Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Alright I'm looking around to buy an Evo. Are there anything I should look for or watch out for when looking at an Evo? Like what are some common problems/issues I should look for if any?

I'm a DSM guy and I feel comfortable around DSMs but I know nothing about Evos.

What should I look for? Any tips would be welcomed.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Evo's are pretty similar to dsms. Keep an ear out for weird sounds, besides a little 1st gear whine everything should be solid. Compression test is always a good idea.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

One thing to remember, Evo's are fairly bulletproof so aside from a compression and leakdown test don't be afraid to bite at one if the price is right.

I would be more concerned about finding out if it was in an accident or not...that led to 2 years of nonsense on my first evo.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Well I can tell you first hand that miles dont mean shit. No body wants to buy my Evo because they say its way too many miles. Look at my buddy 2zzgtte for example, he bought his Evo with half the miles that mine has on it and I am getting a little worn out of working on his with all of the little issues that keep coming up. Last weekend I worked on his Evo for over 18 hours to fix issues that it had. His is also 2 years newer then mine too. My Evo has 130k miles and it drives, shifts and runs perfect and better then a few lower mile ones that I have ridden in first hand.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Drive as many different Evos as you can. Get a feel for Evos in general and then get a sense of differences between each car.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Thanks, what you just said takes some of the worries off my shoulders.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

So far I have test driven 1 Evo so not much experience here with Evos, lol.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Interesting hearing this comment come from a guy who has gone through 2 evo motors if I am not mistaken...

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

I have?

I blew my 4b11t, one of em...these talks are about the 4G63 which i place more faith in for the bulletproof department. The evo X 4b11t is nice but still new so who knows.

I sold my Evo 8 and despite the nonsense of the lawsuit it never gave me problems, they are very good cars assuming you check the health of the motor.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Yep, my wifes has over 90k(not as much as yours, but not low miles) on it and it's engine is perfect and the tranny shifts perfect. Bent valves are somewhat common on these motors, leaky valve seals are common too. Grinding trannies, especially into 3rd is common too. A lot of low mile cars are much more screwed up than hers, you just have to drive each car and see how it feels. Suspension, brake, and tranny wise a lot of modded one perform worse than if they were stock.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

For some reason, I though I heard you had issues with the motor on the Evo 8 as well. Must have received bad info.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Motor no...body, yes because it was in a previous accident that Carfag didn't show and the dealer lied to me about so I had to go to court with them, man it sucked.

Despite the problems with brakes sucking from being worn, wheel bearing from the accident, worn tires and some body damage, the car was a blast to drive and worked great :)

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

I was going to mention, as stock as possible ftw.

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

Compression and leakdown test is a must if you care anything about peak power output, several locals have had exhaust valve sealing problems, even with low mileage.

Absolutely drive a few good examples and make sure it shifts nicely into every gear both when driving like a grandma and when driving briskly. Drivetrain noise is a little more noticable than on a dsm (as far as I remember anyways). Demand info on when maintenance was performed, just like any other car: tbelt/water pump, brake pads/fluid, trans/xfer case/rear diff fluid, clutch, and oil changes.

Don't be afraid of a few mods but be wary of anything that looks janky; you'll likely find more and more like it as you get into it.

Oh, and black ones are best; don't let anyone tell you otherwise! :)

Re: Looking to buy an Evo - Need help
 

So you want mine? It has all maintenance done like stated above and shifts, rides, and drives great!