What should I look out for when buying used?

[FineVisionz]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Sorry regulars you have to sit though this story again but my final point is relevant.

I am very much an oddball on here since I had no clue these cars even existed until the day I bought one.
Although I had seen some of the concept stuff back in 2009 being a diehard DSM/Mitsubishi guy I did not follow either Toyota nor Subaru so did not know it was actually being built. One day in mid 2014 I was having my oil changed at the Mitsu dealer and got bored so decided to go next door to the Scion dealer to look at the tC that I had seen for the first time ever the weekend before.
I walked through the door and stopped dead in my tracks. Sitting in the middle of the showroom was a sleek, low, gleaming orange angel. I crawled in, under (well looked under), and all through it. After finally convincing a salesperson that I was indeed interested (not sure why they ignored a 55 year old guy in a Marylyn Manson tee shirt and ratty jeans) they let me take a nasty beat up trade in for a test drive. I had to have it even though my other car was only 2 years old and I would take a beating on trade in. We went back in and eventually hammered out a deal. Keep in mind I knew NOTHING about these cars.
So after leaving a deposit on the very first one I ever even knew existed (the one in the showroom) I went home and started doing research. I read dozens of reviews that very clearly said "needs more power". I though that the one I test drove seemed fine but OK maybe I didn't try to push it hard enough so missed something. I eventually stumbled across this forum and read all this stuff about the horrible "torque dip". I honestly started to have second thoughts and almost changed my mind based on the comments. I figured I would go ahead with the purchase but planned on getting a header, tune and supercharger to deal with this dip and lack of power. A few days later I took delivery and started my 4,000 miles a month driving. It took me all of 2 days to realize that the guys complaining about power and dip were just plain wrong.
So now at 120,000 miles the car remains as I picked it up and I have found that no performance enhancements have been needed. I have never had any issue passing anybody or merging due to the dip. Minivans do not smoke me on launch. Overall the car has proven to have very few of the "issues" that I read about.
Soooo... When I read statements from people that have no wheel refering to the dip or lack of power I automatically go into counterpoint mode.

Wow! This is a very reassuring post. I can some what relate to this. I have had very little time behind the wheel of any variant, BRZ/FRS/86. Less than 15min if that. Just like you said, I read posts of "It needs more power"..." torque dip"..." getting beat by soccer mom's". And I'm not going to lie, It kinda worried me.
I want to thank you for sharing your experience with me because it really does help reassure me.
And yes, I know. In the end, it just comes down to getting more seat time in the BRZ to decide if it's the right car for me. Even though I've been in love with the car since it came out in 2013 so I'm pretty much set on the car, haha.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by FineVisionz

A 2017 would be nice. It's out of my price range though. One of the main reasons why I want a 2015, is the Series.Blue in WRB. I personally love the looks of that car. Comes with a lot of the exterior extras I would personally do, but installed by the factory.
When it comes to the 2013, I have heard to steer away from those because since they were the first year for the BRZ, they were more common for problems than other years. I am also looking for something with less than 35k miles. So all of that considered, the 2015 seems to be right in my sweet spot.

The series blue is a great choice but seriously reduces your options. Not a big problem since you said you were in no hurry but does restrict things.

[Adam_L]

If you can find a clean Series Blue , at a good price, get it. There was a forum member here, about a year ago found one, clean with about 15k miles, for around $18k. That was a $31k car new. If not, get a '15-'16 in the color and transmission you want. End of quarter (so end of Sept. or end of December) should yield the best deal, if you buy thru a dealer. What ever their price is, start at about $3500 under what their asking price is

[bcj]

The torque numbers before and after the dip are virtually the same.
It's got great low end torque and that's where I spend most of my time driving.
All day Thursday I had a fine time exploring the countryside mostly under 4k.

You *can* thrash it to redline, but it's not required to take advantage of the car.

[Chikna]

Originally Posted by bcj

The torque numbers before and after the dip are virtually the same.
It's got great low end torque and that's where I spend most of my time driving.
All day Thursday I had a fine time exploring the countryside mostly under 4k.

You *can* thrash it to redline, but it's not required to take advantage of the car.

What am I doing wrong here? When I shift to second gear, tachometer goes way down and when I release the clutch, tach jumps? For example, when I shift at 3,000 RPM, tach goes to 1,500 RPM during gear change, and while releasing the clutch tach jumps back and forth around 2,000 RPM.

[FineVisionz]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

If you can find a clean Series Blue , at a good price, get it. There was a forum member here, about a year ago found one, clean with about 15k miles, for around $18k. That was a $31k car new. If not, get a '15-'16 in the color and transmission you want. End of quarter (so end of Sept. or end of December) should yield the best deal, if you buy thru a dealer. What ever their price is, start at about $3500 under what their asking price is

I found a Series.Blue for $22k with 32k miles at a CarMax... NoHaggle price policy though, so I may have to walk from that one. I have honestly not found/seen a clean Series.Blue for under 20k. The WRB Series.Blue is a lot harder to find than the White one.

