Hey everyone! My name is Ryan, I'm 23 and from Southern California. I kind of have a story as well as a few questions to ask to some of you guys; I’m a n00b to the Evo-game and need some help/advice/suggestions. Here it goes:

First off, I drive an ‘08 VW Jetta (lowered, rims, tint, blah blah) that I’ve been rockin’ since 2008. Recently, I’ve been talking to my wife and seriously considering trading in my Jetta for an Evo IX. I have been looking around on AutoTrader, eBay, Craigslist, etc. trying to find exactly what I want in an Evo and getting an idea for a price on one with roughly 30k miles. Some of the reasons we bought the Jetta was because it was good on gas, looked nice, price was alright, and had great safety features. My wife was obviously more concerned about the safety and we (and by ‘we’ I mean ‘she’) ultimately decided it would be the car to buy lol. So I’m here 2 years later with a $400 car payment on a car with almost 40k miles and I’m starting to itch for an Evo. I’ve always wanted one and I figure now would be an ok time to look into it.

I first got into the Evo IX when a friend of mine bought one of the last brand new Evo IX SE’s at a dealership nearby a couple years ago, and I fell in love with it. It was fastttt, beautiful, sounded amazing…..but the 30-something thousand dollar price tag was painful and at the time & I didn’t have the right job to afford a car that awesome (along with upkeep, maintenance, 91-octane, etc).

Now I have the means to purchase one, but to convince my wife she wants me to take her to someone knowledgeable and answer ALL of her questions and explain why this car is a good ‘family’ car. She is also now 4 ½ months pregnant (found out after I had already started doing some Evo research lol) and this again is another reason why safety is an issue when buying a car for us.

So now that you have a little insight, here are some questions I have in regards to turning in my Jetta for an ’06 Evo IX:

Is the Evo IX a 'safe' car to drive?
Is it safe enough for when my newborn comes?
What kinds of safety features does it have?
What kind of maintenance needs to be done on the Evo monthly? Yearly?
Is it true when one tire pops you have to replace all four?
What is the average price some of you pay for four brand new Brembo brakes? How often do you change them?
How good is the clutch in these cars? Do they need replacement often?
How much should I plan to spend a month on my Evo (not including gas) for maintenance, etc.?
Is this car ok as a commuter? I drive about 40 miles a day (20 there, 20 back) two weeks a month.
Is it a good family car for those of you who have families?
Is this car worth the $450-550 payment I will end up having for the next 5-6 years?

Anything I should know or any suggestions you may have for me would be awesome too….I don’t want to make a mistake and get in over my head, so any help would be great. Thanks for all your guys’ help in advance.

 

my best advice to you since you're in so cal.

give this place call and ask for sam. he'll answer any and all of your questions, talk your wife into wanting an evo for herself and give you the best deal you'll find from any dealership.

http://maps.google.com/maps/place?ex...31940021609728

also, if you want, check out socalevo.net. there's a lot of locals that'll be happy to help you out.

where in socal are you? have you considered a evo x? its got more airbags! larger and more family friendly IMO. i'm in irvine if you want to pm me for more info. or if you want a ride in a e-85 X.

 

1. The Evo's safety ratings aren't great, but I'm not too worried. While there have been some pretty crazy accidents with Evos, keep in mind that a lot of the drivers were usually doing something stupid. It's not exactly a tin can, as plenty of people have walked away from accidents in these cars. But outside of crash ratings, the car's performance capabilities also work in its favor. There have been plenty of situations where it was raining and I had to swerve out at the very last moment and escaped without missing a beat. Could I have done the same in another car? Maybe, but probably not. Factor in a lot of the other features like the Brembos (which have saved me on more than a few occasions in emergency stop situations) and you begin to realize that safety is also about being in a vehicle that can help you avoid accidents.

2. See #1... though I don't really know how to answer that one. A lot of the guys on the forum also have little ones, and there was even another poster who has a IX SE with two Recaro baby seats that actually match the interior. Obviously he trusts the car with his children's lives.

3. Well, it has dual front airbags and aluminum crash beams (which were intended to save weight, but were advertised as being engineered to be as durable as their steel counterparts in this particular application). And then there's the Brembo brakes with Super ABS and the three LSDs (helical front, active center, mechanical rear).

