FR-S Vs. Camaro (Decisons...decisions)

[Kelbyat07]

You see too many V6 Camaros out on the road. The BRZ would be a good choice unless you are getting the V8 one. IMO.

[Anaxilus]

V8 at a similar discount or 86. Personally, money aside, I'd get the car that makes me smile the most everytime I get in it. Money can only get you so far w/ happiness. If you want to save money, buy a used jalopy that runs well and pocket the rest until you can buy whatever really makes you happy. In the great lakes region I'd something used w/ AWD that can tear ass and take a beating and has no trouble past 100k miles. There's no reason to spend that much money and pretend you are actually enjoying yourself. You really want o drop $20k and get out every morning and think, "meh".

On the parking sitrep w/ the UAW bias. I recall a story of the UAW forbidding Marine Reserve veterans from parking in their lot for meetings because they had Toyota Tundras and other imports. I know the whole unit ended up abandoning the facility. Yeah, f**k UAW and GM personally, they are anything but American, just greedy selfish, prejudiced bastards.

[FR-S Matt]

I prefer the FR-S because:

A) My '02 Camaro SS got 17 MPG and my FR-S gets 27 MPG roughly to and from work
B) My FR-S can be boosted to have just as much, or more power than my Camaro and still handle better
C) The FR-S community is awesome
D) The car overall is just more fun and stylish

[Optimus Prime]

Completely discounting all other factors, get the car you want -- FR-S/BRZ. In the grand scheme of things, a few thousdand will be a pittance over the course of your life, especially considering you're an engineer.

With that said, given your specific situation, if you are intent on one of these cars RIGHT NOW, go with the Camaro and get your finances straightened out. Use the difference to pay off student loans, buy something nice for your parents, give them rent money, start a retirement account, etc. As much as I love my FR-S, getting your finances in order at a young age is SO important. Perhaps you've already done all of this, and if so, great job! If not, just food for thought. I'm not too far removed from your situation. I'm only 31 and lived with my grandmother while in college. I made some stupid decisions that current me would not have made. Thankfully, I managed to score a good job after college and could afford mistakes(In no way bragging. I seriously lucked out and am forever thankful I fell in to the job I'm in today. Had I been stuck with another job, I'd have been screwed.).

If you get either car, you won't be disappointed. Another item to factor in to all of this if you haven't yet is the insurance. Also look in to the safety of both. The twins have great safety readings. I don't know how the Camaro fares. All food for thought. But most of all, don't sweat the small stuff. Enjoy your early 20s man!

/old man rant now get off my lawn

[Pbrown]

That GM is currently paying your bills and on that basis alone you should support the company that is providing your financial means. That being said I am biased to the FRS/BRZ

[Diode Dynamics]

I'd take a BRZ/FRS over a V6 Camaro...you'll be wishing you had the V8 Camaro every time you drive it

Trust me, I used to have a v6 mustang and I loved it, but it was no where near as awesome as the GT I have now.

I don't think you'll have any buyer's remorse with one of the twins

Nick C.

[HunterGreene]

Originally Posted by Diode Dynamics

I'd take a BRZ/FRS over a V6 Camaro...you'll be wishing you had the V8 Camaro every time you drive it

Trust me, I used to have a v6 mustang and I loved it, but it was no where near as awesome as the GT I have now.

I don't think you'll have any buyer's remorse with one of the twins

Nick C.

Nick, what year was the mustang you had? Until 2 years ago, they had NO balls. Now they have as much HP as the old GTs.

[Anaxilus]

Originally Posted by Pbrown

That GM is currently paying your bills and on that basis alone you should support the company that is providing your financial means. That being said I am biased to the FRS/BRZ

Pft, the first sign of trouble or an economic downturn they'll drop him like a hat.

Don't be romantic about GM giving you a job, you're a commodity, not a person they really care about having a relationship with. You don't owe GM a damned thing.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

I'm not concerned with coworkers reactions.

Its like this...kinda.

I want an FR-S, but it's more expensive.
I like the Camaro, and its a lot cheaper.

I just can't make up my mind, both great cars I like one more than the other but does the extra cost justify it.

Well, only you can know if you can afford the FR-S. It really sounds like you want the FR-S but would be happy with a Camaro which tells me you are settling for a Camaro. But finances are finances. I would check insurance rates for both cars and exptrapolate cost of ownership (gas, tires, service). Toyota offers 2 years of oil changes I believe and gas mpg will be better. Tires most likely will be cheaper.

Having been an IT Security Consultant for GM at one point, I can tell you there were adamant that we only rent GM vehicles when traveling to meetings... And there were some horror stories from other IT consultants I worked with who rented a non GM car (especially Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc) and showed up for meeting on GM premesis. Let's just say the union workers showed no mercy to these poor rentals..

[Diode Dynamics]

Originally Posted by HunterGreene

Nick, what year was the mustang you had? Until 2 years ago, they had NO balls. Now they have as much HP as the old GTs.

Mine's a 2007 GT, with a few mods, long tube headers and such...

It's not as fast as the 5.0's, but it looks and sounds good.

I chose the Mustang because they make so many parts for them, you can find tons of stuff used, and it's a blast to drive.

Angel eyes change colors btw, red looks so mean

Nick C.

