Cosmo Motors in Hickory, NC
Mar 15, 2011, 11:38 AM
#16
One thing I would like to add is that most of the time they move cars very quickly and their website isn't always kept up to date. I pass the dealership 2-3 times a week and some of the cars that are listed on the site still are long gone. If you have a particular car in mind, or anybody for that matter, it would be best to call the dealership and see what cars they actually have in stock. 
-Bryant
-Bryant
Mar 15, 2011, 11:59 AM
#18
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Ramen, I help Cosmo out a lot on all of his evos. He has been getting a lot of evo 9's lately and some low mile 8's. I look at almost every evo he gets unless it has like 20k or less. He has one left right now, but he will get more for sure. There is some that have there problems (which goes for any used car), but most of them are in excellent shape. Let me know if I can help and I will let you know what he has and what is coming. I have been telling him to buy some 8's with a little miles so the prices will be cheaper, but they are just hard to find. He does try to buy everyone available and he will also buy used evos from private owners. Although most people don't understand that he has a big overhead and big business, he does have to make a profit. But he will do the best he can for anybody.
Mar 15, 2011, 12:34 PM
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I'm looking for an Evo X for $23-24k, but that's not been very easy. So I am also looking at VIII's and IX's in the $18-20k range. I might swing by Cosmo Friday.
Mar 15, 2011, 12:58 PM
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Nice! If you wind up with an X make sure you join evoxforums as well. We have a local thread over there as well.
Mar 15, 2011, 01:12 PM
#22
Ramen, I help Cosmo out a lot on all of his evos. He has been getting a lot of evo 9's lately and some low mile 8's. I look at almost every evo he gets unless it has like 20k or less. He has one left right now, but he will get more for sure. There is some that have there problems (which goes for any used car), but most of them are in excellent shape. Let me know if I can help and I will let you know what he has and what is coming. I have been telling him to buy some 8's with a little miles so the prices will be cheaper, but they are just hard to find. He does try to buy everyone available and he will also buy used evos from private owners. Although most people don't understand that he has a big overhead and big business, he does have to make a profit. But he will do the best he can for anybody.
Mar 16, 2011, 05:24 AM
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Wow. They have an Evo IX SE listed for sale on their site and autotrader that was sold before Christmas! Guess calling to check on inventory would definitely be a good idea.
Mar 31, 2011, 08:48 PM
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I bought my Evo from them also....I had a great buying experience, everyone there was very helpful....they are very proud of their cars as reflected by their pricing but the quality of the cars seem to be top notch
Apr 5, 2011, 07:21 PM
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They are very easy to deal with. I told them exactly what I was looking for and my price range and they found me the perfect fit. I tried to negotiate on some cars, but their prices are already very competitive and most often lower than any other dealer I've seen.
Apr 6, 2011, 03:32 AM
#26
Being from the Hickory area, I have never heard complaints about them from any hickory-ians. I have never been there (just driven by), but their dealership looks legit though. Thats gotta be good for something.
Thats gotta be good for something.
Jun 15, 2011, 06:35 AM
#28
My experience:
I called about a car that they had on their site, that had been sold. They had a similar one that they hadn't listed yet. It was the right car, options, color, and a decent price, and I was trying to get the car in time to get it ready for the season.
Rob told me it was "bone stock" except for an aftermarket battery / heater since it had been a cold-climate car. I asked multiple times whether it had a clutch, emphasizing that for what I wanted the car for (autocross), I had to have the stock clutch, and was told it was bone stock each time. The car had just had its transfer case replaced by Mitsubishi under warranty.
They had to get the bumper/hood painted because of some rock chips so that held things up a little.
I put a small deposit down and came down to buy it. I test drove it. It didn't feel right... it was doing this crazy bucking thing whenever I got off the gas, the clutch didn't feel stock and I had to give it a lot of gas to get going. I asked again, you sure this thing is stock? Rob, in the passenger seat, said "bone stock". OK... figuring this was an enthusiast shop that sees a lot of Evos I took them at their word. I should have just listened to myself and walked away but after a deposit and a 7 hour drive... eh.
Their "detailer" had pretty much covered the entire interior and engine bay with greasy crap, so when we got back and popped the hood there was smoke billowing out from all the stuff burning off. Rob said it was just the detail stuff, again I trusted them. The detailer had also screwed up the headliner (I dunno if he/she vaccuum'd it or what, but it was coming up sort of like an unraveling sweater). When I asked Rob if he could maybe take a couple bucks off so I could get it fixed, he told me he couldn't do anything about it. OK...
Their paint guy did a very good job on the bumper/hood. The front end of the car looked pretty much brand new.
