil changes every 3k miles, I rotate the tires too. That's just the tip of the ice berg.

If you start modifiying it, get used to troubleshooting little quirks along the way. You'll usually have to tweak this or that, plus prepare for extra misc. parts you're going to forget along the way.

 

whoang40 said it best. +++++11111111

 

i bought my evo with 16,000 miles. i have averaged about 21 mpg. i had to change the clutch @ 21k and that is one of the weakest points of the evo from reading and personal experiance. replacement in signature. as far as tires i can't give you that because i drive my evo year around and have 2 sets of tires and i have only put 10k on the evo (though i drive it daily) so i am on the third summer for the summer tires and will be on third winter for the that set. (both were given from previous owner... my brother-in-law.)

maintenance wise i change my own oil and regular stuff i do myself. i would only work with a recommended shop for repairs for me engine and drivetrain will be thru buschur or sheppard both are with in 1 1/2 hours from me. i don't do anything if possible thru the dealer because of the cost and i am out of warrenty. i am somewhat mechanically inclined so i do alot or as much as possible myself.

only 3 issues i have had with the car other than clutch to date, caliper paint fading (typical), clear coat on wing needs redone (again typical) and the last one that pisses me of is 2 rust holes in trunk from stupid ohio weather and wing movement (again somewhat typical.)

My $0.02. a great car to own and the first car no matter how bad i am feeling i can't help but smile the whole time i drive it.

STevo

 

Screw the warranty. When I found out that my powertrain warranty was non-transferable after buying my EVO used, I began modding the car right away.

I wouldn't be worried too much about oil changes, tires and gas mileage. I mean, you're buying a high performance car so you can't expect to get 30 mpg in it. If you want your tires to last, don't track the car. You shouldn't have to replace your tires for a couple of years if you get a good set. I don't know why that guy replaces his spark plugs every oil change...but whatever floats his boat. Oil changes are like 30 bucks every 3 months (if you do it yourself). Not exactly that costly if you think about it.

Good luck with your decision.

 

Well unless you're one of those rare evo owners that keeps their ride stock you can just assume that you have no engine and drivetrain warranty.

 

Thanks for the quick reply's. keep them coming.

I really am not looking to modify the car too much. Maybe some minor exterior and interior things. But nothing extensive to the engine.

I can do the the small things like oil changes, spark plugs, etc. myself. But I cant do much more than that. Which is why im worried about where I will have to take it if something goes wrong.

 

i get around 250 miles to the tank during the week.....once you start modding you start to see that drop.....i used to get 180 or so a tank but with a fuel save tune and a FP regulator i see 250 now....

 

You don't have to take it in to the dealership. But if you get one without too many miles, the powertrain that transfers over is alright, assuming the car isn't really modded much.

I never had any issues really, and both Evos I've owned were daily-driven cars. Just as good of a daily driver as any other car I've had, in terms of reliability.

My current average throughout the ownership of my IX SE is 22.58 mpg, which isn't bad. My personal best mpg is 26.73 mpg, and surprisingly, that time I wasn't actively going for maximum fuel efficiency (A/C on for ~200 miles, bumper-to-bumper traffic for ~25 miles, etc.). Obviously it's nothing spectacular, though it's not the kind of fuel consumption that will bleed you dry. (I will say that I certainly don't drive slow, but I have good driving habits that get better gas mileage than most, since a lot of owners will say that the best they had managed was 22 mpg or something, but usually they are VERY impatient drivers who have right feet like cinder blocks.) My SE has a little over 12k miles at the moment, still on its original set of tires, but they're all pretty meaty still (surprisingly), and I figure I might even hit 20k on this set (unless I go to a track).

 

The factory powertrain warranty or the extended? I just bought an 03 and recently got an issue with the powertrain control module. The dealer I took it to is replacing it under the factory powertrain warranty on Wed. No questions asked.

And when they were typing things up she was like "you're Scott?" and I said "no, that was the previous owner". She then changed the name in the system to be mine right then and there.

Extended warranties are often not transferable but factory warranties follow the car, not the owner.

 

I replace the plugs every other oil change since they are copper plugs. You've probably never changed them since you have the iridium ones. Copper plugs are so dirt cheap compared the iridium. Plus I run 24psi, search and you'll know why we're changing to copper.

 

I have another question regarding the transfer case in evos going bad. Is this a huge problem? Like is it bound to happen to everyone? Is this only a problem in the 03's or does it go on into the IX's. Someone enlighten me.

 

I'm curious too

 

I'm a 2nd owner of an EVO8 RS.

My advice is consider the dealer for repairs because they generally have the best experience unless you are fortunate enough to have a shop local that specialized in EVOs. In the NW we have english racing which has been tuning and repair EVOs for years.

As for the warranty, discuss this with the service writers and get a feel for how they will treat you. Most will want your business and willing to build a relationship. In the NW I use Premiere Mitsubishi and they covered all my drivetrain warranty issues even though I am the 2nd owner. You will never know unless you ask around.

I went through the stock clutch, pads, and tires like they were paper towels. Price for driving hard and educating V8 knuckle draggers...