[Adam_L]

When you go to do your calculations, remember Series Blue/ Release Series/tS/ 50th Anniversary all add another component to it, which helps resale values of those models. You can spend $1-4k less on a used base/limited FRS/ BRZ with the same milage/use , but as the years roll on which will have more demand (if that matters to you), which affects resale value ?

[FineVisionz]

Originally Posted by Adam_L

When you go to do your calculations, remember Series Blue/ Release Series/tS/ 50th Anniversary all add another component to it, which helps resale values of those models. You can spend $1-4k less on a used base/limited FRS/ BRZ with the same milage/use , but as the years roll on which will have more demand (if that matters to you), which affects resale value ?

Honestly, I think it would be cool to own a "rare" car. But, it's not like I'm going not drive it, I plan on daily driving it. I figured the Series.Blue is going to run a little bit more than an identical non series.blue.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by FineVisionz

Honestly, I think it would be cool to own a "rare" car. But, it's not like I'm going not drive it, I plan on daily driving it. I figured the Series.Blue is going to run a little bit more than an identical non series.blue.

They're all artificial attempts at making something 'collectible,' which insults my sensibility. Want a genuinely collectible one? Find a GBS BRZ. They only offered it for the first model year. Other than that, get one in a color that you like and enjoy the hell out of it.

[Adam_L]

I'd have to see GBS in person , but I hear it is a nice color (color only, 2013 only). Limited GBS

Everything is "collectable". Think about it.

[FineVisionz]

Originally Posted by Ultramaroon

They're all artificial attempts at making something 'collectible,' which insults my sensibility. Want a genuinely collectible one? Find a GBS BRZ. They only offered it for the first model year. Other than that, get one in a color that you like and enjoy the hell out of it.

Well, the main reason why I want a series blue isn't because of its "rarity" I just like what it comes with, STI lip kit, nice black wheels, red-colored brakes (nothing special just looks nice imo) and the blue accented interior is a bonus for me. I know, I could just buy a non series blue and put a STI lip kit and back wheels and paint the brake calipers. But, after pricing out all the parts, it would be cheaper for me to buy a Series Blue than to buy a non series blue and install all the parts my self.
Hope that makes sense, haha.

I actually have never seen a GBS before. Quite a nice color.

[Ultramaroon]

Originally Posted by FineVisionz

Hope that makes sense, haha.

Perfectly so.

GBS=e8h=Ultramarine. I like how it complements the red accent.


The blue accent is pretty sweet.

[why?]

Originally Posted by FineVisionz

It is a good point. Budget isn't high enough for new and I tend to like buying a few year old car because it's gotten past the big initial depreciation. But I, like you, have a real good taste. Haha. I'm looking for a series.blue

What is crazy about the series.blue is that the value seems to be trending upward for some reason. My car was worth about $16,000 according to kbb a year or two ago, now that number is nearer to $20k again.

Originally Posted by FineVisionz

Well, the main reason why I want a series blue isn't because of its "rarity" I just like what it comes with, STI lip kit, nice black wheels, red-colored brakes (nothing special just looks nice imo) and the blue accented interior is a bonus for me. I know, I could just buy a non series blue and put a STI lip kit and back wheels and paint the brake calipers. But, after pricing out all the parts, it would be cheaper for me to buy a Series Blue than to buy a non series blue and install all the parts my self.
Hope that makes sense, haha.

I actually have never seen a GBS before. Quite a nice color.

The interior is worth it. The lip kit is awful. Unless everything is super flat it scrapes on everything. Mine broke in half after 6 months because I was literally scraping on normal roads because the grade was steep enough because of how heavy the rain can be where I live now. Apparently the knock off ebay sti lip is actually stronger than the official sti one. The wheels are boat anchors, and I'm not a fan of the red calipers. If I were to do it again, I would probably buy the least expensive FRS I could find without rust in good condition, because I like modding the car. If the value of the car rises to the point I can sell it for more than I paid for it, I'd seriously consider it.

[FineVisionz]

Originally Posted by why?

What is crazy about the series.blue is that the value seems to be trending upward for some reason. My car was worth about $16,000 according to kbb a year or two ago, now that number is nearer to $20k again.



The interior is worth it. The lip kit is awful. Unless everything is super flat it scrapes on everything. Mine broke in half after 6 months because I was literally scraping on normal roads because the grade was steep enough because of how heavy the rain can be where I live now. Apparently the knock off ebay sti lip is actually stronger than the official sti one. The wheels are boat anchors, and I'm not a fan of the red calipers. If I were to do it again, I would probably buy the least expensive FRS I could find without rust in good condition, because I like modding the car. If the value of the car rises to the point I can sell it for more than I paid for it, I'd seriously consider it.

Well fortunately enough for me, I live in a fairly flat area with smooth roads. Are you still on stock suspension/ride height? If you are, doesn't the sti front lip only "lower" the front of the car maybe 1 - 1.5 inch?