We signed all the paperwork and went to drive back to Virginia. I asked about the possibility of getting a remote since it just had the one key. Rob said they didn't have any in stock, sorry. As we were about to leave I asked about getting a floormat I could use, since the car didn't have any and the detail goop was making the plastic part under the pedals slippery as hell. After 15 minutes he came back with some non-Evo floormat and gave it to me. Better than nothing I guess. I don't see why they couldn't have just borrowed some from one of the other five Evos and replaced it later.
Driving home I was stumped at the driveability issues (bucking, having to give it a ton of gas). I thought maybe it was some strange driveline lash from the new transfer case breaking in (??). I started googling it and the bucking was usually a symptom of having a BOV. WTF, I don't have a BOV, my car is bone stock. I popped the hood... OH. Greddy Type RS, silver, plain as day. While I was pretty annoyed, at least I had an explanation for the bucking. But having to give it a ton of gas was weird.
I called Rob about the BOV and asked if I could get them to send me a stock one and I'd trade them the Greddy. He said he couldn't help me, but played it off like it was an upgrade and said when they get cars that need a BPV, they put the Greddy one on there. I don't understand why anyone would do that when the factory IX one is so good, but whatever.
After I got the title, I got in touch with the previous owner and found out that the car had an aftermarket clutch and flywheel. Now it all made sense.
I called Cosmo Motors and asked the service guys for a quote on what putting an OEM clutch/flywheel in the car would be. That's it, no outrage or anything.
I called back later and spoke to Rob about it. He said that he hadn't known for sure that the clutch was stock, but he /assumed/ it was because Mitsubishi had just replaced the transfer case under warranty. That's a reasonable assumption, but he never made that caveat the previous five times I'd asked. They offered to do the clutch/flywheel job for their labor cost + parts (I would still pay labor, but at a lower rate), as long as I drove down there so that their mechanics could do it. All things considered I thought this was a mostly fair offer on their part. I did not take advantage because I didn't have the spare time to drive down there. But they did offer it.
So when all was said and done, my "bone stock" Evo required a clutch + flywheel + labor + stock diverter valve + stock motor mounts + stock floormats + keyless remote + a detail from someone who wasn't incompetent. This is more than I was hoping for. And I should have had it checked out by an independent shop. And I should have walked away when the test drive didn't feel right. In the end, I got a not awful but not good deal on the car. I absolutely accept that it's ultimately me that should have been more thorough.
The problem I have more than anything is that these guys portray themselves as some sort of enthusiast shop that really knows these cars. I have absolutely no idea how anyone familiar with Evos could have driven my car the way it was when I bought it and not known that something was off. The bucking was absolutely wicked. And the lightweight flywheel was pretty hard to miss. And there was an aftermarket BOV *right there* in the engine bay, not hidden or anything. And they had several days to inspect the car and find stuff like this.
To me, the whole reason for paying a premium and buying at a place like this, is to get a carefully picked car, in a known condition, so you don't have to scour the earth looking for a good deal, and to get good service. I don't feel like that's what happened here. If they have expertise about these cars, I don't feel like they showed it. It seemed like just another used car lot that happened to have a bunch of Evos instead of Camrys. They did not go the "extra mile" for me at all, leaving me with a bunch of small stupid problems that I had to fix. I would not use them again.
Your mileage may vary... just my experience. I'm happy with the car now... it just took more work than it should have to get there.
I called about a car that they had on their site, that had been sold. They had a similar one that they hadn't listed yet. It was the right car, options, color, and a decent price, and I was trying to get the car in time to get it ready for the season.
Rob told me it was "bone stock" except for an aftermarket battery / heater since it had been a cold-climate car. I asked multiple times whether it had a clutch, emphasizing that for what I wanted the car for (autocross), I had to have the stock clutch, and was told it was bone stock each time. The car had just had its transfer case replaced by Mitsubishi under warranty.
They had to get the bumper/hood painted because of some rock chips so that held things up a little.
I put a small deposit down and came down to buy it. I test drove it. It didn't feel right... it was doing this crazy bucking thing whenever I got off the gas, the clutch didn't feel stock and I had to give it a lot of gas to get going. I asked again, you sure this thing is stock? Rob, in the passenger seat, said "bone stock". OK... figuring this was an enthusiast shop that sees a lot of Evos I took them at their word. I should have just listened to myself and walked away but after a deposit and a 7 hour drive... eh.
