I hope this is the right forums, please move if its not.

I am looking into buying myself a Lancer Evolution, but it has been a while since I have owned an import. I had two second Gen Eclipses that I modified, but sold them and have been driving an SUV for the list 5 years for work reasons.

Now I am looking at picking up a used evolution on the side for my fun car. I was looking at used ones, something around $20k, with decent miles, and low mods.

I came across an add for a 2006 MR, however when I go to the dealers website it doesn't state MR, and I believe it not. With the Eclipses I could easily tell the model just by looking at it, but with the Evo's I am not sure what I should be looking for.

There is no "MR" badging on the car(inside or out), the website says its a five speed(I know MR is 6), it doesn't have the vortex piece. So I called the dealer, he claims it is for sure an MR. The only way they were able to tell was by looking up the VIN number.

So I guess my questions is, am I wrong? Is this really an MR? Can you tell from the VIN? From my research it looks to be a GSR... He has it priced correctly for an MR, but if it is not an MR then I believe the price should be more around $18k(correct me if I am wrong). I want to know I am correct in my findings before I ask them to take close to 4grand off their price.

Link 1 claiming MR... http://autos.mlive.com/detail/432804...ion_2006/photo

Link 2 from the dealer site... http://www.lafontainegm.com/VehicleDetails/859702443

If its not an MR, is this still a decent buy? What price should he be asking on it?

 

the vin number should yield that truth...

based on the lack of vortex generators and the fact it has a 5 speed it doesn't appear to be an MR...check the struts are they bilstein (yellow in color)

if not, then it either has swapped struts or it's not an MR

 

i guess for the mileage that price is pretty good, but all i can say for sure is that aint no 06 IX MR..

 

The front lip spoiler looks like it is falling off, check for front end damage. It doesn't look like an MR roof, but it is hard to say for sure.

Dan

 

Looks like a GSR to me.

 

You may want to take a cruise though the model designations and see what each is about. The MR differs from other Evos by having a (less reliable) 6-speed with no real advantage and a Bilstein suspension that many owners traded for inferior Asian coilovers. The odds of finding a MR with its suspension intact are slim. All other MR widgets can be had on any other Evo. Good luck.

 

Alright, well if it is not the MR, is that price still decent? Or what should I be asking him to set it at instead?

 

Hard to say without seeing the car. On the surface, the asking price is fair for the mileage. Looking at the pics, I see Trustz (sp?) gauge overlay and a turbo timer, leading one to believe that someone has had his hands in it. Personally, I wouldn't discuss price before either having the car checked out by an Evo-specific shop or a trusted individual who really knows the cars. I don't mean a friend's brother whose buddy's cousin has a neighbor with an Evo.

 

Mileage is decent, but you could get it for less than that.

 

The dealer claims they took in on trade, thinking it was an MR, so they gave the previous owner MR trade in value for it.

They now agree that it is not an MR.

So the lowest they will go is $21,000.00, and I guarantee they wont budge any lower

Walk away and keep looking, or worth checking it out closer?

Looking on Auto Trader, I find almost no evo 9's for under 25k, and those all have 40k-90k+ miles on them. Ones with under 40k miles are priced at 28k+

 

something is not right with the fog light switch.

 

This is actually what I was thinking. On most systems (I checked myself too from an insurance standpoint), the VIN will reveal that it is indeed a 2006 Evo IX, though it doesn't specify which model, because the only 2006 Evo with a separate VIN is the RS. In this case, the dealership was just stupid. However, at a dealership I used to work at, they had taken in an Evo IX SSL (which had the vortex generator on it) that they had mistaken for an MR (or perhaps the previous owner insisted it was an MR), so they had to list the car at a higher price than it should be going for so they wouldn't be in the negative.

 

You're right. It kind of looks like a different switch was hacked in its place. Not great. There's an aftermarket exhaust, too, and an off-brand radio. I wouldn't even talk price before having the car checked out.

 

Anyone know anyone in the Detroit area for this?

 

If I was in the D I wont mind coming out to check it out for ya, but unfortunatly I moved. ur best bet is to go on Mievo.net and ask the guys on there if they know this evo.
gl!