Got your order in? Share your build.

[AK2112]

Originally Posted by Flarpswitch

How were you able to get a timeline that detailed? My VON was dated 11/30/21. Since a watched pot never boils, I stay away from the dealer except once to get the Ascent serviced. I got an email update from the salesman ten days ago with the VIN. The other day I was nearby and stopped to ask if they knew where the car was. Truth is I was really after a free cup of coffee; they have this machine that grinds the beans and makes better coffee and coffee drinks than Starbucks. Guilty. They had no idea where in the delivery chain was the car, only that there is one on the way. Back in November I was told the ETA would be March, so I figured close to April. When and where does the VIN get assigned to the VON? I’m only an hour away from the port of entry, so it’s just a quick truck ride.

If you have a VIN, you can create a My Subaru account. You have to use the website (not the app... the app only works once you own the car for whatever reason).

Once you have your My Subaru account, it will show you the progress of the car. It generally goes...

Order date "Welcome to the Subaru family"
Build date "Your Subaru is coming to life"
Transport date train (if needed) "Your vehicle is getting closer"
Transport date truck "Your vehicle has almost arrived"

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by AK2112

If you have a VIN, you can create a My Subaru account. You have to use the website (not the app... the app only works once you own the car for whatever reason).

Once you have your My Subaru account, it will show you the progress of the car. It generally goes...

Order date "Welcome to the Subaru family"
Build date "Your Subaru is coming to life"
Transport date train (if needed) "Your vehicle is getting closer"
Transport date truck "Your vehicle has almost arrived"

Yea that doesn’t always work for some reason. Mine wouldn’t work until the dealer PDI’d the car.

SOA gave me an update every time I called them. They were very helpful considering I was calling them every other week to whine that I don’t know when my new car is arriving.

[Flarpswitch]

When I opened the app, it reminded me that the CVT in my Ascent may blow up. Old news. It would not accept adding the new car. I went to the web site and it took the VIN and verified the color, engine and transmission. No other information is available. Going back to the app, it opens with a notification that it has been updated to only show vehicles that I own. I generally only use the app to start the car remotely or make sure that the parking valet locked the doors.

[bholliday]

Originally Posted by AK2112

If you have a VIN, you can create a My Subaru account. You have to use the website (not the app... the app only works once you own the car for whatever reason).

Once you have your My Subaru account, it will show you the progress of the car. It generally goes...

Order date "Welcome to the Subaru family"
Build date "Your Subaru is coming to life"
Transport date train (if needed) "Your vehicle is getting closer"
Transport date truck "Your vehicle has almost arrived"

I got my information off My Subaru once I got the VIN# from the dealership, and the updates are as above. The dealer emailed me when the VIN was assigned and I had no issues adding to my existing Subaru account. The dealer also knew when the truck was supposed to arrive, so I had a heads up on when the car would be there that I couldn't get from My Subaru. The dealer updated me about once a month during the process.

[Flarpswitch]

Yesterday morning the guys at coffee asked if my BRZ came in yet. Thinking at that point, “I hope I don’t regret selling my 2017 BRZ.” I just told them that I gave up and when it gets here, it gets here. Just as I’m walking out of the shop, my phone rings… “Good news. Your car is ready to be picked up.” I got a BRZ Limited AT White at MSRP with about $1,000 worth of options that I wanted. I asked to have those silly footwell lights added after I initially ordered the car, but rather than change the order and potentially losing my spot in line, we figured any extra stuff can be added later. I resisted the dealer’s effort to sell me as much as $10,000 worth of goodies and I appreciated that they respected my wanting to only go with what I felt was value added. I did add the Starlink features like I have on my Ascent. I did get $750 Subaru Loyalty Coupon I guess for no other reason that this is our fourth Subaru and I wrote a check for the balance. Not counting the usual taxes and fees, going from my 2017 BRZ to the 2022 BRZ cost a little more that $9,000; under the $10,000 limit of diminishing returns that I set for myself. At the dealership, I was told that got the last one and unless something changes, there will be no more 2022 MY BRZs ordered or allotment. Maybe someone can clarify how this works. The way I understand it, during normal times, if the Subaru I want is not on the lot or available through dealer horse trading, I place an order, I get an order number and the car gets built at the factory if it isn’t already in transit. I got a Forester that was already in transit to another dealership and my dealership traded cars. I bought a BRZ off the lot. I ordered an Ascent just the way I ordered the new BRZ; it was built to spec and only options I ordered were added. My dealer group also owns the Toyota dealership down the block and when I checked with them to see if a GR86 was an option, it seemed like it was less certain I would be able to get one in my lifetime. It’s like you have to beg to get on a list where so will follow up on your request and maybe you’ll get a call if they find one that might be close to they way you want it. Maybe it was just me on that particular day, but I left saying to myself, “Homey don’t play that.” When the new Supra came out and I saw it at Toyota and asked about getting one other than the one they had on the floor, it was like I had a better chance at winning the lottery or getting hit by lightning. I could get a Camry or a Prius no problem. Now there are no cars on the lot. You have to order. Is the process of getting a BRZ that much different than a GR86? I ordered 11/30/21 and got the VIN ten days ago and drove it home yesterday. Not bad considering a friend in Australia has been waiting a year for his BMW.

