Factory Mint Lancer Evo IX Sold For Over $130,000? Only in America!

[GTPNewsWire]

This is the discussion thread for a recent post on GTPlanet:

Factory Mint Lancer Evo IX Sold For Over $130,000? Only in America!

This article was published by Matej (@Matej) on July 28th, 2017 in the Car Culture category.

 

[SPhilli911]

Not that I think it's a good idea for a dealer to hold a car like this for many years and not drive it (I wonder if someone at least took care of it over the years?), but they really lucked out here. With the Evo no longer in production anymore, surely that was a factor in the insanely high bids. It is sorta, kinda a significant car, and one of the best versions of the Evo we got in the U.S., but I can't really see it being worth $130,000 still.

 

[submaniac93]

inb4 it gets modded. Although nice to see a factory new Evo being sold, and a lucky owner (though he must be feeling a lot lighter pocket-side) to drive it... I dislike the seller's idea of holding the car hostage in the hopes of selling it for a high price 10 years later. It's a car that needs to be driven, not a museum piece. But whatever, i'm not one to judge.

 

[boiltheocean]

Crazy. The whole Japanese performance car market is taking off. If you can afford to put things away, now is a great time to pick up those late-90s and early 2000s machines.

 

[Liquid]

inb4 it gets modded. Although nice to see a factory new Evo being sold, and a lucky owner (though he must be feeling a lot lighter pocket-side) to drive it... I dislike the seller's idea of holding the car hostage in the hopes of selling it for a high price 10 years later. It's a car that needs to be driven, not a museum piece. But whatever, i'm not one to judge.

@Danoff mentioned this theme in another thread but the owner of the car before it was sold, i.e. the dealership, clearly saw it as a money making exercise. After all, what is a car dealership there for but to turn a profit?

 

[HuskyGT]

As amazing as it is to find a car like this that hasn't been defiled by tuners, this thing is not worth 130,000. Sorry... Just no. Wouldn't pay more than 50k for this car.

 

[INEEDNAWZZZ]

You must have seriously deep pockets to spend $100k+ on what is, and always will be, a hotted up Lancer.

 

[Danoff]

@Danoff mentioned this theme in another thread but the owner of the car before it was sold, i.e. the dealership, clearly saw it as a money making exercise. After all, what is a car dealership there for but to turn a profit?

Not just a profit on the sale, it turned into marketing for them as well.

 

[TetsuKobura]

Crazy. The whole Japanese performance car market is taking off. If you can afford to put things away, now is a great time to pick up those late-90s and early 2000s machines.

Eurobeat intensifies

 

[Superhero Wally]

I guess, I should have put mine in a garage. 2010 Evo X SE, got it delivered with 12 miles on the odo in April, still had the window sticker and plastic on the interior bits. It was never titled and registered either.

 

[RandomCarGuy17]

130,000 USD on a Evo IX?
Oh for crying out loud! *facepalm*

 

[Dennisch]

And it will probably go into storage right after delivery only to be sold again 10 years from now with 1-2 KM extra on the odo.

 

[ScottPuss20]

This is far too much money for an Evo. Yes I know it's a great performance car but you gotta be reasonable about the price.

 

[Liquid]

This is far too much money for an Evo. Yes I know it's a great performance car but you gotta be reasonable about the price.

What would you say was a reasonable price for an 11 year old NRFB Lancer Evolution?

 

[ScottPuss20]

What would you say was a reasonable price for an 11 year old NRFB Lancer Evolution?

I don't know, maybe $60,000?

 

[Northstar]

I'm saddened by the fact this doesn't surprise me. Considering how expensive it is to collect older cars that are even slightly rare it was only a matter of time before the same thing started happening to more recent cars.

 

[EngieDiesel]

And it will probably go into storage right after delivery only to be sold again 10 years from now with 1-2 KM extra on the odo.

Yep. Seems like buying anything even slightly more exotic than a tan Camry and stashing it away hoping it becomes a rare classic is the new trend in "investing" these days. Especially now that Europe's putting plans in motion to move away from petrol cars completely by mid-century.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Yep. Seems like buying anything even slightly more exotic than a tan Camry and stashing it away hoping it becomes a rare classic is the new trend in "investing" these days. Especially now that Europe's putting plans in motion to move away from petrol cars completely by mid-century.

And especially for Japanese performance cars, seeing people pay out the ass for mid level variants like a Skyline GTS-t, not even a GT-R, makes me think that the Japanese performance market is going to see a collapse at some point, much like the supercar craze of the 90's. There's no way any sane person is going to spend this amount of money if it becomes the norm.

EDIT: And besides, what is stopping market values from cratering, making that Skyline GT-R you bought from Japan and had been stashing to price at exorbitant prices pretty much pointless?

 

[EngieDiesel]

And especially for Japanese performance cars, seeing people pay out the ass for mid level variants like a Skyline GTS-t, not even a GT-R, makes me think that the Japanese performance market is going to see a collapse at some point, much like the supercar craze of the 90's. There's no way any sane person is going to spend this amount of money if it becomes the norm.

Oh, definitely. It's an investment bubble just like housing, dot-coms and the like, and it's inevitable that it's going to burst. Especially when the market starts dwindling down to nothing but mid-late 2000's models like the Evo IX, that don't even have a notable motorsports reputation that the late '90s models do to bolster their attractiveness.

 

[Silver Arrows]

Oh, definitely. It's an investment bubble just like housing, dot-coms and the like, and it's inevitable that it's going to burst. Especially when the market starts dwindling down to nothing but mid-late 2000's models like the Evo IX, that don't even have a notable motorsports reputation that the late '90s models do to bolster their attractiveness.

Though it makes me wonder, that the sort of 'otaku' effect that the 90's (and in some ways, 2000's model cars) have from being beamed into the minds of young kids like myself, from Fast and the Furious and Gran Turismo, etc, may shelter it a bit when we get to the market collapsing.

 

[EngieDiesel]

Though it makes me wonder, that the sort of 'otaku' effect that the 90's (and in some ways, 2000's model cars) have from being beamed into the minds of young kids like myself, from Fast and the Furious and Gran Turismo, etc, may shelter it a bit when we get to the market collapsing.

Maybe, though if that's the case I think it'd be reserved more for stuff that was specifically featured on screen at some point. I can't see anyone clamoring to pay top dollar for the car that's two performance levels down from the one that they saw in their favorite car chase movie, unless they're really foolish with their money.

 

[LMSCorvetteGT2]

I don't know, maybe $60,000?

That's nearing the same territory as cars of the same category and power levels at the most premium trim. We're talking about a high performance factory condition car, and the MR was the most sought after of in any generation so of course the pull would be large. I would have found 90-100k acceptable. Because the market allows it and has always allowed it for cars that either aren't made any more or because they were limited run, or because the manufacture doesn't exist, or some combination.

I mean there are plenty of cars I never thought would fetch large numbers either and I'm sure if this wasn't factory mint condition it would have probably got 50-60k instead.