Hello, I currently own an 05 s2000 with 20k miles w/ hardtop option, I have an opportunity to trade her in for an 08 evo x gsr with 28k miles with very little money on my part, I went in and test drove it but instead of pulling the trigger I figured I wouldn't make it an impulse trade and ask you guys for advice/ get more info on the evo x.
Is there anything to watch out in the 08 since it is the first year model? On my short test drive the transmission felt a little odd and whenever shifting in to 5th there was a slight grind (not too worried about it since it's still under warranty and the sale guy assured me it would be fixed)
Overall the car is ok for the year and the mileage, a few scratches on the rear bumper/ the front brake calipers have multiple scratches/ interior door handle and shift knob are worn out & scratched up.
Other then that the car drove good and the 300wtq was a nice feeling compared to the 162tq of the s2k, the handling felt great even on par with the s2k only the turning radius was wide.
Looking forward to your sincere comments/suggestions.

 

Sounds like fairly excessive interior and cosmetic wear for less than 30k miles. The transmission feel sounds about normal...new fluid (aftermarket synthetic) and shifter bushings will really help with that. A lot of scratches on the brake calipers makes me think frequent pad changes which could indicate the car was tracked. Were the calipers still bright shiny red or were they dull and discolored? Brown calipers is a sure sign the car has been tracked hard.

I'm a previous S2k owner (actually in the market for another to use as a spare car) and the X makes for a much nicer daily-driver.

 

The caliper were fading a little but still red.

 

I personally wouldn't want a car that's been thrashed at the track.