New Evo guy with questions :)

[thetinman]

Hey everyone! My name is Ryan. I kind of have a story as well as a few questions to ask to some of you guys; I’m a n00b to the Evo-game and need some help/advice/suggestions. Here it goes:

First off, I drive an ‘08 VW Jetta (lowered, rims, tint, blah blah) that I’ve been rockin’ since 2008. Recently, I’ve been talking to my wife and seriously considering trading in my Jetta for an Evo IX. I have been looking around on AutoTrader, eBay, Craigslist, etc. trying to find exactly what I want in an Evo and getting an idea for a price on one with roughly 30k miles. Some of the reasons we bought the Jetta was because it was good on gas, looked nice, price was alright, and had great safety features. My wife was obviously more concerned about the safety and we (and by ‘we’ I mean ‘she’) ultimately decided it would be the car to buy. So I’m here 2 years later with a $400 car payment on a car with almost 40k miles and I’m starting to itch for an Evo. I’ve always wanted one and I figure now would be an ok time to look into it.

I first got into the Evo IX when a friend of mine bought one of the last brand new Evo IX SE’s at a dealership nearby a couple years ago, and I fell in love with it. It was fastttt, beautiful, sounded amazing…..but the 30-something thousand dollar price tag was painful and at the time & I didn’t have the right job to afford a car that awesome (along with upkeep, maintenance, 91-octane, etc).

Now I have the means to purchase one, but to convince my wife she wants me to take her to someone knowledgeable and answer ALL of her questions and explain why this car is a good ‘family’ car. She is also now 4 ½ months pregnant (found out after I had already started doing some Evo research lol) and this again is another reason why safety is an issue when buying a car for us.

So now that you have a little insight, here are some questions I have in regards to turning in my Jetta for an ’06 Evo IX:

Is the Evo IX a safe car to drive?
Is it safe enough for when my newborn comes?
What kinds of safety features does it have?
What kind of maintenance needs to be done on the Evo monthly? Yearly?
Is it true when one tire pops you have to replace all four?
What is the average price some of you pay for four brand new Brembo brakes? How often do you change them?
How good is the clutch in these cars? Do they need replacement often?
How much should I plan to spend a month on my Evo (not including gas) for maintenance, etc.?
Is this car ok as a commuter? I drive about 40 miles a day (20 there, 20 back) two weeks a month.
Is it a good family car for those of you who have families?
Is this car worth the $450-550 payment I will end up having for the next 5-6 years?

Anything I should know or any suggestions you may have for me would be awesome too….I don’t want to make a mistake and get in over my head, so any help would be great. Thanks for all your guys’ help in advance.

[ricardoLR08]

Hello,

I do not have any EVO (i drive a 08 Lancer GTS), however i do know i few guys that have one. I can tell you that it is defintly worth paying the $450-550 payment and it is a safe and family car. My Lancer has that standard air bags and side air bags. I also have stock brakes and they work great. One of my friends has an EVO X and he has 2 sons and he is happy with this car so i will say it is a great family car. I had a Scion tc and i trade it in for this lancer after my son was borned and i do not regret it a bit. i have more space now and better peformance. Good luck on your car shopping and i do recomend doing some research on the prices becasue some dealers want you to pay more so always negotiate.