turbotaloon95

iTrader: (7)

Hey there everyone, I'm posting here to get some opinions and hear some of your experiences. I'm currently in a situation where I have to let go of one of my cars and I need to figure out if I should keep my evo. Of course the first response you're probably thinking is "of course keep it!" But there is more to it.....

Currently I have a 2003 evo 8 and a 2010 Ford F-150. Long story short, many things in my life have changed and I can no longer afford to keep two cars. At least not two cars this expensive. I want to keep the evo and sell the truck, but I'm concerned about maintenance costs and longevity. I need it to last at least another 2 years before any major overhauls. And unfortunately, part of my changes in life are that I no longer have my home with a garage and tools to work on the car so any work done would need to be done by a shop $$$.

The evo has a lot of history to it, but is mostly stock. I bought it from TurboTrix at 69k miles. The shop did a lot of work to get it in good shape from the previous owner. The engine seized from lack of oil so they took a short block from a customer's evo 9 (got a race motor) and rebuild the head to get the car running. They also put in a new clutch, new evo 9 turbo and other misc parts (gaskets, etc) to put it all back together. I've owned it from that point for about 2.5 years and put another 45k miles on the car, so it's about 115k miles. In that time I've re-done the timing belt and water pump, removed the balance shafts, new drivetrain fluids, all new front suspension, all regular maintenance, and some minor mods like mbc, air filter, boost gauge, etc. The only thing I know the car needs right now is a new set of tires. I just had new pads put on, resurfaced the rotors, and got an alignment. Car drives great minus a barely audible lifter tick on cold startups. The only other concern I have now is that I think i hear some type of whine when driving at highway speeds which may be a transfer case on its way out, but I can't tell if it's road noise from my beat up tires.

Anyway, what I'm getting at is what do you guys think about this car holding up for a few more years with regular maintenance? And what have your experiences been with these cars in the 100k+ mile range? What types of things needed maintenance or replacing? I don't mind putting out some money to get these fixed as long as it's not excessive. So any thoughts or input is appreciated guys. Thanks a head of time!!

AznEvoIX

iTrader: (16)

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...hing-300k.html

I hope you know there is an Evo 8 on here with about 300,000 miles. LOL.

I've seen 500,000 miles Corollas a Toyota 4x4 22RE Truck with about 700,000. But I have rarely seen a domestic truck with over 300,000 miles that doesn't have any issues. I wouldn't trust domestics. LMAO.

Mistaken

iTrader: (20)

Seems like you've put lots of money and time into your evo already. Would be a bummer to let it go after all that.

Blue91lx

iTrader: (44)

Honestly, it seems that Evo owners are pretty convinced that these cars are 'reliable'. I bought one, along with a few friends at a similar time, and found that it was exactly the opposite, and obviously gets exponentially less reliable the more modified it is.

I would keep the Evo if you're on a stock turbo, stock clutch, and minor bolt ons, but even so, doing a timing belt/water pump/pullies every ~60K on a daily driver gets pricey, especially when you're not doing the work yourself, not to mention the down time, and that's assuming that nothing else will go wrong.

You get a ton of people that come in and say 'my car is reliable' and they 'daily drive it', but when it comes down to it, they do clutches every 40k (when modified), timing belts every 60k, and that's assuming that your motor won't spin a bearing or your transfer case won't let go before then. Compared to a normal daily driver with a timing chain, clutches that last 200K, etc, the maintenance costs are extremely high for the Evo.

If I were you I'd sell the truck and pick up a cheap Saturn or something to DD, but I wouldn't keep the Evo as your only car.

Many will disagree with me, but that's my .02. In the above thread, compare the repair costs to that of an Accord or something. Sure, a car got you to 300k, but doing a motor before ~250K miles isn't on my list of the characteristics of a 'reliable' car.

sho669

iTrader: (34)

Blue91lx hit it spot on.

I've owned a lot of different vehicles and I can safely say the EVO takes top honers for draining the bank in maintenance/upkeep costs, it beats out some of my drag builds FWIW.

A good friend of mine (who actually intorduced me to these cars) is figuring this out now, 2 clutches, broken shift fork, headgasket, multiple sets of plugs and the synthetic oil changes weren't something he was planning on. When I told him what was involved in his 60k service he about cried.

At the end of the day the EVO is a great all around car, possibly one of the best for the dollar, she's just high maintenance!

Your F150 is no reliability king IMO. I've seen the cam phasers and timing chain guides break on the 5.43v very prematurely, the 3 piece plugs are also a complete nightmare to deal with if you don't have the extraction tool.

I'll second the vote for offing the truck and finding a cheap DD beater.

DG39

With any car of this nature expect to "pay to play" when I had my 09 wrx with bolt ons I replaced the clutch at 30k it's not just evos any car that is capable of performing like our cars do will have a good amount of up keep. Sure you do a ton of performance mods and don't build the motor any car will have issues.

