Hello EvoM,

i’m wondering if it would be a great idea to buy an Evo9 MR as daily car? It is my dream car and would love to have one but I’m torned on getting a brand new car or an Evo9?

also, what should I look for when I buy an Evo 9 and how much would it cost to have the engine replaced?

 

Hey @2ezggwp Welcome aboard

As far as dailying an EvO, not my cup of tea as its just my weekender. I just think the EvO has reached a point in its life span that it should be treated as a project & not a means of common transportation

Id get the new car for DD'ing & saving up for a project EvO down the road

Engine replacement is not a set cost as there are many ways to get there. It will be thousands and depends whats done (expect $5k or more)

Joe

 

It all depends on your comfort level. Some people need crazy amounts of noise blocking, comfy seat and suspension, and great stereo. Others can ride in a horse drawn carriage. It depends on you.

It also depends how much you would daily. Being in LA, that might be 100 miles in a day, so it might be fatiguing, and would put a lot of miles on the car. And with the mileage come 3000 mile oil changes, transmission/diff fluid changes, clutch wear, etc.

So really you'll have to ask yourself if it makes sense for you.

My VIII was my only car for 45k miles, and now the X is. But I take the train to work, so I guess the X is just an errands/weekend car. Only have 28k miles on it since brand new in Oct 2016. The VIII got to be too harsh for normal driving, especially with a passenger in, with you having to raise your voice and almost want to apologize for every bump. The X is a lot more comfortable, so that might be an option for you. Get a cheap daily and save up for an X down the road.

 

They are fine daily drivers. It's just s car and was sold in a normal dealership. There's absolutely no reason not to daily drive one. I daily drove mine for five years. It gave me zero issues.

 

I agree, if you want comfy and quiet buy a prius. If you don't mind a harsher ride and some noise, then an evo will serve fine as a daily. I have put 100k miles of daily driving on my evo in L.A traffic. Coil overs and bolt ons, no complaints.

 

Mine has been my DD for almost 7 years, most fun car to drive.

 

Just keep up with maintenance and find a solid engine and itll be super reliable

 

A car that was sold in a normal dealership? what car isn't? Also there is just a the small factor of it being a performance car sold 15 years ago. Parts, maintenance, horrible gas mileage. Daily evo 9 in 2020? No way..unless youre the type that likes to burn money for no particular reason. Sure. You can daily anything. Just be prepared to pay.

 

Some of the posts here imply the Evo is some super special exotic that needs special procedures and attention to keep running and on the road. I was reinforcing the fact that it's a regular 'ol car. It gets better MPG than quite a few modern cars. If OP was worried about that, he probably wouldn't be shopping Evos in the first place.

 

The OP dropped this little bomb question & left the room

 

Another, occasional "dreamer".

 

I've owned my Evo since 2016 and heavily daily'd it until 2019. Still gets driven very frequently, but splits commutes with my Cruze / other cars. As long as you aren't stripping the sound deadening, A/C, etc. It'll make a nice daily. Do keep in mind though that decibel levels in the cabin are a bit high when compared to a modern car.

Also with any manual, bumper to bumper traffic instantly makes dailying a chore.

 

I daily drove my evo IX for 10 years, put 100k on it and honestly it was one of the most reliable cars i've ever owned during that 10 year period. Aside from normal tires, brakes, oil, etc...the car performed and continues to perform like a champ! Since my commute changed a few years ago and i picked up a fusion for my daily, it gets to chill in the garage as a weekend fun car.

I would recommend getting it and enjoying your time with it. For me, i wasnt sure how long the evo "phase" would last when i jumped in, but now that i've owned a few over the past 16 years, i'm happy as ****....still!

 

I don't see why you couldn't, other than the fact that it would suck to have your dream car, drive it daily, then have rock chips, door dings, key marks, etc that could happen with how frequently it will be in congested areas. Just that alone is what keeps me from driving mine all the time.

As far as driving it, I love it every time I hop in. Like the OP, the Evo was my "highschool" dream car and after all these years, I was able to get purchase one.

 

It comes down to how tolerable you are to the firm ride, the louder noise, driving a manual transmission in traffic jams, and the poor fuel consumption. If you are ok with all that then ok to drive it daily. I personally drive it almost every day to work, about 3-4 times a week coz I'm ok with all that. My suggestion is just optimize the stock engine and turbo, don't mod much like changing cams and turbo (even though I personally have just also changed to 264 cams and HKS GT2 turbo).