Hi, i was looking into getting an Evo 8/9 and it seems that everybody i talk to about is against me getting one. All the say is DSMs and there bad reliability and blah blah. I realy want one but everybody is making me second guess myself and im not sure if its the right thing to do. If you were in my situation what would you do? Right now im 18 years old so this will be my first Evo, i Currently drive a 2013 Genesis Coupe 2.0T but it is currrently up for sale im going to college next year and dont want to be paying on a car i cannot drive so im going to sell it and buy something without a payment. After i sell it and pay it off it will leave me with about 13k cash which will give me about 15k for an evo. Now do you think i can find an GOOD EVO for around 15K that im not going to have a ton of problems with? Or should i look into another car because this one is just going to give me problems. Also what kind of mileage should i be expecting for about 15k? Thanks for all your Help!!!!!

 

finding an unabused evo priced at 15k today seems more of an anomaly.

keyword is abused, and not mechanically unsound.

I for one beat the living **** out of my car. Its a huge pile of crap in my opinion- I bought it off ebay as a theft recovery, and it was clearly frankensteined together after recovery... poorly.

The trans grinded going into 4th, it sputtered at WOT, and the rear diff fluid showed signs of NEVER being changed... at 56k miles.

I did basic fluid changes and normal maintenance, got a good tune, and she now runs beautifully. I wouldnt hesitate to drive it across the country if I needed. Its now becoming my track car, but only because I choose to because my X is a better daily (to me).

so, my recommendation is going to be a little different than most. Find any cheap evo. Make sure the transfercase doesnt whine and compression checks out. then done deal. You now own one of the best engineered machines on the road. Enjoy.

 

It is absolutely possible to find a clean Evo for that price. Just need a bit of luck. An '03 with about 80k miles that is stock or very lightly modded would probably fall into your price range. A lot of people like to overprice the **** off them, so just be patient and look out.

 

YES!!! Ive noticed this quite abit people have 100k mile cars and ther still asking 17-18k for an VIII. But yet ive seen posts on here where some guys are saying they got theres with 60k miles for 15-16k and it stuns me because ive looked everywhere and cant seem to find any for a good price.

 

btw I got mine for 11k. 05 MR.

 

Thats another thing i dont mind a salvage title as long as its within reason but even salvage evos are 15k. I would gladly pick on up for 11k and have to do all the work to get it into running order!

 

Before my Evo I owned a DSM. Your friends are correct, they are maintenance and repair daily machines. The Evo is like a DSM with almost all of the problems fixed at the factory and the Evo handles way better and has more power.

For most owners an Evo is like canvas for an artist. They can't resist changing everything. Most of the problems you read about on this list are caused by modifications.

 

I bought my 03 Evo 8 for $14,000 with 120,000 miles on it. It need some work but nothing to serious That cant be fixed. After buying some after market parts from lots of good vendors that we have. $3000 later the car is runnung like new. Like people tell me, you get what you pay for. ( my opinion ) But like the other member suggested, you got to be lucky to find a good one for the price you want to spend. Also if you are driving like you are racing everybody, then ofcourse you will run into issues. Drive under boost and the car will least.

 

They arn't for everyone. Please don't buy one if you care more about looks or style than sheer driving ability. Like already stated, they respond amazing, or terribly, to modifications depending on how they are done and how the car is maintained.
For 15k you can get a mechanically sound car with some searching. IMO you can get more car out of an evo for 15k than almost anything else. But if gas mileage and not working on it are your biggest concerns then Id look elsewhere. If you want one of the best handling cars ever built that you can fit 5 people in and embarrass sports cars with then the evo is your car.

 

No. Add $5K-$8K to your budget for a problem-free car. It's as simple as that.

Have you looked to see what insurance on an Evo costs for an 18 year old?

 

Yes they can be good cars for the right person in the right situation. Being 18 and going to college in my mind is probably not the right situation to own an Evo, but I'm not quite sure what you have going on for college or finances.'

Why are you wanting to sell the '13 Genesis coupe which is brand new and has a warranty?

Do you have rich parents that will bail you out if the car has issues? (driving a '13 Genesis coupe I would almost assume so but then again I don't want to rush to judgement.)

Are you having to do student loans?

Will you be driving from college back home on a somewhat long trip?

Will you car be parked outside?

Are you living off or on campus?

Like FJF asked, have you check insurance rates?

There are a lot of things to consider. If you are borrowing money to go to college then I would say skip buying the Evo and buy something cheaper, economical, and reliable to drive. The Evo can be reliable, and unreliable. It just depends on what's been done to the car. There is a lot of risk involved in buying a used and potentially abused Evo.

 

Honestly, the best advice anyone here will ACTUALLY give you is....

If you are off to college with minimal money, you should NOT buy an Evo, 100% certain there is risk envolved. Plain and simple.

Good luck.

 

keep the Genesis, you will have a warranty and you wont be upside down trying to sell it to get another car. Refinance it if that will help your money situation, otherwise stick with what you have. In your situation I would not trade in a car with a warranty, for one that has none. my. 02

 

I just bought a unabused 06 TB with 87 k for under $14k . U look hard and find a good price n u negotiate. U will get a cheap EVO .

And don't believe what anyone says.. Most likely they're driving a Subaru or someone worse than that.

 

Agree with what has already been said. Unless these people who are telling you an evo is a bad idea owns one then dont listen to anything they say. I'd stick with the new car rather then get into an evo in your situation or sell it and go cheap.