[KamSandhu44]

Hi all,

New to the forum.

I am looking to buy an Evo to use as a daily, I do around 8000 miles a year. I'm aware of the service costs etc and not put off.

My question is, would a 6 be suitable as a daily? Or am I better off with an 8? I think the 9s might be out my budget.

The 6 has always been my favourite, but I dont want something that is going to give me headaches.

At the moment my budget is £20k, I've seen a nice 6 for sale at £19k.

I am in no rush to buy, I have a Tesla on lease which doesnt go back till December. If I wait until later in the year, I could probably stretch to £30k.

Any input is appreciated.

 

[Mita]

I just love the fact you’re getting rid of the Tesla for an Evo 😂👍

 

[KamSandhu44]

LoL, absolutely. Tesla's are good, but not worth the money, they're over hyped. Much rather put the money into an Evo.

 

[Jamee]

I daily my 9, I do about 8k miles per year, mostly in London. If you're fine with the slightly harsh ride, no interior creature comforts and getting 200-250 miles on a full tank, then yeah, go for an evo. You're coming from a Tesla though so best if you manage your comfort expectations

 

[SnuggleSeal]

Evo's are fine for daily driving if you accept the extra servicing work, and needing to let the engine warm up before driving. I daily my 6 and the only issue I have is sitting on driveway for a few mins to let it warmup as I don't want to annoy neighbours with the exhaust lol. Remember the 6 is a smaller chassis / cabin than the 8 and 9, iirc the 7/8/9 use the Galant chassis which is bigger, true Evo chassis ended with the 6. For your budget you should be able to get a good one. The 6 may also be a better investment than the 8, as the 6 was never made for the US market which is close approaching the 25 year mark where they can start being imported, can only be positive for the prices.

 

[KamSandhu44]

Thanks for the info. Where I know about cars in general, I don't know much Evo specific. This is the car I'm looking at, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Evo 6

 

[SnuggleSeal]

Thanks for the info. Where I know about cars in general, I don't know much Evo specific. This is the car I'm looking at, any input would be greatly appreciated.

Evo 6

if it were me i'd skip that, id get one thats more original for similar money and know its been well looked after... mine was in JP for 20 yrs before coming to the Uk and the chassis and components are in very good condition, id be more focused on this sort of stuff rather than one that's been pimped out...

check the underneath and chassis for rust before buying

 

[Kieron Watson]

It is certainly far from standard and I would stay away, the demand for these cars maybe on the up but not for cars that would cost another £10k to be a real 6… if you wait till the end of the year you could miss some good cars as the market is opening up for summer so people will snap up any good ones…

it does mention it has had some underside work done, without seen the pictures of before and after or going to view, stay away….

having a solid base car is a must, and then you can add and take away what you like… if you buy a standard car now you could then use the extra money to add what you like after driving the car for a while… it is worth finding out where your local specialist is also, could be a long way to a proper service, only a few worth going to nationally…

there is a white 5 which went for sale recently which was a friends of mine in the past which if I was in the market for an older Evo I would certainly look at it for sure…it has had an owner or two since after going up on sale in those ticket comps and people wanting the cash rather than the car….

I have only ever owned a 6 I must admit and if I was to drive it 8,000 miles a year I would be sick as a dog 🤦‍♂️, the suspension does not make for a nice ride around town, if you work in the country side happy days, the car gets the road it deserves and you can actually use it properly…

ps.. Tesla’s can be used in the future, the time is now to own an older car while we still can, if you haven’t drive one, give it a go and bang you are hooked!! Happy shopping and hope to see you in an Evo soon!!!

 

[KamSandhu44]

Thank you for all the info, all very useful.

TBH, the 6 grabbed my attention because of the modifications and the look, kinda of appealed to me.

What are the reliability of the engines on the 8 and 9s? I've seen a few clocking in around 85k miles, I've always been put off by high mileage cars.

 

[GARY-8MR]

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

This looks a nice modified 6 😎👍

 

[KamSandhu44]

Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Mitsubishi Lancer Evo 6 at the best online prices at eBay! Free delivery for many products!

www.ebay.co.uk

This looks a nice modified 6 😎👍

Looks nice, but won't work for me. It needs to function as a family car. I have kids that'll need to be chauffered around in it.

 

[super rover]

youve got to think on that 6s are 20+ YEARS OLD ,mileage is irrelivent most if not all have had hair cuts at some time its very easy to do and evos hide there mileage VERY well ,personally theres FAR better cars to run as a daily and consideribly cheaper ,keep the evo as a weekend blaster and get a VAG or FORD derv to smoke around in ,these days the up keep of an evo isnt easy nor cheap

 

[Jim Salter]

youve got to think on that 6s are 20+ YEARS OLD ,mileage is irrelivent most if not all have had hair cuts at some time its very easy to do and evos hide there mileage VERY well ,personally theres FAR better cars to run as a daily and consideribly cheaper ,keep the evo as a weekend blaster and get a VAG or FORD derv to smoke around in ,these days the up keep of an evo isnt easy nor cheap

Completely agree with this.

I have daily driven Evos for the last 13 years (all VII's) and it's not easy to be honest.

Even now, my VII (which is my daily) has been off the road for the last 6 weeks due to transfer, diff and AYC rebuild which has resulted me in going to purchase a 2018 BMW 330e tomorrow.

