Hello all, I am only days away from picking up an EVO and I am quite excited coming from the STi community. I wanted to post this up and get some feedback and make sure I am making the best decision for myself.

After searching for a IX for over 2 months and constantly running VIN numbers of over 14 cars that I looked at and trying to find one that did not have any red flag warranty work, I finally narrowed it down to 2 EVOs, so I would appreciate the feedback. Just so everyone knows I have been lurking here for almost a year and have read lots of threads in regards to the 5 speed versus 6 speed MR trannys and the cosmetic differences between cars. I have test driven 3 EVOs and 2 of them were identical(color and option and no mods) to what I am looking to chose between. I have to say after test driving several IXs, the EVO is the car for me and it feels just right as compared to the 07 STi that I have now. Well here are the description of the cars and approximate prices. Both cars are completely stock except for minor cosmetic differences that I will list under each car's description.

First car: IX GSR w/ SSL Apex Silver with 14500 miles on it.
Dealer asking price: $28000, got them down to around 26k... I still think its too much... Another member here test drove this car but decided not to buy it as he wanted an MR instead. He told me the car drove and felt great. This car has inservice date of September 2007 so it has a lot more warranty then the other one. Vehicle has one owner listed.

Second Car: IX MR Graphite Gray with 10,500 miles on it. Price on the car is $25000, has had 2 owners and looks very clean. Car is also stock except for the tint, after market radio. This one has a very early inservice date of Nov 2005 so it was probably one of the first 06 MRs in the states. This one obviously has less Base warranty left of the two.

I verifed the cars' VIN numbers and both checked out good as having NO WARRANTY work done. Carfax for both cars also looked good.

My main 2 questions are, should I be keen on the length of the base warranties as the GSR SSL is good til Sept 2012 and the MR's is only til Nov 2010. And what do you guys think of the pricing and if it would be worth getting the GSR with more warranty as opposed to the MR.

My plans for either car will some cosmetic mods like wheels, suspension and maybe a catback. I have a beater that I drive for work and so the EVO will mainly be a weekend and sometimes DD.

Any suggestions and/or advise would be appreciate it and I am really looking forward to owning an EVO.

 

bump for some advice...

 

another bump...

 

When I was buying my evo, I was also caught up on the length of the warrenty. I finally saw it this way: I am going to be modifing the car, and not driving it very much. Two things that really dont go hand-in-hand with warrenties. The MR seems like the better of the two although age is the reason why its cheaper. Honestly, I would keep looking for a newer MR, you can find them around those prices anyways, but between these two, forget the GSR. Its only going to depreciate more and probably not use the warrenty anyways.

 

^thx for the input but you are kinda contradicting yourself if your saying do not worry bout the warranty then really it doesn't matter how old of an MR it is. It has 10k miles on it... its obviously been a garage queen for the most part. Mileage is important but you are right if I am gonna mod and knowing how Mitsu is about honoring warranties then I guess it really shouldn't matter. I am leaning towards the MR myself so far but would like a few more opinions.

 

my personal taste, I'd probably go with the Apex SSL, one owner, I'm partial to SSL, I think the 5 speed is a bit stronger....as far as warranty...It depends if you'll be modding in even the slightest way, it's really hit or miss with the dealers that cover stuff and ones that dont...either way though, 2 good choices there if they are truly un-abused..

 

dont buy the mr if ur gona mod it

 

My only point about getting a newer car wasnt warrenty, it was that you can find newer MRs around those prices anyways. Mile for mile, a newer car will simply be worth more.

 

10K on a MR for 25K sounds great... if it had one owner that would be better...But, You can't go wrong with the 6 speed, the gearing can't be beat.. when everyone else shifts into fifth in their gsr's your MR will still be flyin in fifth past 120mph ! The MR's always pull ahead on the Best Motoring vids

 

My advice is to just buy a brand new car that you like very much and stick with it. Don't buy the used Evo IX's because you can't always be confident of what you're getting.........How about a brand new Evo X?

 

if your absolutely going to keep the car stock then foccus on warranty life but its a freakin evo, most likely your going to mod so forget about warranty.

 

Warranty doesn't really mean much these days...9/10 times you'll get shot down because its 1) driver error or 2) mechanic cannot replicate the problem...it really comes down to your dealer.

I'd say to just find the cleanest one you can and get it inspected by a local Evo shop.

Shamless plug: I'm selling a white IX MR if you're interested.

 

Go for the GSR

 

I would go with the MR. The 6-speed is worth it...

 

GSR - stronger tranny in stock and aftermarket form and if you want bbs, bilstiens and hid's you can get them for a deal if you shop around.

Why buy the factory MR trim when every part of the car that makes it an MR is likely to be replaced? You'd be paying for the emblem.

Of course all of this is null and void if the deal is too good to pass up.