Tradin' Up
Mar 13, 2005, 05:23 PM
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Tradin' Up
Ive been quite inactive on these boards for the past few months, mainly due to graduating from college, getting a job, family issues, etc. I always intended on buying a new car once I got a good job, and Ive come to that point.
As this car search started, I really tried to find a car I liked more than the Evo, basically because of my negative experience with service departments, supposed clutch issues on the Evo, and other various reasons. I really was fond of the S2000 (great tranny, plus I still miss the drop top I had on my Jeep), RX-8, and 350Z. Slowly I went through the options, test driving them all and analyzing what I truly was after. Well the Evo still has a certain place in my heart, so thats what the new car is going to be.
That being said, I have some questions; yea Ive been here since 2001 and I know how to use the search, Ive been going over info on here all day and Im just seeing if any new opinions or info has come to light.
I live in Chicago, and unless things go very wrong Ill be buying an Electric Blue Evo with the Sun/Sound package (need the sun roof) by the end of the month. Are there any Evo owners on these boards who have any horror stories in dealing with Max Madson Mitsu of Countryside? I bought my 02 Lancer OZ there, but this is a bit more of my money and I want to go into negotiations with some idea of what to expect.
I love to autocross, and I assume my new Evo will see some auto x duty. With all the BS in the past with Mitsu, warranties, and the Evo, how do you current Evo owners protect yourselves against warranty voids? Have you tried registering for SCCA events with a different name, different car make, etc? I understand Mitsu should not be liable for repairing abused cars, but a well maintained car that sees autocross competition once a month is not going to suffer any more damage than a car that gets floored every day when its driver is trying to merge on the high way.
Im 23, and Ive had some decent expereince with higher horsepower cars, driving different family member's cars for extended periods (g35 Coupe, C5 Vette, WRX). Regardless, my Evo will not see performance mods for a long period of time, mainly issues of me not wanting to have to argue with service departments. Trust me, moving up from a Lancer SLO-Z, the Evo is plenty fast. My question to current owners is what do service departments say about mods like gauges? I think its completely rediculous the Evo has no standard boost gauge, and I plan on purchasing the Craig Hardy pannel and a set of Defi Gauges (yea, its overkill with the gauge quality but us engineering nerds love that kind of crap
). I can only imagine a service person asuming I race my car constantly because I have 3 gauges where my radio once was.
Clutch........Ok stop rolling your eyes. Obviously the clutch was designed by Mitsu to be the fuse of the drivetrain, which isnt a bad thing. Hey better a clutch goes than the tranny. Any rate, Ive read all about clutch failures around 15000 miles, and my understanding is that those cars were abused. My buddy has an 03 Evo, and he lost his clutch at 14,900 miles and said he didnt abuse the car. I think otherwise though, as the flywheel needed to be replaced as well. I just want to know that if I drive the car in a normal fashion, will my clutch last at least 30,000 miles? I understand trying to pull all-wheel burnouts and slipping the clutch for good drag launches will lessen clutch life, hence I wont be subjecting my car to those activities.
I look forward to becoming a fellow Evo owner, and I can only hope my owning experience will be as trouble free as my current Lancer was. Hopefully now that my life has settled down a bit, I can get back to posting on here more too.
As this car search started, I really tried to find a car I liked more than the Evo, basically because of my negative experience with service departments, supposed clutch issues on the Evo, and other various reasons. I really was fond of the S2000 (great tranny, plus I still miss the drop top I had on my Jeep), RX-8, and 350Z. Slowly I went through the options, test driving them all and analyzing what I truly was after. Well the Evo still has a certain place in my heart, so thats what the new car is going to be.
That being said, I have some questions; yea Ive been here since 2001 and I know how to use the search, Ive been going over info on here all day and Im just seeing if any new opinions or info has come to light.
