Names Zack!

Hello there, I am in the market to pick up an evo, just like everyone else whos new here i am
-a Used to be DSM owner (92 TSI 300whp)
-Been here forever lurking but not posting (i had another name but i cant get it to work...)
- and want to learn more about these cars.

little background
-ASE Master AutoTechnician
-Owner of a Pearl White 1992 Dodge Stealth R/T Twin Turbo, with 3.1 and EVOIII Twin 16gs... (still finishing it up) should be around 500Whp on pump when finished...lowered it...now its a driveway ornament mostly... no snow for it
- looking for a nice reliable 4door car i can leave mostly stock and putz around and have fun with. get me back and forth to work..since i am an "essential employee for the support of a billion dollar fleet...


So with that out of the way, I have a few questions

1) Is buying an 2005 better than an 04
-is the Price worth the Front LSD and the ACD?
- I Live in MD, want to be able to drive it in snow like a champ (sometimes we get 3 inches all winter..some times 10 feet+...want to be prepared

2) MR cars.... Ive heard the 6 Speeds are junk...
-True or False? I know of a totally stock MR that has busted up like 2-5th gear.... transmission with 40K..
( i dont know if thats overily abused and launched, or not maintained or what not)

3) Any Suggestions on what to look for on a pre-purchase interview, besides the common stuff, tires..lights...clutch slip...etc?
-any obvious signs of stuff that is busted up during abuse?

4)anyone have a WW or TB, or any blue Evo for sale?


thanks a bunch for the support

 

I have seen many people swapping out the ACD units for 03 ones. The electronics are finicky, apparently. My 2003 has no diff. control options.

As with a good DSM (I have had 5 myself, current 153xxx mile AutoX 91 AWD) you need to find one that hasn't been abused. Treat an EVO like you would a DSM. Check all of the similar things on a 4g63 like coolant, oil, cold start, cold idle/warm idle, throttle response and such things. I asked my seller not to start the car before I came, so I could check for smoke, as well as having my girlfriend rev it a little after it was at operating temps. No smoke what-so-ever. Anything can last if you take care of it.
Good luck!

 

Welcome to the forums Zack. The questions you have are becoming less and less important in my mind. It seems like now the #1 thing you should be looking for is a CLEAN car, modded or not it should be in great shape. If it hasn't been taken care of you can be in for all sorts of problems.

#1 your chances of finding a clean(ish) 04 are probably less than newer years. If you want a Evo I wouldn't pay attention to MR, GSR, 04, 06, 5spd, 6spd, as much as I would getting a clean well taken care of car. If your looking for a cheap deal, then older will be cheaper. Chances are however if you getting an awesome deal on the car, something is probably wrong with it and trannys, transfer cases (where the diff is) and clutches are the top 3 problem areas.

#2 I have a 06 MR and just got the tranny built, I bought a 5spd to put in and paid about $1000 over what it would have cost me if I had a 5spd evo to begin with. That was the core for the 5spd and the necessary swap parts. I got a great deal on my car and the $1000 is more than worth it. Not a very large expenditure. The 6spd is still working great after 25k miles and a few trips to the drag strip. But I had the money and wanted to not worry about it so I upgraded.

#3 as for the buying process and questions to ask, the car should be clean, drive nicely, no whine on the freeway, gears might grind a little depending on mileage, especially if the tranny is cold. Personally as long as the car looked great, drove great, didn't make any funny noises, and had all the fluids I would call it a good choice.

Your best bet might be an 06 MR, they made alot of them and alot of people bought them that aren't really performance folks so you can still find them unmodded and in great shape. Mine was single owner and only had a k&n panel filter.

Oh, take your time, wait and something good will pop up, always does.