Josh Minassian

so im going to look at an evo 8mr over the weekend that is advertised to have only 85,000km on the clock...i am located in australia and we have had many dealerships as of late get into the **** for jap imports that have had the clocks winded back before being brought here into australia so this has sorta put me on alert a little.

should this be something to be concerned about? the owner claims he has had the car for 5 years, however i really do wonder how the car spent 8 years in japan and only did so many km's , and as far as im concerned theres really no way to identify this.

if i like the car and decide to go the next step i will be getting a pre-purchase inspection by a mechanic that specialises in evos, but just wanted to see what your guys thoughts on this was and if u have experienced anythings in relation to this....just wanna be cautious before i fork out the money.

edit: theres even a 2003 one on the market with only 60,000km, and another 8Mr (2004) with only 50,000!

DecBro

It depends who imported it. I know Iron Chef is the beesknees when it comes to importing legit Jap cars but not sure how you can figure out who exactly imported it.
You might be able to run the VIN number through your local Rego office, they can usually get a pretty good background on when it was imported and the clock numbers.

But no its not uncommon for importers to wind the clock back, but then again, its not uncommon for cars in japan to have such low kms.

I say get the pre purchase inspection done and he'll be able to determine if its a good buy or not.

Keep us posted mate!

Josh Minassian

Yeah sweet, thanks mate.
Hey i can see you own an evo ix...just a question, the 9's are a little out of my budget atm and it seems as if ill be much better off getting a clean 8 MR, is there much ill be missing out on between the 8MR and the 9's? your looking at an extra 5 grand at least here in australia for a clean 9 over an 8MR

Ferp

Cars get driven less in Japan. Lots of taxes/lack of space lead to people constantly buying new vehicles. So performance vehicles with low mileage isn't unusual at all. Although rolled odometers seems to be a real issue especially these last few years.

RightSaid fred

That's high Ks.

They normally all have 67000 on the clock.

Yes, it's safe to say they're ALL wound back, always have been.

DecBro

Not really man, they are pretty much the same car at the end of the day. The 9 you get a slightly larger turbo, MIVEC and ACD (depending on the year of 8 evo you get, 2005 came with it). I went with a 9 for the ACD as I want to hit the track with it. Some will debate the ACD makes the car more 'controlled', others don't like the electronic interference and prefer the rawness of a Non-ACD evo. Totally up to you at the end of the day.

Quite a broad statement man. I wouldnt believe that is true.

Exactly what he said.

Josh Minassian

[QUOTE=DecBro;11721344]Not really man, they are pretty much the same car at the end of the day. The 9 you get a slightly larger turbo, MIVEC and ACD (depending on the year of 8 evo you get, 2005 came with it). I went with a 9 for the ACD as I want to hit the track with it. Some will debate the ACD makes the car more 'controlled', others don't like the electronic interference and prefer the rawness of a Non-ACD evo. Totally up to you at the end of the day.

I wasnt even aware that there were 2005 models for the 8's , thought it was only 2003 and 2004, (all the mr's are 2004)
This is the one im looking at anyway if you wanted to have a look
https://www.carsales.com.au/private/...-4502499/?Cr=4
I probably will go with an 8mr at the end of the day, really like the interiors for them as well.

Josh Minassian

Hmm, i dont know about that.
The market for australia with the 8s/8Mr's mainly have over 100xxx kms on the clock, this one im looking at which i have linked in the above comment is one of the lowest and cleanest looking ones, besides one that has something ridiculously low like 40 000kms which i just find to hard to believe that the clock wasnt rolled back when it wasnt imported, its a 14 year old car after all. even if the car isnt driven much between all the drivers that just seems sus to me

gotblkr

Search Facebook for Japanese Odometer Check...

That will give you the information you are wanting if you care more for what the odometer says than the condition the car is actually in...

Otherwise get it checked by a reputable evo mechanic, everything else you can answer yourself by a search here or google...

codgi

iTrader: (22)

The ACD not being on the 03/04 VIIIs was US only. The OP is getting a non US car so it will have ACD on the VIII as well as AYC which the US cars never got until the X. The average Evo driver is going to be faster in a car with ACD and AYC unless you are hooning Ken Block style and well if you are it doesn't make much difference cause you'll still be slow

OT for the OP for non US Evos the main performance differences between the VIII and the IX is the engine and updated mapping for ACD and AYC. Both are old at this point in time so look for the best kept one of either that you can find.

Jonno99

http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/archive/2246786


http://www.smh.com.au/business/consu...16-gmvf1p.html


https://www.choice.com.au/transport/...ampering-fraud


just do a search on odometer fraud in Sydney


When I was looking for an 8MR I went down to various importers and went over the cars, crawled under with a torch, you could see some various attempts to cover up general wear and tear, rust, accidents etc. This is true with most second hand cars anyway but some had low odometers and the brakes had been resprayed to make them look new. Its just a general feel you'll get when you look at a lot of cars. That's why I went for a 9 so I wouldn't worry about this. Low k cars in Japan can spend a lot of motor time in the big cities, so even low k cars can have a lot a lot of work on them. On the flip side the Americaaans on here have high miledge motors and still going strong where in Aus we wont touch anything over 100k. At the least I'd try and get a compression test.

Josh Minassian

im getting a pre purchase inspection done in 2 days, which will include a compression test.
do you think it's worth paying the $50-$60 to also get the Japanese odometer check to see if it's been rolled

Jonno99

If its a proven and valid way to check on the mileage, I would do it for peace of mind, remember also for a 80k car I would be looking at doing a full 100k service for its age, timing belt, water pump etc, so budget a couple of grand on top just in case.

gotblkr

^^ agreed. Even if km are correct, a timing belt that has been on the car for 12 years needs to be replaced full stop... As for checking km, it is completely up to the individual. Some people are more concerned with the numbers, others more so the health of the engine. If you want to do both, do both...

Josh Minassian

yeah the owner has already warned me that timing belt will need replacing at 100xx kms
however he mentioned he has already done the accessory belts and coolant, all fluids were changed also when he bought the car.
did a revs check and everything's all good, will probably do the odometer check as well if that shows all good and everything goes well with the inspection in 2 days I don't see myself not buying it, one of the cleanest evos on the market I think for Sydney only 85,000kms and I know we will be able to come to an ageeement of 25k and that's pretty much the absolute lowest they seem to be going for at the moment. It's also the budget I've tried to stick with.