Their "detailer" had pretty much covered the entire interior and engine bay with greasy crap, so when we got back and popped the hood there was smoke billowing out from all the stuff burning off. Rob said it was just the detail stuff, again I trusted them. The detailer had also screwed up the headliner (I dunno if he/she vaccuum'd it or what, but it was coming up sort of like an unraveling sweater). When I asked Rob if he could maybe take a couple bucks off so I could get it fixed, he told me he couldn't do anything about it. OK...
Their paint guy did a very good job on the bumper/hood. The front end of the car looked pretty much brand new.
We signed all the paperwork and went to drive back to Virginia. I asked about the possibility of getting a remote since it just had the one key. Rob said they didn't have any in stock, sorry. As we were about to leave I asked about getting a floormat I could use, since the car didn't have any and the detail goop was making the plastic part under the pedals slippery as hell. After 15 minutes he came back with some non-Evo floormat and gave it to me. Better than nothing I guess. I don't see why they couldn't have just borrowed some from one of the other five Evos and replaced it later.
Driving home I was stumped at the driveability issues (bucking, having to give it a ton of gas). I thought maybe it was some strange driveline lash from the new transfer case breaking in (??). I started googling it and the bucking was usually a symptom of having a BOV. WTF, I don't have a BOV, my car is bone stock. I popped the hood... OH. Greddy Type RS, silver, plain as day. While I was pretty annoyed, at least I had an explanation for the bucking. But having to give it a ton of gas was weird.
I called Rob about the BOV and asked if I could get them to send me a stock one and I'd trade them the Greddy. He said he couldn't help me, but played it off like it was an upgrade and said when they get cars that need a BPV, they put the Greddy one on there. I don't understand why anyone would do that when the factory IX one is so good, but whatever.
After I got the title, I got in touch with the previous owner and found out that the car had an aftermarket clutch and flywheel. Now it all made sense.
I called Cosmo Motors and asked the service guys for a quote on what putting an OEM clutch/flywheel in the car would be. That's it, no outrage or anything.
I called back later and spoke to Rob about it. He said that he hadn't known for sure that the clutch was stock, but he /assumed/ it was because Mitsubishi had just replaced the transfer case under warranty. That's a reasonable assumption, but he never made that caveat the previous five times I'd asked. They offered to do the clutch/flywheel job for their labor cost + parts (I would still pay labor, but at a lower rate), as long as I drove down there so that their mechanics could do it. All things considered I thought this was a mostly fair offer on their part. I did not take advantage because I didn't have the spare time to drive down there. But they did offer it.
So when all was said and done, my "bone stock" Evo required a clutch + flywheel + labor + stock diverter valve + stock motor mounts + stock floormats + keyless remote + a detail from someone who wasn't incompetent. This is more than I was hoping for. And I should have had it checked out by an independent shop. And I should have walked away when the test drive didn't feel right. In the end, I got a not awful but not good deal on the car. I absolutely accept that it's ultimately me that should have been more thorough.
The problem I have more than anything is that these guys portray themselves as some sort of enthusiast shop that really knows these cars. I have absolutely no idea how anyone familiar with Evos could have driven my car the way it was when I bought it and not known that something was off. The bucking was absolutely wicked. And the lightweight flywheel was pretty hard to miss. And there was an aftermarket BOV *right there* in the engine bay, not hidden or anything. And they had several days to inspect the car and find stuff like this.
To me, the whole reason for paying a premium and buying at a place like this, is to get a carefully picked car, in a known condition, so you don't have to scour the earth looking for a good deal, and to get good service. I don't feel like that's what happened here. If they have expertise about these cars, I don't feel like they showed it. It seemed like just another used car lot that happened to have a bunch of Evos instead of Camrys. They did not go the "extra mile" for me at all, leaving me with a bunch of small stupid problems that I had to fix. I would not use them again.
Your mileage may vary... just my experience. I'm happy with the car now... it just took more work than it should have to get there.
Jul 27, 2011, 08:53 AM
#30
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I got my used '03 Evo 8 here, back in 2009. The salesman I was dealing with and cosmo himself told me that the car was completely "bone stock". It wasn't. After purchasing the car I learnt that it had an after-market intake/MAF sensor, a cheap fitting aftermarket CBE that stuck out at an angle, and it had been lowered (slammed) on megan racing springs. Not a whole lot of mods, but certainly not "bone stock".
At my own cost, I replaced the cheap exhaust and ripped out those nasty lowering springs and replaced them with stock MR bilsteins.
Since then I've had no issues with the car, overall it was a good experience, the car has been 100% reliable.
At my own cost, I replaced the cheap exhaust and ripped out those nasty lowering springs and replaced them with stock MR bilsteins.
Since then I've had no issues with the car, overall it was a good experience, the car has been 100% reliable.