Ok gents, I've been patiently trying to learn as much as I can about the EVO X and reading up here for a while now, and I decided about 2 months ago that it's time for me to get an AWD race car (after test driving a modded STI).

There are some fantastic deals available on 2008 GSR's right now, but I'm still waiting to see where the 2009 comes in. I've read the threads but nothing conclusive so far, other than tail lights, a sunroof optional, and maybe 5HP that is available as a flash on the 2008's already. What I'm wondering about is if they'll fix some of the known issues with the 2008's, the oil leaks, shifter grinds, shifter vibration (recent thread), etc.

I'm planning to get a base GSR, no options, and swap in a nice wheel/tire set and then coilovers and basic bolt-ons and a tune right away, and down the road a turbo upgrade (FP Red maybe?).

It's killing me, because I could easily plunk down $4k and afford the $300/mo payments on a lease deal. I figure I could lease the car for 2 years, and then decide whether or not to go for a 2011 EVO (assuming they still sell them here) and return it back to stock, or just keep the baby and purchase it at that time.

What's killing me is trying to decide if I should pull the trigger on the amazingly cheap deals they have right now, or wait for a 2009 and see if they resolve some of the annoying issues, and possibly tweak it for better durability (tranny especially).

So what are your thoughts, should I pick up a 2008 for dirt cheap, or hold off until the 2009's hit, knowing the same 0% and fantastic lease deals will not be available on the 2009's?

Thanks for reading this medium/long post, please give me any feedback you got.

 

buy it now with the 0% financing. why the hell would you lease it if you plan on modding it that much?

 

Well, at $300/mo payments, the difference is between $4000 down and $15,000 down. That $11,000 that I am not putting down pays for a lot of mods, and really, if the payments are the same, why give away that extra $11k? I can always return it to stock if I don't want to keep it after 2 years, and put the mods on a 2010/11 EVO, or sell the parts, or just buy the car for the remaining $21.5k.

The way I look at leasing, it's basically like deferring the major payments for a couple of years. It's always a good idea to defer payments if you don't have interest to pay on it, you can do a lot more with cash in hand and have enough cash to make those big payments later...

 

Lease it with $0 down. Your payments should be around $500 including tax.

 

If saving money is what you're concerned about, it doesn't make sense why you'd want to spend an arm and a leg returning to stock. Labor isn't cheap. Besides, you aren't just deferring payments. The dealership is gonna get their money one way or another, and if you decide to purchase the vehicle after the lease is up I promise you they will stick you with a crap deal. More so than the guy who would buy your vehicle later without any attachment to it. Also, you are usually required to keep up the maintenance schedule for your leased vehicle at the dealership service center, and if they see your mods you could void your lease.

 

I'm not looking to save money, but I'm not looking to throw it away either. I don't see how coilovers and rims would void a lease, but the engine mods yeah maybe, I'd have to read the fine print first. I'll have to see if they require the maintenance to be done at the dealership too, that might be an issue unless I find a mod friendly service center.

The lease deal is already out there on the table now, $3995 down, $289/mo plus tax, and the sale price after 24 months is $21,500 or so. It's South Coast's current deal.

If you up all the payments and the residual price, it comes to about $32,500 plus tax to own a base GSR after 2 years, that's about $2500 more than financing it at 0%, but again you don't have to put much down. It's a question of either putting $4000 down and having $289 payments, or paying either a lot down or a high monthly payment. It's not a question of affordability, it's a question of leveraging borrowing power. Why throw out so much of your own cash if they're willing to let you use less of it and get the same car?

The only downside I see to a lease is the 12,000 mile per year limit, but I have enough cars that I can keep it under 12,000 per year... =]

But really, the debate I am having isn't so much between lease and 0% financing, sorry for putting that in the subject line, the debate is getting a 2008 right now at the awesome prices they have, or waiting for the 2009's, if they have any improvements on offer. Features for 2009 I don't care about, I'm buying a stripper, if they had an RS available I'd buy that, but the possible performance related tweaks are what I'm wondering about.

 

Do they have that deal printed somewhere?? I've been searching for the last hour, so if you have a link...thanks. All I see as far as lease specials go is on Mitsu's website, and that's $389/month....not $289. If my dealer would match $289 on a lease with 4k down, I'd do it this weekend. I don't really care how much I'd lose, as long as it's in two years from now...lol.

For you though, I'd say buy now at 0%. No since on waiting on '09 IMO if your just going to get a base, and mod it. What good would 5HP extra do for you then? FWIW, I modded my leased '00 Jetta, took it to the dealer for all service (with mods), and returned it to them stock 36k miles later. Beaten daily. Never heard a word from them. If I lease a X, I'll do the same thing....except buy the car when the lease is up. 2 years of low payments is worth it too me at this point.

 

South Coast has it for $4k down and $297/mo
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=379104

Anaheim Mitsu has it for $4k down and $289/mo
https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=378933

Yeah, I'm leaning towards the lease deal, it's just so damn good... the 5HP is not a big deal to me, but the thing I'm wondering about is if they'll tweak the cams, or tranny, or things like that. I guess I shouldn't give a ****, just get it done and I can always retro in anything that they put in the 2009's.

 

does anyone know if the 09 GSRs will come with an SST option? i heard about it but it hasnt been confirmed i dont think

 

I've only read about that being the setup for the non-US market GSRs. Since they don't offer an MR in any other market except Australia, the GSR with the SST and some of the other options are what they call the MR here. All the threads I searched for 2009 info didn't mention that at all for the USDM.

 

So the payoff is only 21.5k?
They don't hold the value after 2 years do they?

I say get an 8 or 9 instead, they should hold the value better.

 

Dude run FAR FAR away from that lease deal. It's utter crap. Never put down 4k for a lease, or any money on a lease. Stay away ! Find a 3rd party lease w/ 0 money down and a better money factor and residual.

 

the 09s seem to have great tail lights... from what I have seen of the 09s, there is no reason to wait. I just went through the same thing. I got a great deal on my SSS. It should be here tomorrow from DAS.

 

$21,500
+$4000
+$6936($289x24mo)
=$32,436

Seems about right to me unless I'm looking at this the wrong way

 

Yeah the lease buy-out at the end has nothing to do with the value of the car.

The true value of the car has yet to be determined.
IF at the end of your lease the car is worth less than the buy-out...turn it in.
IF at the end of your lease the car is worth more than the buy-out...BUY IT!

Options, baby!! Leases give you an option!!!