4. The Evo requires synthetic fluids all around. According to the owners manual, oil needs to be changed either every 3,750 miles (severe driving) or 5,000 miles (normal driving), though I change it every 3,750 miles just to play it safe (though having free oil changes for life included with my car's sale definitely helps). At 15k, 45k, 75k, etc. miles, the differential fluids also need to be changed along with the oil. At 30k, 90k, etc. miles, on top of the aforementioned stuff, they do some readjustments, clean a few things (bearings, brakes, throttle body, etc.) and inspect/change the serpentine belts. At 60k, 120k, etc. miles, on top of that, they do a few more things and change the timing belt. The rest escapes me, but those are the major things. It costs more than the average car, but again, it's cheap for what kind of performance the car provides, especially when you compare its maintenance costs to cars that have similar performance but at higher price points.

5. It's not necessarily required for you to replace all four tires on an AWD car. You could, but it's a huge waste of money. The reason why people say that is because the slight difference in tread depth will cause slightly different tire rpms between the axles and can cause the differentials to work harder than normal. It's not going to break anything, but in the long run, you may have to fix a few things much sooner than normal wear-and-tear would require. If you purchase a new tire to replace a damaged one that can't be repaired, most tire shops can shave it down to match the tread depth of the other tires to counter that.

6. I haven't gotten around to replacing the actual rotors, but if you're talking about pads, a lot of people go with other brands that have proven to be very comparable to the OEM Brembo pads. It looks like most decent replacements that aren't full-on race-spec pads will probably run roughly $300 for an entire set of four. However, the calipers of Evos make it easy for you to change pads without having to actually remove the caliper, as Mitsubishi knew that some owners may swap out pads at the track.

7. It seems like most owners will end up replacing the clutch somewhere between 70-80k miles, assuming that they weren't the type to launch at every stop light while being able to properly drive a stick (as those guys have been known to need replacement clutches between 20-30k miles). I'm pretty sure there were a few guys who made it to nearly 100k on the stock clutch, though I can't remember off the top of my head.

8. Assuming you don't have some hook-up but you prefer to have a dealership do it, oil changes will run you $50-80, 15k services will run you ~$300, 30k services will run you ~$500, 60k services will run you ~$1,000. Of course you will save money if you do it yourself, but that's up to you. Seeing how you're in the Southern California area (like myself), there are a lot of shops (dealerships included) who do the services at a very discounted rate for forum members.

9. I don't have a long commute, but over the past several years while owning this car, my one-way drive has ranged from 4-15 miles. I've driven it through open roads, bumper-to-bumper traffic, etc. It's not the most pleasant car, but it doesn't bother me at all, and I have never really wished for a more compliant car yet. On the daily grind (which for me is now just under 8 miles with half of it being through city streets and the other half being on the freeway), I'll typically average 19.5-20.5 mpg, though I've broken the 30 mpg barrier once with most highway trips netting somewhere between 23-26 mpg without too much difficulty and definitely without hypermiling.

10. I don't have a family of my own, but it's not bad. While the rear seats don't fold down, it's actually pretty roomy inside for what it is, and the trunk is very reasonably sized. I've moved several times over the past four years since I bought my current Evo, and it's actually been able to fit A LOT of stuff, even drawers (albeit the plastic kind from Target, but it's still pretty bulky). I've only needed a truck for my bed and widescreen TV, though obviously I've mostly just rented places that already had most large appliances.

11. Yes, but definitely try to get a good deal. While I haven't owned a laundry list of awesome cars (fixed-up 1995 Honda Accord EX coupe, 1994 Isuzu Rodeo LS 4WD, 1998 Mercedes-Benz E320), it's definitely the best car I've owned. I've test driven A LOT of cars (Acura RSX Type-S, Acura TL A-Spec, BMW 335i, BMW E46 M3, Dodge SRT-4, Honda Civic Si, Honda S2000, Infiniti G35, Mazdaspeed 3, Mazda RX-8, Nissan 350Z, Nissan 370Z, Subaru WRX, Subaru WRX STI, etc.), and I just can't seem to like them over this car when you consider performance and price together. Even before my Evo IX SE, I had also owned another Evo. It's just that when I had to replace it, I couldn't think of anything else that I wanted. I'm probably one of the few owners who bought a brand new Evo and kept it stock, and even now, I'm still impressed with its capabilities in stock form, even after all of the test drives I've had (which included wringing out the current Evo X GSR, which definitely corners faster but doesn't feel as fun to drive). I will keep this car forever, God willing. I actually paid it off last week, so it shouldn't be difficult.