[danson]

Originally Posted by Flarpswitch

The way I understand it, during normal times, if the Subaru I want is not on the lot or available through dealer horse trading, I place an order, I get an order number and the car gets built at the factory if it isn’t already in transit.

Yeah these arent normal times. Back in Feb they shut down all new orders cause they cant/wont be able to deliver them for 22. No word yet on when they will open up for 2023s.

Originally Posted by Flarpswitch

Is the process of getting a BRZ that much different than a GR86?

Toyota never let anyone order them at all. They basically just put your name on a list and as soon as they can get one in your preference, you'll get one based on your order in the list. Problem is, they have no idea how many they will get and most people arent being told that they may not get one until next year. They are just taking deposits (sometimes non-refundable) and telling people to wait. To make matters worse it seems like they are delivering 90%+ automatics now and a significant portion of the people waiting with deposits are waiting on manuals that arent being built.

Originally Posted by Flarpswitch

I asked to have those silly footwell lights added

Same. They are very pointless, but I have no regrets. This car has nothing to do with being practical : )

[Flarpswitch]

If the GR is Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s way of marketing cars with the allusion of performance, then why stuff the majority of the GR86 cars with an automatic transmission? The AT suits me and a lot of other people for their preference, but if you track the car the manual gearbox is the first choice. Marketing genius: luring people in with a desirable niche enthusiast car and make it as difficult to get the configuration they want. Not the best way to build brand loyalty. I am pretty certain that non-refundable deposits are illegal in Oregon and in most states as well. When I placed a $1,000 deposit, it was predicted on a car being delivered. The only question was when, not if. I got a rough estimate for a delivery date and my dealer followed through on their part. No BS.

[danson]

Originally Posted by Flarpswitch

I am pretty certain that non-refundable deposits are illegal in Oregon and in most states as well. When I placed a $1,000 deposit, it was predicted on a car being delivered.

my deposit (for my brz) was non refundable, but would become refundable if my car wasnt in by april 1st. This was in early jan.

Originally Posted by Flarpswitch

If the GR is Gazoo Racing, Toyota’s way of marketing cars with the allusion of performance, then why stuff the majority of the GR86 cars with an automatic transmission?

I mean, they kicked things off by re-releasing the Supra with ONLY an automatic and a BMW engine.

Its why I dont really consider the twins a Toyota. They are Subarus, with Toyota input on the styling. At least thats how my brain things of them. If they cant put their own engine in there, how can they call it their own? And since they treat their GRs like red headed step children, it explains why they are tone deaf to their enthusiast audiences.

Its funny that commercial that came out yesterday is like a real life look into toyota's thinking. They even make fun of the very fact that they dont accommodate people who like manuals, despite almost every model being delivered since march 1 being AT.

[AK2112]

The more I see what Subaru is doing (questionable choices made on the wrx and now the cancellation of the STI), I'm convinced of the opposite. This second gen BRZ feels like purely a Toyota design. Every part is stamped Subaru but given the direction Subaru is headed and Toyota's very apparent desire to make good, fun cars... It seems like Toyota took the lead here and just had Subaru build the cars for them.

Toyota wants this car a lot more than Subaru does.

[fredzy]

Originally Posted by AK2112

The more I see what Subaru is doing (questionable choices made on the wrx and now the cancellation of the STI), I'm convinced of the opposite. This second gen BRZ feels like purely a Toyota design. Every part is stamped Subaru but given the direction Subaru is headed and Toyota's very apparent desire to make good, fun cars... It seems like Toyota took the lead here and just had Subaru build the cars for them.

