I've been looking for an Evo for a long time, and finally snagged my dream car last weekend. She's a Graphite Gray IX MR with 48k on the clock, bone stock with the exception of an aftermarket clutch. This is my first Evo, coming from an '04 Mazdaspeed Miata.

I live in Hawaii, so prices on Evo's are higher than I've seen on the marketplace here. I managed to find my Evo for a steal, though, and I think I got a good deal even by mainland standards. The only catch is the last owner didn't have any maintenance records, so right now I'm playing catch-up on maintenance. I've got the oil change done so far (Royal Purple 10w-30/OEM filter and crush washer), and planning on doing fluid changes for the transmission, transfer case, rear axle, and coolant today. I'm also debating whether or not I want to just go ahead and do the spark plugs and timing belt (60k service) early, just to be on the safe side.

Only mod I've done, if you even consider it that, is 35% window tinting. I ordered a K&N drop-in filter ( ) because mine was filthy, but it hasn't arrived yet. Once I get all my maintenance taken care of, I'm planning on starting with some simple bolt-on mods: TBE, MBC, AFR/boost gauges, and intake. I'll see if I'm happy with that level of power and go from there to decide if I want to do any more intensive mods.

Anyway, here's the pics!
http://imgur.com/a/QvNz4#0

 

Same as what I own! Just quite a bit less mileage... Looks very clean! Good to see you plan on taking excellent care of it also

Enjoy it!

 

If you don't mind me asking how much did you pay for it?
PS: PM is great too. :}

 

congats!! MRs are so awesome.

 

Thanks all! Got the coolant flush done today, but got distracted cleaning up what seemed like 20 years of accumulated brake dust in the barrels of my wheels and ran out of time. This weekend hopefully for the drivetrain fluids!


PM'd.

 

That wouldn't be a bad idea, especially since you may not have any documentation of what services had already been done on the car before you bought it. At the same time, even though the mileage is low, the parts and fluids may very well be a few years older than they should be, so it wouldn't hurt to play it safe and do the 60k now, and then just do what you're supposed to do for the intervals beyond it.

 

Looks nice, you are smart to change all the fluids first. The mods will come.

 

Congrats! If you think you are ever going to run different cams then put them in while the timing belt and 60k service are being done. S1's work great on the stock turbo( +15hp to 30+ish) I'd also make sure the diff and tcase are properly filled and checked again after 10-20 miles. The tcase can seem full when its not after a drain/fill. Don't forget to do a boost leak test as well.