EVO 9 Buying Guide
An EVO 9 buying guide by StrikeEngine.com. To us, the last real EVO with the EVO X being a little grown up, a little too luxurious and losing the core appeal of the EVO 9 ie driver involvement.
In the UK, most EVO 9s will be official imports which were sold by Ralliart but there are also many EVO 9s which were and are still be imported to the UK.
Random EVO 9 Photos from Instagram
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The big downside of the imports being lack of undersealing.
The UK cars come with the prefix FQ and at its launch it was available as FQ300, FQ320 and FQ340 with the FQ360 and FQ400 coming later
The RS and GT EVO 9s will be imports and there are differences between the spec of the UK FQ models.
The RS does not have AYC, the GT is a lower spec than the FQ
For specs on the EVO 9, see this article
EVO 9 Prices
At the time of writing prices for the EVO 9 vary between 10 and late twenties, obviously depending on mileage and spec.
Personally I can only see the prices going one way, get the car regularly serviced by an specialist EVO tuner/garage and I see no reason for the price to fall.
Honestly, I don’t even see normal yearly mileage causing any issues. You can not buy a car like this anymore and the reputation is second to none. You also have the Gran Turismo generation reaching their mid to late fourties and the demand is only going to go up in my opinion.
Going against what I have said in the past, an original EVO is going to fetch more than a modified example, not so much because originality is key but because Mitsubishi absolutely nailed the car from the factory. Adding cheapish wheels or cheapish suspension is not going to improve the performance of an EVO 9, most cars, yes (it doesnt take much to improve them) but the EVO is a different beast.
If you are looking at a modified example, in my opinion, it needs to have wheels from a Japanese manufacturer ie Enkei, Volk, Gram Lights, Advan etc and they should be lighter than the OE wheels otherwise it defeats the point of changing the wheels. Diameter wise, I would leave well alone and stick with the standard diameters.
The same goes for exhausts, intakes, turbos. It needs to be from a recognised brand, the quality of the parts the owner has bought for the cars tells you volumes about how the car was maintained and this goes for buying an EVO and selling one…
Engine rebuilds, big turbos, again, not something to be scared of, if it had been done by a specialist. There are tuners out there building engines for motorsport/race cars, their name is what I would look for on the invoices.
In short, modified with quality parts or original, nothing else will do.
Engine – EVO 9 Buying Guide
No major weaknesses here, do the same checks you would do for any car. Is the valvetrain quiet, does it idle smoothly cold and hot, check the coolant for colour and smell, likewise with the oil, you are looking for a golden colour (maybe not too gold, its possible the seller changed it just for you rather than for routine servicing), check for blue smoke under acceleration, black smoke under hard acceleration is usually normal because they run so rich.
Clutch – EVO 9 Buying Guide
Its a 4 wheel drive transmission so changing the clutch is going to be an expensive/time consuming job, check the clutch is smooth under all conditions
AYC – EVO 9 Buying Guide
Check the AYC warning lights comes on (so you know the bulb is connected) when you turn the key and then switches off, diffs are pricey but if the warning light stays on it could be something as simple as a pressure switch. Could be…..
Footwork, Suspension, Bushes – EVO 9 Buying Guide
Same checks as any other car, bounce the corners and check for leakages from the dampers. Listen for any knocking and banging coming from the suspension.
Tyres, again, same check as any other car, are they a good brand? If so, what is the date on them (week number:year)? Fresh quality tyres tells you a lot about how the car has been looked after.
Check the tyres wear evenly and check how much tread is left and check for beading as it would point to hard use, not a problem in itself but ammo for negotiation.
Bodywork – EVO 9 Buying Guide
Its a fast car so the chances of an accident are high. Check for panels gaps, over spray, respray, rust, uneven panels. Check everywhere, above and below.
MOT – EVO 9 Buying Guide
MOT history is online in the UK, put in the reg of the EVO you are looking at, it will give you loads of information.
Road Tax
There is no CO2 rating for these cars which is a bonus
For more EVO articles, click here
