Higher mileage EVO VIII's
 

I now see EVO's in the $11-13,000 range. They have higher miles 80-120k but clean titles and they are usually 03-04's. I was wondering if some people with solid experience regarding EVO reliability and maintenance could fill me in on what to expect out of one of these cars at this mileage...

Headaches?

The same thing or pretty close to what you'd expect out of a lower mileage one?

We have one with 120k on it and it drives perfect. no problems yet and it gets its ass handed to it on the dyno all the time testing parts. I am far from worried about it.

Like every car, Im sure how it was treated (oil changes and things) played a big part in it.


-Em

I'd be more worried about the transfer case in an 03-04 than the motor. Take them for a drive and if they sound absolutely terrible on decel the tc is gone.

The classic death whine.

Decel noise is not a bad TC. A whine at speed is a bad TC.

EVO decel noise is a normal occurance.

120k 5yrs and decel noises since day one. Makes the car meaner HAHA

Yea but theres a big difference between normal decel noise and the "WTF is that effin terrible blender effin sound on decel OMG?!?!" hehe. Don't want to turn this into a decel thread but I've went through 2 transfer cases on my 03 Evo and it sucks.

Yea man I hear ya that does suck.

To the OP basically it comes down to checking the car over throughly. Just know that buying a 100k mile Evo is a bit different then buying a 100k mile Camry

These cars can take some beating but need to be maintained properly or wallet won't be to happy with you {thumbup}

Well I wouldn't be buying just any EVO, I would be looking for the one that was taken care of the best but some cars regardless of treatment just don't hold up well.

The EVO is an expensive car to own, repair and maintain anyways and higher mileage scares me off that is why I wanted questions to be answered by those with experience instead of some kid just spouting off his uneducated opinion.

Certain cars just get very tired much sooner than others, and others like Supras can go 200k with a single turbo set up making 600+ whp, I've seen it personally.

This. Sometimes stuff just breaks no matter how good it's treated, on the other hand, stuff that doesn't get the appropriate treatemenet WILL break down, if not now - sooner than later.

11-13grand I would put 4k into mods and still be happy with the price. BTW mine has 102k and I decided to drop in a 2.3l.

I got mine with 100k and i needed a clutch.....it has 113k on it now it runs great

I had 70k on my old one and it was great!

I would check everything very thoroughly. You can usually tell when a car has been to hell and back. I made a mistake of buying a Sti that was beat on bad and it cost me a few extra grand to get her back in good shape.

So a high mileage EVO isn't like a high mileage Turbo DSM in terms of pain in the ass?

I will take my time finding a good one, but I am just concerned that if I want to keep it for a good amount of time that I won't be able to enjoy it because it won't perform up to par, or just cost me tons because things don't last very long even when maintained on this car.

its a performance car with a tough engine...whoever says they never launch or race their evo they are lying. Evo's are built to walk the walk, and also get you from point A to point B. As for those guys that complain about the 03-04 t-cases, well every awd car with a manual gear box and t-case will whine at low speeds its normal, oh yeah for $350 shep or TRE's can rebuild your t-case to a tougher one, i want to see how cheap the ACD t-cases are??? Not cheap.... so if you maintain the car it will take care of you, if you are looking to buy a used one with high milage go for it and if it only lasts for 3 years instead of 10 then drop the rest of the money to get a fresh built engine. Check the car just like you would check a normal car, with a little bit more caution.