Dave77

Im considering purchasing a totaled evo 8. The owner rear ended someone and the car definitely needs a new hood, front driver side fender, driver side HID headlight, front bumper, FMIC, radiator, and radiator support structure. The airbags did not deploy. I would only buy it if the cars frame isnt bent and im not positive on how to make sure that the frame is fine. If that checks out my plan would be to browse the forums for the parts i need, once i get everything go to a body shop and get my new used parts painted and installed.
Now here are a few questions:
-How can I make sure that the frame isnt bent?
-When purchasing a salvaged titled car with the intention to rebuild it and change the title to "rebuilt" you need to use D.O.T. approved parts in order to pass the inspection, so would my plan of buying used parts from other evos work? Could I use a carbon fiber hood instead of an oem hood?
Those are the questions that i can think of right now, i will update this thread as i get more info on the condition of the evo. Here are some pics of the car

eckorex

even thought that may be an 03, it doesn't look totaled

the salvage report should mention frame damage

Dave77

I asked the guy if theres any frame damage and what the salvage report said and he responded "there is no under frame damage that i know of. the radiator support and associated parts are shot."

lords3t

iTrader: (4)

are you really going to save that much going this route? When all is said and done, is the little, if any, price saved from just buying one in good shape really worth it? There is no guaranteed (as in legally binding) way to cover your self from buying a bent frame. None that I know of anyway.

eckorex

The rad support and associated parts are always fubared on the Evo in a crash like that. You should be able to look at the frame rails under the hood, like is said, it doesn't look like the car is tweaked too bad but I'm no expert.

Dave77

Well the seller is asking $5k and if im patient i think i can find all the parts used and get good deals.

Turbo4Me

iTrader: (1)

*from 23 y/o collision tech* *family owned shop*


I HATE the phrase "frame damage" Practically all new cars have a Unibody construction, meaning they dont have a separate heavy frame like truck or old old cars. The whole car is welded/bonded panels from the radiator support back to the trunk.
When cars get hit in a front impact, there are set crumble zones in the front 'frame ends' which attach to the fender apron and the front radiator support/core support. these zones in the framerail ends are made to collapse to minimize impact speeds and make it a softer hit for the passengers inside it. Crushed zones must be replaced.

A reliable body shop can properly fix a car with front frame rail damage either by straightening or replacing the damaged structure. I'm quite familiar with the evo front...because...well i wrecked mine in '06 45* headon hit to my pass headlight. I've got pics of my before and after. Both front framerail ends were swayed to the left aprox 10mm, with creased damage on the side of the rail next to the motor. It broke my heart, but the ins said fix it, so i dropped the entire engine/trans/cradle out of the bottom. I had our frame tech replace the whole forward structure from mid frame rail/apron out. By re-bonding and welding OEM frame parts at the factory seams (where the factory did the same thing), and proper cut-in painting, you could not tell anything ever has happened. And people have a bad taste for 'frame damaged' vehicles, but it was repaired back to factory specs, with OEM replacement parts, and proper welding/bonding procedures were followed.

So you can take from this....yes, a car with the evil 'frame damage' can be fixed. I know CarMax in our area really plays up the frame damage theme, and its aggravating that they keep spreading misconceptions. When repaired properly A: you cannot visually tell and B: its returned to factory crash readyness IE safe again

My damage included bumper hood both headlights radiator hood both fenders. intercooler, oil cooler, coresupport. parts alone is where it gets expensive. My repairs were 18,000 total ... 11000 were parts alone.

So price it out. Do Not attemt a backyard project on a heavily damaged front structure. 5k isnt bad for the car if the motor/rear/interior is in great shape, but if you have to pay someone to do all of the repairs it might not be worth it.

my .02 hope it helped
Dustin
Dayscollision.com - wow we need to update it haha

bevolucion

iTrader: (6)

my car suffered almost identical damage a little worse and the insurance didn't totaled it. it really looks worse than what it really is. but still the shop charges 12,500 dollar to fix it. evo parts are expensive unless you do everything yourself you would gain if you dont spend more than 4000 dollar fixing it. my 2 cents

importjake00

iTrader: (8)

Dosent really looked totalled to me, so you should go for it.

evoix10

iTrader: (7)

Hey i got your PM

The frame/unibody is might be tweaked but thats not really a big deal and it can be straightened. Mine was slightly tweak and i just straighted it an it drive amazingly now.
Have you looked at the car in person? Pop the hood and checked out everything? Because the damage usually get worst as you start taking it apart.
What is your budget? OEM Evo parts are expensive (even when i had the hook up where i didnt have to pay for taxes and had a discount)
Here are some thing i remember from my rebuild:
-One OEM Headlight housing: $1200 (somewhere around that, i know it was over a grand)
-One OEM HID Ballast: $600
-One OEM HID bulb: probably a $100 something
-One OEM Fender: $200 something
-OEM Hood: $600ish
-OEM Front Bumper: $500?
Then there's all the structure parts that you need. I dont think you have the ACD but if you do....im sorry it expensive
...oh and dont for get paint...
Thats all i remember and i try to remember the costs as best as i could
You can get used parts from members here or ebay or whatever. I got a OEM FMIC, taillights, and the front crash beam from here.
You dont have to get OEM or D.O.T. approved parts (well i didnt) I rebuilt mine with a carbon fiber hood. and make sure it doesnt break any laws. i guess it depends on your state and what they require you to do to get a salvaged car back on the road.
I dont think i forget anything but if i did ill PM you
Good Luck!
PM me if you need anything else

evoix10

iTrader: (7)

oh and dont try to fix the HID ballast if it looks fixable(even if just a wire tore). you might kill yourself or it will be a pain in the @$$ later....trust me i know from experience.

like i said before go check out the car before you get it if you didnt yet. I the windows are down and its snowing. the car doesnt look totaled but ive seen a few perfectly good evo's with the gauge cluster cut out of it and the insurance companies totaled them out.

is the car in an auction lot? i know a lot of the time if they are, the auction companies leave the keys in the car and then the keys get stolen...keys are expensive $200 something i think

i think thats it for now if i remember anything else ill tell you

turbosmurf02

iTrader: (2)

strip it all out and turn it into a track beast

evoix10

iTrader: (7)

oh i didnt realize i didnt answer one of your questions

to check if the frame is bent there are designated holes in the frame all over on the car that a body shop would use to measure to see if the car is square. you can probably roughly check it yourself with a tape measure. get under the car and find 4 holes, 2 on each side of the car (so the holes form a square), that look identical. measure from one corner to another and do the same for the other in a cross pattern. if the numbers are different than the frame is bent.
remember this is just a rough way of checking
hope it helps, i know it kinda confusing
Good luck

lizzys6/4

iTrader: (2)

well i dont kno if this helps but here is the salvaged evo that my boyfriend bough and we are fixing https://www.evolutionm.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=274225 We got it for 3,400. 28k miles on it with some mods. We actally got it from a friend who was the original owner.