talek

A local dealership has a 2008 Evo X GSR I'm thinking of buying, but the test drive didn't go so well. It's around 20 degrees where I'm at, took it for a couple highway runs. It experienced very noticeable hesitation under WOT, particularly 3rd gear and higher, causing it to buck a lot. Also very concerning is a couple times I tried dropping gear and going WOT and both times the engine bogged immediately after hitting the gas like it was hitting fuel cut, would backfire slightly, and a service engine message would come up on the OSD. The dealership apparently knows it isn't running well but is incapable of resolving it themselves (and are probably hoping for someone who doesn't know any better to just buy it without complaint).

The previous owner had installed several upgrades including intake, fmic, intercooler piping, O2 housing, downpipe, midpipe, catback exhaust and a few non-performance oriented mods. He has receipts for the parts and turned in install instructions when he traded the car in, so I assume he did the work himself. None of it is especially difficult but he could have not tightened a coupler fully or something.

I have a reasonable amount of experience with DSMs having modded a couple of TSi AWDs myself (including replacing injectors, fuel management, turbo upgrade etc), but I honestly don't know much about modding Evos. Based on my DSM experience I would say that the increased airflow from all the mods is causing it to overboost and run lean. I don't think the original owner flashed the ECU at all.

So the real question is, is this something you guys think a professional dyno tune/flash would resolve adequately? Or could something else be present that I would run into? I'm seriously in love with the car, but I'm very worried about buying something that has obvious performance problems without a clearly defined (and reasonably priced) solution.

I was thinking about taking it to AMS Performance in Chicago to get it tuned if I buy it.

nonocei

Do not buy unless it's rediculously priced or something. Not worth the hassle IMO. When you buy a car from the dealership it should be in perfect running condition.

pcasso87

iTrader: (3)

Ask the dealer if you can take it to a local shop to get it inspected. Find some one in your area that knows evos and have them check it out. If the price is not worth it then stay away.

R Lar

iTrader: (1)

I agree. Don't fix someone else's problems..

EVO X 6950

iTrader: (5)

Sounds like it's over boosting but you never really know for sure, like they've said above, if the price isnt dirt cheap, don't buy it

10EvoX

"I'm not rich enough to buy cheap things" definitely applies here. It might run you a lot more than anticipated if it is already showing signs of problems. I'd say stay away. The reason the original owner traded it in might be because he could not find a fix either.. Your call though

talek

You all are probably right and I was thinking the same thing. They have it in service now and are trying to fix the problem, but they're an Audi dealership and I'm sure that they don't have the training or equipment necessary to take care of it. Part of the problem is that I live in Iowa, there isn't even a Mitsubishi dealership in my city anymore and certainly not any real performance shops. The nearest dealership is 30 miles away, the nearest reputable performance shop afaik is in Chicago, about 3.5hrs away.

We'll see what they figure out at least and if they come down in price a lot. I told them last night that I would need it discounted around 3k to make it worth the risk and hassle, but I'm sure they'd rather keep it on the lot and wait for someone easier to take advantage of.

HELPr

iTrader: (1)

I was in a similar situation and bought a modded WRX from a dealership thinking things were kosher and it ended up costing me thousands and countless hours of wrenching.. the dealership was not willing to help in the least way. Once I took the car off the lot they pretty much pretended like i didnt buy the car from them or even that I exsisted.

My advice is do not buy someone elses problem.

lowkey

iTrader: (5)

One, don’t let them talk you into paying for any of the modded parts, because they for sure did not pay the seller for it (and it sounds as if the seller just walked away from this car because he could not fix it).

Two, make the sale contingent on the car being tuned by a reputable Evo tuner, like AMS, and running right. You can volunteer to be their driver, if you want, but make sure the sale is not final until the car is 100%.

This sounds like a very risky deal with a lot of money at stake.

Q15H

iTrader: (5)

There's lots of other X's in the world. Move on.

glomb23

iTrader: (2)

Definitely not worth the risk. There is another X out there for you that will be running right and you'll be happier in the long run I'd think.

talek

The dealership claims they fixed the problem by "resecuring vacuum hoses" and by "adjusting something on the car's computer". Apparently it has some form of fuel management that they didn't tell me about. Sounds to me as if it may also have a boost controller they also didn't tell me about, and they just turned down the boost and maybe tweaked settings on whatever AFC it has.

I tried getting them to do a compression check for me and they won't do it unless I agree to buy the car if the compression checks out.

Can you say shady or what?

nonocei

^^ super shady. Do NOT buy.

glomb23

iTrader: (2)

No deal for sure.

GiLizILL

iTrader: (5)

check the fuel pressure regulator hose, to see if it popped off.

here

https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/ev...s-do-asap.html