Trade an '05 SRT-4 for an Evo IX?
Yeah WTF is up with that??? Personally I have no loyalties... I love any brand/model of car that is quick. I've owned imports and domestics, FWD and RWD (no AWD yet), cars and trucks, and pretty much loved them all. And for what it is, what it does and what it costs, I don't get why everyone bashes the SRT so much. "because it's still a neon"... yeah and? Haven't Neons been kicking *** in SCCA/etc. since they first came out? I always thought the neon was a pretty cool car.
And I dont know what region of the forum you hang out on... I hang out on the mid atlantic region but also many of the other sections as well... it's the usual mix of mature, cool guys and young newbs/wannabe ricers that I find on just about any forum catering to a relatively inexpensive car.
And about buying a used Evo... noooo way. I would prefer to NEVER buy a used performance car again. You never know what abuse it's had and what problems you're buying... often the costs of the major repairs you'll need to do can sometimes push the price of the car past what it would have cost to just buy a new one. ESPECIALLY with all the reports of transmission issues on the Evo's and that most suspect it is abuse... no way... I'm not buying a used Evo, having a trans blow up and paying who knows how much to get it replaced. No thanks. A used Corolla? Yeah that I would consider... used Evo? hell no.
And I dont know what region of the forum you hang out on... I hang out on the mid atlantic region but also many of the other sections as well... it's the usual mix of mature, cool guys and young newbs/wannabe ricers that I find on just about any forum catering to a relatively inexpensive car.
And about buying a used Evo... noooo way. I would prefer to NEVER buy a used performance car again. You never know what abuse it's had and what problems you're buying... often the costs of the major repairs you'll need to do can sometimes push the price of the car past what it would have cost to just buy a new one. ESPECIALLY with all the reports of transmission issues on the Evo's and that most suspect it is abuse... no way... I'm not buying a used Evo, having a trans blow up and paying who knows how much to get it replaced. No thanks. A used Corolla? Yeah that I would consider... used Evo? hell no.
im in New England lol.. im sure u mighta seen a thing or twon about that section lol.. neons are sick little cars. ive always liked them.. all great little cars IMO. have u driven an evo yet? im sure u have..
Yeah I test drove the IX RS. It had 3 miles on it, so I was not TOO hard on it. Never revved over like 5500 rpm. The sales guy did let me take it down this one twisty road nearby that I'm very familiar with which was sweet.
I noticed a few things right away:
- I could feel the extra weight of the car, how it moved around when turning, and also, that from a stop, it needs a little more revs to move smoothly, vs. the SRT which is lighter and makes more torque off boost
- When I floored it, the Evo felt just about as quick as my SRT (which has stage 1 for what that's worth), as far as how hard it pushed me back in the seat. Of course, at 5000ish RPM, I'm not near peak horsepower, and with the motor not broken in, it's not making full power yet anyways. Overall though i'd say it felt almost dead on in how hard it pulled
- The transmission felt notchier than I expected (bad), was shorter throw than I expected (good)... it actually felt almost identical to my SRT with the mopar short shifter.
- The handling definately felt better.. I could get on it sooner and harder coming out of the turn, and maintain better going into the turn... as far as with the SRT, getting on it coming out of a turn = wheelspin and torque steer. However, the IX felt a little softer than my friends VIII? like I felt like the body leaned a little more in turns
- The brakes are awesome... I love the stiff pedal, vs the SRT which stops well but the pedal is much softer.
Again... it didn't 'blow away' my SRT, but I could tell it was doing everything a little better.
I noticed a few things right away:
- I could feel the extra weight of the car, how it moved around when turning, and also, that from a stop, it needs a little more revs to move smoothly, vs. the SRT which is lighter and makes more torque off boost
- When I floored it, the Evo felt just about as quick as my SRT (which has stage 1 for what that's worth), as far as how hard it pushed me back in the seat. Of course, at 5000ish RPM, I'm not near peak horsepower, and with the motor not broken in, it's not making full power yet anyways. Overall though i'd say it felt almost dead on in how hard it pulled
- The transmission felt notchier than I expected (bad), was shorter throw than I expected (good)... it actually felt almost identical to my SRT with the mopar short shifter.