Like blue91lx said its a great car for the price but its high maintenance

Cal City Evo

iTrader: (13)

If you beat on any car its life cycle will be reduced. I have 105K on mine and have done exactly ZERO to my engine besides regular maintenance so far. I don't foresee having to do anything in the near future either.

Outside of having to replace a clutch at 80K miles which was my fault it went bad, mine has been as reliable as a Toyota Corolla.

I do have to agree with the others though the upkeep on these if you do it correctly is costly. To the OP it you are looking to save money the truck or the evo isn't your best bet. Get a Honda and call it a day.

Chadilac88

iTrader: (1)

agree with all prev statements...make a budget plan and see if it something where you can set aside some money for maintenance items and if the evo will fit your dd needs or if the truck is something that might benefit you in the long run possibly with your job? depending what you do.

batty200

iTrader: (3)

250K on a performance car with mods at 400+whp is exceptionally reliable. Doing timing belts and other maintainence at 40-60K intervals is the smart way to do it. An evo isnt an econobox and will cost more in regular use in every way from gas to brakes and tires and clutches however it will also perform at a much higher level. I had almost zero issues with my evo over a 4year and 40K span. I got it at 60K and replaced the tcase that was busted when I got it and did a timing belt. I added a PTT clutch like a retard for a daily and wore it out twice in one year. I swapped the used stock one in and ran 30K with no problems. This was in a state of tune that ran 12.2@112.7 and was raced and driven hard on a regular basis. I sold my stock motor and got a motor needing a rebuild plus cash and a lot of parts so I am down currently but that was a conscious decision. The only "failure" I had were an IAC and a injector resistor box. Both easy fixes. A cheap daily like a Civic or some other boring bulletproof car is always a good idea.

Even if you drive the EVO everyday instead the back up is good in case you break the evo. Driven like the boring car the Evo will last just as long. Drive the boring car like an EVO and watch it fall apart before your eyes. Also keep up on maintainence and when the rubber items start to fail just go crazy and replace all belts and hoses since they have a life span and continuous battles with old water hoses and belts is no fun and can have disasterous consequences like overheating and bent valves. Age is any cars worst enemy not mileage.

nightwalker

I've been an automotive technician for 10+ years. I work on all makes and models. I wouldn't hesitate selling the f-150.

My personal Evo has 208,000 miles

k_sheanh91

iTrader: (2)

Ive driven rental Corollas with 15,000 miles and they run like ****, just beat into the ground. Any car improperly maintained will mess up. My good friend has a 97 GST, daily driven for the past FIVE YEARS.Most its been down is 2 days getting a water pump installed. Thing has 175,000 miles and the motor just let go last week. DSM's are supposed to be the most unreliable car, but i'd say 175k is decent for a motor thats never ever been open and has taken a fair beating during its life on a 16g, and he used to beat on it fairly hard in his younger days. Treat your car well and it will love you. Plus when you do all your own labor, the price really isnt that bad.

jeremy52048

iTrader: (6)

rarely seen a domestic truck with over 300k? youve obviously never seen a cummins? ... back on topic, i would keep the truck honestly.. they last longer obviously it can haul things, and lets face it, more comfortable.


bads on the truck would be gas efficiency

Blue91lx

iTrader: (44)

Bigger things=bigger parts=cost more to fix.

Yeah, sure, the motor itself will last until 300K on a Cummins, but you'll have replaced the trans, diff and wheel bearings, five times already, and you'll be able to poke through the rust on the doors/quarters.

turbotaloon95

iTrader: (7)

Thanks for the input guys.

I did see the 300k thread and that is an amazing story and some good info there. I don't beat on the evo and have only taken it to the drag strip once and one auto x. It has held up fine. I have been a DSM hobbyist for about 10 years now. I've owned several 1g's and 2g's and this is my second evo, so I'm well aware of the cost of wear items and regular maintenance like timing belts, tires, brakes, etc. I guess I was just looking for a vote of confidence that the car will last a while without any MAJOR issues over the next year or so.

If I sell the truck I was thinking of picking up a used Jeep Cherokee for a few grand. Friends of mine who have owned them have had nothing but great experiences as these things last forever. Maybe not great gas mileage but I don't drive far.

For the truck, it is covered under warranty. So if something were to go wrong it would be fixed by Ford and I would get a rental car, so that isn't an issue.

gsrboi80

iTrader: (38)

Ive put 140k on my evo. I can honestly say that it has been the most reliable car I have ever owned. Even more so then brand new cars I've driven off dealer lots.

Car has stock bottom end, Trans, TC, and rear and no signs of any of them tiring.


It was my DD for 100k miles. If you cannot afford to maintain the car properly get rid of it. Period