Since importing this VII in 2016 it has been off the road (being worked on) for over 15 months of the last 6 years and is a real pain if it is the only car in the household (in my case it's not have another car and a motorbike).

On the point of he upkeep of an Evo isn't easy nor cheap, again completely agree. When doing the underside of my VII last year, when replacing the ball joints I snapped 3 arms which ended up costing €790 (£650 stg) for the 3 arms (I went with new arms for replacements) as an example. And, if you don't have access to tools/ramp/know-how, it gets very expensive very quick.

Have also found the Evo is a little harsh for daily driving (for me) - or maybe I'm just getting old. When driving cross country with the missus 3 hours of the exhaust drone quickly becomes annoying.

All that said I think it's great that you are even considering an Evo as a daily! I often get compliments at meets on the fact that I do daily mine and they are becoming far and few between on the road.

 

[coolsimon282]

Evo 6s are incredible to drive but I wouldn't buy one to daily unless you're getting paid £100k a year lol, I can spunk £40 of fuel on a Saturday with some spirited driving. If fuel isn't an issue then crack on! As other's have echoed that black car is probably worth giving a miss.

Look out for a fresh import that is clean underneath and then budget another £1000/£2000 for things like suspension and bushes.

I bought a white Evo 6 in December 76k miles for £20k that was clean as you like underneath but the rest of the car is fucked. You're looking more at the £25/30 mark if you want one that's as fresh as the day it was built.

As an example mine needed/needs; All Engine and Suspension bushes replacing (OEM is expensive, Poly not as bad £600 for everything), front shock absorbers (No longer available from Mitsi, Bilstein B6 replacement for an Evo 7 can be retrofit £600 for fronts, £1000 for all round), alternator £100, ignition coils £100 (Might not have needed doing but I had a weird idle issue and unburnt fuel on a plug), ignition leads £50 (Again might not have needed to be done), spark plugs £20, brake pads £100 and then finally tyres £600 for some PSport 4s. My turbo had recently had a new actuator fitted and it came with an aftermarket radiator so these weren't costs I bared but something to be mindful of. I had a receipt for the timing belt being replaced but as I had the same receipt for the ignition leads being replaced when they obviously weren't... I have my doubts lol. Whilst you're doing the timing belt you might as well also replace the tensioners, pulleys and water/oil pumps as well.

It's a long old list and definitely not exhaustive but if you're buying on the cheaper end of the spectrum you should save some budget for the potential that these will need to be replaced.

 

[KamSandhu44]

Thank you all for your input. I think I'll stay away from the black 6, as tempting as it was.

I'll keep on hunting, I'm starting to think I'd be better off with an 8 or 9, I really don't want to get a car that'll end up giving me a headache or costing me loads (minus the fuel).

 

[coolsimon282]

Have you had a look at this? Sounds like it needs a few cosmetic touch ups but has had things like the timing belt done, already on pilot sport 4s etc.

Underside looks OK... Looks like surface rust but again you'd want to budget getting the underside completely treated and sealed really if you're going to be dailying it. Could be a few thousand to get the rust treated and sealed. But literally all evos are starting to look like that these days

I say this because if you're going to daily an Evo you should look at getting a full underbody treat and seal job done regardless of condition, the shells aren't galvanised from the factory and start to rust just by thinking about salt

 

[7722adam]

They are not a daily car to be honest, even a 7 or newer. I did daily my 8 for a while and done it with my fingers crossed, and that was a standard 260. If were me take 1k of your budget and buy a banger for daily use, evo will appreciate this in a year and use as a throw away car! Win win, low mileage well looked after evo will only appreciate, and when you drive it you will enjoy it that much more! Daily looses the fun appeal

 

[Aidy]

VI < VIII < IX < X

VI vs VIII vs X or: how I learned to stop worrying and...

Bit of a long ramble this one :) Thought I'd maybe write up my views on the EVOs I've had in the past and draw some comparisons between them, as well as detail any issues I had with them (I won't cover AYC failures, they're a given). I'm far from the most prolific evo owner on the MLR, but the...

www.lancerregister.com

 

[KamSandhu44]

VI < VIII < IX < X

VI vs VIII vs X or: how I learned to stop worrying and...

Bit of a long ramble this one :) Thought I'd maybe write up my views on the EVOs I've had in the past and draw some comparisons between them, as well as detail any issues I had with them (I won't cover AYC failures, they're a given). I'm far from the most prolific evo owner on the MLR, but the...

www.lancerregister.com

Thank you for this. A very good read. Food for thought.

 

[Mita]

VI < VIII < IX < X

VI vs VIII vs X or: how I learned to stop worrying and...

Bit of a long ramble this one :) Thought I'd maybe write up my views on the EVOs I've had in the past and draw some comparisons between them, as well as detail any issues I had with them (I won't cover AYC failures, they're a given). I'm far from the most prolific evo owner on the MLR, but the...

www.lancerregister.com

I think this couldn’t be more accurate to be honest.

@KamSandhu44

I wouldn’t go daily with anything Evo personally, in all honesty it’s a waste. Enjoy one on special days / weekends . Earlier models (4/5/6) were homologation specials and were never meant to be around all these years later. As has been said already , non of these cars like the salty roads even with loads of treatment.