I live in Chicago, and unless things go very wrong Ill be buying an Electric Blue Evo with the Sun/Sound package (need the sun roof) by the end of the month. Are there any Evo owners on these boards who have any horror stories in dealing with Max Madson Mitsu of Countryside? I bought my 02 Lancer OZ there, but this is a bit more of my money and I want to go into negotiations with some idea of what to expect.
I love to autocross, and I assume my new Evo will see some auto x duty. With all the BS in the past with Mitsu, warranties, and the Evo, how do you current Evo owners protect yourselves against warranty voids? Have you tried registering for SCCA events with a different name, different car make, etc? I understand Mitsu should not be liable for repairing abused cars, but a well maintained car that sees autocross competition once a month is not going to suffer any more damage than a car that gets floored every day when its driver is trying to merge on the high way.
Im 23, and Ive had some decent expereince with higher horsepower cars, driving different family member's cars for extended periods (g35 Coupe, C5 Vette, WRX). Regardless, my Evo will not see performance mods for a long period of time, mainly issues of me not wanting to have to argue with service departments. Trust me, moving up from a Lancer SLO-Z, the Evo is plenty fast. My question to current owners is what do service departments say about mods like gauges? I think its completely rediculous the Evo has no standard boost gauge, and I plan on purchasing the Craig Hardy pannel and a set of Defi Gauges (yea, its overkill with the gauge quality but us engineering nerds love that kind of crap
). I can only imagine a service person asuming I race my car constantly because I have 3 gauges where my radio once was.Clutch........Ok stop rolling your eyes. Obviously the clutch was designed by Mitsu to be the fuse of the drivetrain, which isnt a bad thing. Hey better a clutch goes than the tranny. Any rate, Ive read all about clutch failures around 15000 miles, and my understanding is that those cars were abused. My buddy has an 03 Evo, and he lost his clutch at 14,900 miles and said he didnt abuse the car. I think otherwise though, as the flywheel needed to be replaced as well. I just want to know that if I drive the car in a normal fashion, will my clutch last at least 30,000 miles? I understand trying to pull all-wheel burnouts and slipping the clutch for good drag launches will lessen clutch life, hence I wont be subjecting my car to those activities.
I look forward to becoming a fellow Evo owner, and I can only hope my owning experience will be as trouble free as my current Lancer was. Hopefully now that my life has settled down a bit, I can get back to posting on here more too.
Mar 13, 2005, 05:28 PM
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Hey man, awesome work and it sounds like you have it together. Our evos are great for Autox, unfortunately I'm not lol. Anyway good gauges are NEVER a bad decision and if well maintained even with frequent Autox and sprited driving your evo will last quite a long time. As for the warranty its all about the dealership and gauges shouldn't get rid of it. Being a BBY owner im a little jealous of the EB so i BETTER had see some pics. Good luck to you and welcome back.
Mar 13, 2005, 05:33 PM
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i'm from Hoffman estates and got mine from Schaumburg Mitsu....they have a couple of evo's in their garage....saw one exactly like mine w/c happens to be the one ur also looking for....EBlue w/ SSL....got mine @invoice last Dec....don't go beyond invoice..try negotiating w/ $1T below invoice then think about settling for $500 below invoice.....try to research also for the invoice price of the SSL package...I think it's $2.2T? good luck!!
Mar 13, 2005, 07:54 PM
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Oh yea, another thing.....
Catch cans......for collecting oil......
Necessary on the Evo? I know the guys on the SRT forums swear by them. I just want to know so if it is an important add on, I can install it early in the life of the car. Thanks for the kind words so far.
Catch cans......for collecting oil......
Necessary on the Evo? I know the guys on the SRT forums swear by them. I just want to know so if it is an important add on, I can install it early in the life of the car. Thanks for the kind words so far.
Mar 14, 2005, 12:18 AM
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I got mine from Shaver Mitsu in the Matteson automall right off I57 and Lincoln hwy. Really nice people and nice looking dealership. They gave me a good deal and the dealer had sold a couple Evo's before mine.
Good luck!
Good luck!