Where in Southern California are you?

 

All of this was definitely some interesting information. Thats why I have one to boot.

 

Well said!

 

Nice write up.

 

Irvine - Thanks for the help! By the looks of the reviews, I may just stick to asking him questions though instead if buying lol. Also, I live in the Antelope Valley (Palmdale/Lancaster area), about one hour north of Los Angeles.

Also, I may take you up on that ride! I'll PM you after I talk to my wife

DeezNuts83 - Wow, thanks for the detailed post! I will be taking a lot of what you said and showing it to my wife lol. Also, like I told Irvine, I live in the Antelope Valley about an hour north of Los Angeles.

I've still got a few months to go before I make the sale with the Evo. I'm getting a lot of crap from people around me for wanting to go from an 'economical/safe/automatic/realistic' car to a 'racing/gas hogging/manual/money pit' when I have a child on the way, so talking to you guys is definitely a breath of fresh air lol. Any more advice/help/suggestions would be much appreciated!

 

IrvineXGSR lives around 120 miles from you, so hopefully you can find someone a bit closer to you if you want to take an Evo X out for a spin.

 

Deeeez, you're just as far. hahahha. and OP, you could probably find someone closer. I thought you were in Orange County socal.

what mileage were you getting in the jetta? my x averages 18mpg realistically, but i've gotten 23+ on highway.

 

www.SOCALEVO.net - for local info

www.SOUTHCOASTMITSUBISHI.com - for purchase


-Matt

 

South Coast will be worth the drive in all honestly, plus you can enjoy the beach afterward and then enjoy the drive home...

 

deeznuts - Haha, sounds good! I wouldn't mind making the trip for an in-depth discussion and drive though. Seems worth it.

irvine - I get about 25 average on the jetta, 33+ is the most I've reached on the highway.

o-town - thanks for the links. I definitely dig the south coast mistubishi feel, but those reviews are steering me away. Has anyone posting on here purchased from there? And if so, how was the experience?

 

I purchased both of my Evos from South Coast Mitsubishi (as I live in Newport Beach, which is probably three or four miles from the dealership), and my girlfriend had also purchased a used Corolla that they had on one of their lots sometime last year (though she has since upgraded to another car). The owner of South Coast Mitsubishi also owns Huntington Beach, Long Beach and Victorville Mitsubishi.

Their deals, particularly on brand new inventory at the discounted prices for forum members, are pretty hard to beat. Even their prices for pre-owned vehicles are decent, if you're willing to haggle rather than expect a sale price at a loss to them up front. So the price is right (assuming you don't automatically believe that sticker price is the final offer).

Some of the negative reviews that I've heard come from people who are typically in other states. While I'm sure that some people's complaints might be genuine, it's much harder to deal with customer concerns when they are already out of state, especially when they are just one dealership (or four, if you want to count all of the ones that are under the same ownership) already servicing local clients who they can deal with face-to-face as opposed to being limited to phone calls (which is very time consuming for this particular industry) or e-mails (which aren't preferred by many businesses because what they say is in writing and they can be held liable for every single word that is said), most of which pertain to relatively simple issues or things that they should've asked about before. One thing that a lot of out-of-state buyers tend to overlook is the tax situation when purchasing the vehicle, but more often than not, the buyer doesn't look into that until they're either at the dealership or after they get home and the fact that they paid California tax rather than the tax of whatever state they live in (presumably lower than California) finally dawns on them.

A lot of the local clients scattered across Southern California really love the dealership. They tend to do random BBQs, taco nights and customer appreciation days where they have food, prizes and other giveaways, all free of charge. (I even remember one mini-meet where they had an impromptu car show and awarded the winners... I remember the first place winner getting $1,000 in cash, while second and third got $500 credit toward the dealership and free oil changes for life, respectively.) It wouldn't be accurate if I said that my experiences were always 100% positive (since there was one issue earlier this year that didn't get resolved to my liking), but overall I've been very satisfied and have no problems recommending other people to one of their stores, particularly South Coast.

 

^ again well said. not much more to add to that.

bought my first evo there. second one i found a really good private deal but other than that, i was already talking to sam about it.

go there for all of my oil changes, maintenance, taco meets, any stock part, etc.

 

Why are you bumping this (and other threads)? It's not going to help your post count.