[Phantobe]

Originally Posted by thill

Well, only you can know if you can afford the FR-S. It really sounds like you want the FR-S but would be happy with a Camaro which tells me you are settling for a Camaro. But finances are finances. I would check insurance rates for both cars and exptrapolate cost of ownership (gas, tires, service). Toyota offers 2 years of oil changes I believe and gas mpg will be better. Tires most likely will be cheaper.

Having been an IT Security Consultant for GM at one point, I can tell you there were adamant that we only rent GM vehicles when traveling to meetings... And there were some horror stories from other IT consultants I worked with who rented a non GM car (especially Toyota, Honda, Hyundai, etc) and showed up for meeting on GM premesis. Let's just say the union workers showed no mercy to these poor rentals..

I can afford either currently, the issue is do I want to spend the extra money. I assume gas would be similar in both vehicles due to the fact that the FRZ takes premium. Insurance I'd imagine would be lower in the FRZ than the Camaro, but I should follow up with that...

The other thing that I haven't really thought of until recently is that if I were to buy a Camaro and a few years later down the road wanted to sell it, it wouldn't depreciate that much due to the deal I'm getting.

I know what I want, its just hard to turn down a killer deal...

On a side note I find it funny that people were trying to tell me how to live my life in this thread. I'd say I'm doing pretty good in current circumstances but thanks for your un-constructive criticisms.

Also just because I'm a GM employee doesn't necessarily mean I know the future of GM, everyone assumes this lol I don't have any top secret information that isn't already released to the public....Or do I?? :O CODE130R ERMAAAGHEEERD

[Diode Dynamics]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

I can afford either currently, the issue is do I want to spend the extra money. I assume gas would be similar in both vehicles due to the fact that the FRZ takes premium. Insurance I'd imagine would be lower in the FRZ than the Camaro, but I should follow up with that...

The other thing that I haven't really thought of until recently is that if I were to buy a Camaro and a few years later down the road wanted to sell it, it wouldn't depreciate that much due to the deal I'm getting.

I know what I want, its just hard to turn down a killer deal...

On a side note I find it funny that people were trying to tell me how to live my life in this thread. I'd say I'm doing pretty good in current circumstances but thanks for your un-constructive criticisms.

I'm in a similar situation as you, I'm 22, just graduated college. Luckily I already have my *fun* car, and I get to have fun with our FRS sometimes. I'm looking for a 240sx for a daily driver, but I'll keep the mustang for shows and stuff.

If I were in your shoes, I'd get the BRZ/FRS because it's more of a driver's car than the Camaro, and let's be honest, the V6 Camaro still weighs a ton and isn't all that fast. Plus, they are everywhere!

You can get a BRZ/FRS and do a few subtle mods to it here and there, while still having a relatively low car/insurance payment. I bet insurance is more on the Camaro too.

Ask yourself this question....why are you buying this car? To have fun driving it?

Because the twins are much more fun to drive IMO.

BTW, I post regularly on Camaro5 and I'm a fan of all cars, I just think for your money, the twins are better than the v6.

Nick C.

[enwave]

Also, a very widely accepted rule is never buy a car that costs more than half of your pre-tax yearly salary. So if you're making $75,000/yr at GM (just an example number) you won't want to buy anything above $37,500 which puts you in the clear for either purchase. Of course student loans may affect that a little, but it's still a wise rule to follow.

EDIT: that especially goes for financed vehicles.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Phantobe

I can afford either currently, the issue is do I want to spend the extra money. I assume gas would be similar in both vehicles due to the fact that the FRZ takes premium. Insurance I'd imagine would be lower in the FRZ than the Camaro, but I should follow up with that...

The other thing that I haven't really thought of until recently is that if I were to buy a Camaro and a few years later down the road wanted to sell it, it wouldn't depreciate that much due to the deal I'm getting.

I know what I want, its just hard to turn down a killer deal...

On a side note I find it funny that people were trying to tell me how to live my life in this thread. I'd say I'm doing pretty good in current circumstances but thanks for your un-constructive criticisms.

Also just because I'm a GM employee doesn't necessarily mean I know the future of GM, everyone assumes this lol I don't have any top secret information that isn't already released to the public....Or do I?? :O CODE130R ERMAAAGHEEERD

Gas mileage in the FR-S should be much better. Fuelly average on a 2013 V6 Camaro is 20.4mpg. Fuelly average for FR-S is 27.5mpg. I would use that data to determine how much fuel would cost you based on how many miles you drive vs how much more premium costs. In my area premium is typically 20 cents more per gallon. My guess is the FR-S should still save you $400-500 per year on average. More if you drive more than 12K miles a year. Over a 6 year period, $400 a year in gas savings is $2400...

But yeah, saving $6K on a Camaro vs an FR-S is a big savings and hard to overlook. I would tell you that once you know cost of insurance, gas, etc drive them back to back one more time and decide. I would also look into depreciation on the Camaro's and see what a 2-3 year old V6 is selling for.

They are just such different cars. Personally, no offense, I just did not like the current gen Camaro. I am just too used to Japanese sports cars and the Camaro felt and drove huge to me. From looking out over the hood, to taking a corner. I also did not like the visibility from the cockpit. But I also have a long history with RWD Japanese sports car and just prefer the smaller, more nimble car vs the larger more powerful GT car. For me, I would rather spend more money for something I might drive 5-7+ years everyday. Only you know if the Camaro is worth the price savings and if you would have regrets 1-2 years into the car.