My boyfriend is looking to buy a Mitsubishi Evo however I have my reservations about it!!
The one he has seen he has test driven and loves it. I was with him on the test drive and to be honest think the car is too good to be true!!
I'm concerned that the car is an import or that the salesman is holding back on something.
How do you tell if it's an import?
The car is described as follows:
2005 05 Reg MITSUBISHI Lancer Evolution VIII 2.0, 4 Doors, Manual, Saloon, Petrol, 19,600 miles, Metallic SILVER. ABS, Adjustable steering column/wheel, Air conditioning, Alloy wheels, Driver airbag, Electric mirrors, Electric windows, Head restraints, Immobiliser, Passenger airbag, Power assisted steering, Rear armrest, Remote locking, Rear headrests, Sports seats, Cloth upholstery. Insurance Group:20, Limited edition 365, Priced To Sell £10,995
Update:I've made some enquiries this afternoon...apparently some mitsubishi evos are manufactured in the UK. Should the car be an import apparently the parts used abroad may be different to UK parts, and can therefore cause problems when it comes to servicing/repairs. As you can probably tell I know very little about cars and have no idea what I am talking about...hey I'm female!!! I just don't want us buying a car thats going to be extremely expensive to maintain and should it go wrong will cost a bomb to repair. If he wants to get a supercar I want him to get the right and reliable one!!! We have a big mortgage to pay as it is, we don't need massive car bills to pay too!
Thankyou for all of your responses!!
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
The car is an import and its a negative thing why? The Evo is made in Japan but is tweaked by you Brits! It's not a bad thing. Actually I envy you guys 'coz you have the FQ trim. Your boyfriend seems to know whats up. Drive it yourself and find out and maybe you wouldn't really care where the car is made since you are too busy enjoying the ride.
The Evo is a great car and just because its an import or could be should not put you off myself more than not drive imports and at present haven't had any problems with parts,even i don't want second hand parts the dealers have always stocked import parts also for all my cars.
When looking at the car see if there is a fog light which is not on the original place from an UK evo as these are fitted when imported into the UK to pass an MOT etc,also check the writing in the car all imports i have owned although have English writing on most of the controls they also have many Japanese only stickers and signs IE on the sunblinds and check the vin plate again this will be in Japanese against English.
Also if it is an import where are the dereg documents from Japan.
Best bet is to get on a Evo forum and ask those guys the best info they can give for that car to tell the best places and also where to look for faults if any.
http://www.lancerregister.com/
http://www.lancer-evo.net/
http://www.evoowners.co.uk/
As a car all these type of cars are expensive to run many due to parts and they need servicing twice a year,also fuel cost as they will not get super mpg and make sure you run it on super unleaded,Shell v power would be the ultimate,not matter what anyone says only those fuels unless its been remapped for unleaded .But repairs these cars go wrong less then most cars.if you need to buy parts get on the evo forums on the best deals.
You live in the UK, so yes, it's an import (it's Japanese). I'm not sure why that's a negative - all the Honda's and Toyota's sold in the UK are imports too - does this cause you to pay extra taxes or something (sorry I don't live in the UK)?
That is an extremely fast car, and will use a lot of gas, but will be a blast to drive. The biggest concern would be the condition - many of these cars are abused by "wanna be" rally/race car drivers. Have your boyfriend bring this car to a good, independent mechanic to have it looked over to check for signs of abuse. Also have him check to see how much it will cost him to insure it - it will surely be higher than a more mainstream car.
If all is well and the price is fair - fun car!
good luck!
EDIT - saw your update - I just did some checking, as far as I can tell there are no cars made in Malta. Check the link below, it's from a UK consulting company talking about investing in Maltese companies, and it mentions the products that are exported from Malta, and cars are not on the list.
Yes, it's an import, Japanese made. Even if the car is imported from Malta, it's still an import. Looks like your boyfriend has just test driven the FQ360 Evolution,360 horsepower, lucky guy!. I'm envious, i envy you brits for having the Evolution FQ trims. if you can afford the car, you can afford the maintenance. With this kind of car , it's not going to be cheap to maintain. Any car or the Evo is reliable if properly taken care of.
Answer to that question, the Evolution is in fact a Japanese Import.
Well it's Japanese..so yes it's an import.
Many makes of cars are imported in the US.
This is very simple to answer, you don't know anything about automobiles, your boyfriend is the one buying it, so bugger off sod
yes it's an import... they're made in Japan.