- The handling definately felt better.. I could get on it sooner and harder coming out of the turn, and maintain better going into the turn... as far as with the SRT, getting on it coming out of a turn = wheelspin and torque steer. However, the IX felt a little softer than my friends VIII? like I felt like the body leaned a little more in turns
- The brakes are awesome... I love the stiff pedal, vs the SRT which stops well but the pedal is much softer.
Again... it didn't 'blow away' my SRT, but I could tell it was doing everything a little better.
Shoot me an e-mail and I will send you the employee pricing. I can get you my employee discount from Mitsubishi 2006 Evo IX RS 26,316 up to the MR 33,007 prices are $2,250 under dealer invoice. my e-mail is jeffrey.cermak@na.mitsubishi-motors.com I work in R&D for Mitsubishi in Ann Arbor, MI
15 in debt vs. 30k?
No brainer, stick with the SRT4.
Two of my friends have SRT4s. I've driven them quite a bit, and it is true, for the money there isn't a better performance car. I like the looks, the sound, the power. Compared to the Evo, the handling is definitely lacking, as are the brakes.
Put on a set of coilovers, get more aggressive pads, a set of wider wheels and tires, and call it a day.
I would recommend you make over 90k+ a year if you are planning on buying an Evo for yourself. It is too expensive of a car otherwise.
No brainer, stick with the SRT4.
Two of my friends have SRT4s. I've driven them quite a bit, and it is true, for the money there isn't a better performance car. I like the looks, the sound, the power. Compared to the Evo, the handling is definitely lacking, as are the brakes.
Put on a set of coilovers, get more aggressive pads, a set of wider wheels and tires, and call it a day.
I would recommend you make over 90k+ a year if you are planning on buying an Evo for yourself. It is too expensive of a car otherwise.
15 in debt vs. 30k?
No brainer, stick with the SRT4.
Two of my friends have SRT4s. I've driven them quite a bit, and it is true, for the money there isn't a better performance car. I like the looks, the sound, the power. Compared to the Evo, the handling is definitely lacking, as are the brakes.
Put on a set of coilovers, get more aggressive pads, a set of wider wheels and tires, and call it a day.
I would recommend you make over 90k+ a year if you are planning on buying an Evo for yourself. It is too expensive of a car otherwise.
No brainer, stick with the SRT4.
Two of my friends have SRT4s. I've driven them quite a bit, and it is true, for the money there isn't a better performance car. I like the looks, the sound, the power. Compared to the Evo, the handling is definitely lacking, as are the brakes.
Put on a set of coilovers, get more aggressive pads, a set of wider wheels and tires, and call it a day.
I would recommend you make over 90k+ a year if you are planning on buying an Evo for yourself. It is too expensive of a car otherwise.
EDIT:
Cirrusly - actually the RS does not come with floormats... but either way I'm not really counting that, it's just an extra thing they are throwing in.
I do understand that they are actually giving me a bad price on the Evo, BUT, as you said, that is because they are offering me way high on my trade. I've shopped around, and most other dealers won't go over $14,000 on my trade. So... if this dealer were giving me $14,000 like everyone else, they would actually be selling me the Evo for $2,800 off, about $27,000 even.
Still sounds like a good deal to me...
Cirrusly - actually the RS does not come with floormats... but either way I'm not really counting that, it's just an extra thing they are throwing in.
I do understand that they are actually giving me a bad price on the Evo, BUT, as you said, that is because they are offering me way high on my trade. I've shopped around, and most other dealers won't go over $14,000 on my trade. So... if this dealer were giving me $14,000 like everyone else, they would actually be selling me the Evo for $2,800 off, about $27,000 even.
Still sounds like a good deal to me...
Start contributing 15% of your income to 401k and buy a house. Come back to me with how much you need to make to be comfortable with an Evo. There's a reason why it's recommended that a car's price not exceed 30% of your annual income.
LOL you had me up until you said 90k a year to own an Evo...
I make a third of that (two thirds of that if you count my wifes income). What makes the Evo so expensive? Maintanance? Or are you talking just flat out about payments? $540 a month wouldn't kill me vs. the $370 a month I pay now. I do all the regular maintanance on my SRT... oil changes and such... not expensive at all.