Toyota wants this car a lot more than Subaru does.

I agree. I can see how some folks would be suspicious of Toyota as a legit enthusiast brand - like the "how do you do, fellow kids" vibe. But holy cow, after the GR Corolla is here they will be as legit an enthusiast brand as any. AT only Supra has been their only misstep so far (which sadly wasn't as controversial as I would have thought) but they are finally rectifying that for the '23 model year.

I don't think it's a coincidence that Subaru is transitioning away from performance while Toyota is investing in it. They partnered up, took a look at each others strengths and weaknesses and decided to play to them accordingly. The unfortunate reality is that neither of them really needs to cater to performance enthusiasts to continue to crush it sales-wise. As long as Subaru keeps making the BRZ and the CUV formerly known as WRX, they can at least say they haven't abandoned us. (Where is the BRZ advertisement, by the way?) Toyota just wanted to give their brand a little shot in the arm, so that's a bonus for us.

[Yoshoobaroo]

Originally Posted by AK2112

Toyota wants this car a lot more than Subaru does.

I think this part is true.

But I don’t think Toyota had much input into the ZN8. This generation is much more a Subaru engineering project than the ZN6, but still with a lot of Toyota funding. Subaru would be stupid not to let Toyota subsidize a significant portion of their operation.

Just because Subaru management isn’t interested in sporty cars anymore doesn’t mean that the engineers and project managers aren’t still excited about these cars. They were probably acutely aware that this is their last shot at an ICE sports car so to make it count. Subaru can absolutely build this car themselves from a technical pov, there’s just no money in it for a small car company like them.

Now I’m still hesitantly optimistic (I know I’m stupid) about the shared Subaru/Toyota hatchback rumor. If that is the GR Corolla and Subaru gets a variant of that, it would make a whole lot more sense to drop the STI until it can be an EV.

[Flarpswitch]

The fact that the twins exist at all in the first generation and more so as a second generation is a miracle. Niche cars would not exist if not for partnerships to make it economically feasible. Sometimes it is no more than a rebadged vehicle. The chassis my previous RV was a Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (Daimler Chrysler) and the only thing that made it a Dodge was an ornament on the front and steering wheel. Then I was held hostage to the truly awful service at Dodge. You have to dig into the history of the 86 Project to see what the motives were to come out with the BRZ and the FRS. There must have been lots of resistance internally starting with Subaru not wanting to get involved. Then to market the car, it has to meet a long list of standards to be able to drive it on the street. Remember when there was a separate vehicle sold in California and another sold in the other 49 states? Too much trouble, so then all the cars were built to California specs. My BRZ may say Subaru on the outside, but it has Toyota’s fingerprints all over. The most obvious is the D4S fuel system and the transmission, not to mention other parts and pieces sourced from the usual suspects in Japan and elsewhere. Look at the Lotus Evora: supercharged Toyota V6 and an Asin manual or automatic transmission. How about the engine choices for the Lotus Emira? You can get a 4 cylinder AMG or a 400 HP Toyota V6. Maybe that is a about the only way to build a car that isn’t completely out of reach price wise is to look to see what is already on the shelf; why reinvent the wheel so to speak. The consensus in our circle of friends is that the Supra isn’t a Toyota no matter what it says on the outside; it’s a BMW. That’s OK if you like that, but we feel that if Toyota wanted to resurrect the Supra, they should have done it in house or partnership in Japan. OK, maybe it would never go beyond prototype or drafting table for that matter. The Supra would have been another Lexus LFA. Only 500 build and maybe three or four still unsold since production ended a decade ago. Talk about a strange dynamic, I went to a car show where the Toyota BZ4X and the Subaru Solterra was on display. When I tried to ask about the Toyota, it was like, “Nothing to see here, move along. Oh look at this really cool Prius.” Over at Subaru, they were promoting the hell out of it. People were reclining the seats to see what it was like to take a nap while you top off the battery. It was almost like if something went wrong, Toyota could point the accusing finger at Subaru, “They made us do it.” I suspect that it is Subaru that needs the EV in their lineup so they can sell their range of ICE cars in some states. Toyota has hybrids and they seem to be hell bent on alternative fuels like hydrogen.

[euroshowoff]

Anyone order later December, early January and get their VIN yet? I was hoping 3 months would get me my VIN but still nothing.

[pinname04]

Ordered 11/20 for May delivery. VIN came last nite for April delivery.