Hi everyone! I'm currently in the market for an Evo IX and I caught a lucky break...My local Mitsubishi dealership has a used IX in stock! But I'm weary of purchasing used sports autos because I had a very bad experience w/ my 1st car.

Little back story:
i bought a '98 Eclipse GST(A/T), and about 3 months after getting it i was having issues with 3rd dropping/disengaging for no reason while I was driving. Needless to say when I took it to my local Mechanic he had some rather interesting news for me. 1) my transmission was going out and needed to be replaced. 2) I had been having real harsh rides since I got it, but I assumed it was because it was a sports car. Turns out the previous owner, in attempts to make his car "faster", had cut the coils in the front suspension and welded them to the frame of the body to make the ride "stiffer". Great.
So it was going to be very $$ to fix I said the heck with it, traded in and got a '03 Elantra GLS(got a straight trade) I've been driving that since!

Now back to the main story!
My local dealer has a used IX w/ 16k miles and I want it. But I don't know exactly how much it's worth? what to offer? I mean after 2 weeks of internet searching I've found them selling from $22,000-$29,000. And so, with that info I go to the dealer...

the owner says to make him an offer(an thus begins the haggle war) so i start off with the lowest price I'm hoping to get. I offer $24,000, and the look he gives me is priceless. A look of confusion and insult is the only way I can describe it. See, i was hoping to work UP from that -yeah, it didn't go quite that way.

So my question to everyone is: what is a good price to pay for a IX w/ 16k miles?
-There's also some other things w/ the car:

a) it's missing a rear-passenger headrest
b) the leather seats are showing wear
c) the shifter has probs finding 1st from neutral
d) minor other issues( scratches-lots, very dirty interior- some kind of spill on the center console)

a friend of mine who knows one of the guys @ the dealership said that they've had this model in for a few weeks and the Owner's been trying to sell it w/no luck.

is it worth looking into getting, or should i give up on the idea of owning an Evo and look into something else? I'm a little apprehensive of buying used because of what happened w/ my 1st car and the dealer not telling me anything about it.

I'm sorry it's so long and rather confusing -i'll try to clarify anything, I'm just lost when it comes to car buying/ pricing. Any help is greatly appreciated!

That would be the reason not to purchase that car. You must always suspect a used sports car will have the worst previous owner possible. The car has 16k miles on it and is already having potentially big problems?

I owned a 03 Elantra (like you), and it had some developing issues, so I quickly sold it for a brand new 08 Lancer GTS, and I am happy with my purchase.

Why do you want an Evo at such a young age? Are you planning to race it? Or are you looking for something that your friends will say "WOW, really?"? Because a brand new Eclipse will offer you both for that price you mentioned about (22k-29k).