I am new to the EVO world and have spent the morning reading through the forums. I am lucky to have some friends who are already involved in the EVO world and also live about an hour from English Racing. So, I am ready to pull the trigger on a new to me Evo.

My goals for a car are as follows:

- Reliable, Semi Daily Driver. I work from home and mainly want to go out and drive the car hard a few days a week along with my first foray into autox this coming spring/summer. There also may be a few times next year that I leave the car at the airport for a week or so, 1-2 times max.

- Autocross capable and hopefully a few track days. My big reason for getting a Evo is that my 2010 GTI is FakeWheelDrive and it sucks to autox/drive hard.

- No real HP goals since my focus is mainly bomb proof reliability and autox/track days, but lets say 300hp/300ft-lb just for kicks.

Now, I have found a couple of options as my title suggests. There is a 2003 Evo 8 with intake, upper pipe kit, TBE mods and tuned by Aaron at English Racing. He vouches for the car being solid but it has 97k miles. I was told it has a new clutch(its funny when the dealer guy says stage 3!!!). Test drive seems good, car is solid, no strange creaks or rattles. Interior is very clean. Also has the ugliest and probably heaviest 18in wheels I have ever seen but there are brand new tires. Car is also lowered with no name springs and has a Hotchkis rear sway bar. Seems like a decent platform to start and I could probably get it for $12-13k.

My other option is a 2006 Evo 9 with 45k miles, $22k. Is all STOCK and has 30k service. I havent driven it yet, but it looks super clean and I will drive it this afternoon. This seems like a good way for me to get into my first Evo because I can start stock and get used to the car and then start upgrading. It has the 18in BBS wheels which is a nice extra.

My biggest concern with the 2003 is that in reading the newbie stuff in the forum, there seem like some good upgrades from 2003 to 2006 in regards to the traction control and differentials. Maybe I am over thinking this because I am mainly autox/track focused, not HP.

What do you guys think? Should I buy the 2003, spend some money on the suspension and not worry about the 2006 updates? $10k in price difference for 50k miles and better all around car seems worth while, but I am new to this.


Thanks

 

I would say get the 03' if you can get it for that cheap, you can always upgrade what you want then with the saved money

 

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sa...-mr-li-ny.html

 

Make sure whatever you buy has been maintained w/ proof. Not just " Yeah I did it"

 

Have one of your Evo buddies check out the IX, there can be signs of it being put back to stock. It might have had a ton of work done and then reverted back to stock when they sold it. For 10k difference I say definitely the VIII. Whats the 30k service anyway? I had my engine built at 30k lol. Oh and I would not give up my VIII for a IX or a X btw.

 

I spent about 30min on the phone with Aaron at English Racing and he had quite a few records on this particular 2003 Evo. The miles are a little high, but the extra $10k would go a long way in mods for the car.

Bottom line, its a used car though and I am sure that something would come up if I bought the 2003.

 

If you bought a 2010 something could go wrong, but if something does go wrong you get to replace it with something better! If you didn't spend the extra $10k to buy the car it would be easier for you to fix it.

 

there has been a lot of improvement from the 2003 to the 2006. with the 2006, you don't get the "P" error code, has ACD, has MIVEC, hollow cams, aluminum door crash beam, 6 speed if MR, warranty(if stock!), etc.

 

No question, I'd buy the IX.

 

Get the IX, less wear/tear stuffs need to be replaced and its low mileage

 

Go with the IX. That's fairely low mileage. A test drive will tell you right away if the car has been beat on or abused. Transmission should feel solid and if it still has the stock clutch it should be smooth with no slipping.
The IX is quite an impressive car is totally stock form. Mine was stock for the first year and half I owned it and I never got bored driving it.
If you are interested in auto crossing I'd go with the IX as well because the transmission has slight shorter gear in 3rd and 4th. Makes for a fun quick reving car.
I drove my car hard a lot of times for the first 48k miles and my clutch finally went. If you were to buy an EVO I would suggest that to be your first mod.

 

The VIII is much cheaper, but I hate the fact that somebody else has modded it. I want a stock car so I can get used to driving and maintaining it before I think about mods. When I bought the GTI, I got excited and bought some mods that I later regretted. Dont want to go through that with the Evo....

 

the VIII is cheaper for a reason. do not go to that mistake.

 

Evos are like Porsches in a sense that one should always buy the best/newest car he can. Trying to save a few bucks on an Evo purchase is likely to cost the buyer quite a bit more in the long run, not counting the frustration, downtime, etc.

 

Evo 9 bro easy pick