Are you talking about how much it costs to upgrade and keep going faster? Doesnt' apply here.... not doing anything to ruin my warranty. The Evo would be my only car if I bought it, and my daily driver... if anything goes wrong I need to be able to have it fixed w/o problem. So... it stays stock until I either become very rich or the warranty runs out
Now... I didn't push the Evo at 10/10, it's a 30 mph curvy road I test drove on, and I usually blast down that road at about 75-80mph in my SRT. I know this particular road like the back of my hand, been up and down it at leats 100 times. In the Evo... yeah it felt more capable, powering out of the turns especially, and stopped better, but again, it didn't blwo the SRT out of the water. Maybe at 10/10 it would be a completely different story... I dunno. But I agree it wouldn't take a TON of work to make the SRT handle very very close to a stock Evo.
By the way, if I made 90k a year... not sure I'd be shopping Evo's... more like Porches etc.... but that's just me
I make a third of that (two thirds of that if you count my wifes income). What makes the Evo so expensive? Maintanance? Or are you talking just flat out about payments? $540 a month wouldn't kill me vs. the $370 a month I pay now. I do all the regular maintanance on my SRT... oil changes and such... not expensive at all.
Are you talking about how much it costs to upgrade and keep going faster? Doesnt' apply here.... not doing anything to ruin my warranty. The Evo would be my only car if I bought it, and my daily driver... if anything goes wrong I need to be able to have it fixed w/o problem. So... it stays stock until I either become very rich or the warranty runs out
Now... I didn't push the Evo at 10/10, it's a 30 mph curvy road I test drove on, and I usually blast down that road at about 75-80mph in my SRT. I know this particular road like the back of my hand, been up and down it at leats 100 times. In the Evo... yeah it felt more capable, powering out of the turns especially, and stopped better, but again, it didn't blwo the SRT out of the water. Maybe at 10/10 it would be a completely different story... I dunno. But I agree it wouldn't take a TON of work to make the SRT handle very very close to a stock Evo.
By the way, if I made 90k a year... not sure I'd be shopping Evo's... more like Porches etc.... but that's just me
Any other great words of wisdom?
yeah we put close to 15% away, my wife and I, also our rent is only slightly less than we would pay for a similiarly sized house to the apartment we rent now.
We also both have new cars, me the '05 SRT at $370 a month, her an '07 Civic Si that we pay $430 a month. And we generally have plenty of money left over after bills/groceries/gas to go out for nice dinners, movies etc. every weekend.
So... kinda confused on this needing to make $90k thing.
We also both have new cars, me the '05 SRT at $370 a month, her an '07 Civic Si that we pay $430 a month. And we generally have plenty of money left over after bills/groceries/gas to go out for nice dinners, movies etc. every weekend.
So... kinda confused on this needing to make $90k thing.
If you're making 30k a year and seriously are considering buying a 30k car - and don't see what is wrong with this picture, then I can't help you.
At 30k your take home a month - if you're contributing 15% - is less than 1500 bucks. You're putting more than 1/3 of your take home to a car payment. That is BEYOND foolish.
Add in insurance, synthetic oil changes, tires/pads/rotors that wear out in 10-20k, fuel expense and you're easily at over half of your take home.
No point in shelling out so much money for a car that will be in the junkyard in 5-6 years.
If you think I'm on crack, get advice from any financially savvy resource - and guaranteed it will encourage you to stay away from cars that cost over 30% of your annual income.
Long story short, at 30k/annum, it would behoove you to stay with the SRT4.
At 30k your take home a month - if you're contributing 15% - is less than 1500 bucks. You're putting more than 1/3 of your take home to a car payment. That is BEYOND foolish.
Add in insurance, synthetic oil changes, tires/pads/rotors that wear out in 10-20k, fuel expense and you're easily at over half of your take home.
No point in shelling out so much money for a car that will be in the junkyard in 5-6 years.
If you think I'm on crack, get advice from any financially savvy resource - and guaranteed it will encourage you to stay away from cars that cost over 30% of your annual income.
Long story short, at 30k/annum, it would behoove you to stay with the SRT4.
Ok I'm back...oh yea, BTW I do contribute to a 401K. And it's 12%. And the price I'm paying for rent isn't any less than what I would pay for a $140K house here. Is that money being pissed away? Sure...but I choose not to buy because I don't live in one place for more than a few years.
Any other great words of wisdom?
Any other great words of wisdom?
Regardless, just because you're getting by on less doesn't mean that 45k is all you need.
Tons of people live beyond their means...






