Who's in for the long haul?
 

I've waited till this specific day to make this thread. This is the 1 month anniversary since I picked up my beautiful Premium GBS 6MT BRZ. Now I'm a pretty young guy but I'm not a very modern guy. Every car that has been produced since the mid 90's is just a car I would like to own for a couple years till I got bored. At the risk of sounding cliche´, cars have lost all passion and any soul that a hunk of metal, plastic, and rubber could ever have. I am what you call, a motoring enthusiast. I've always been keen on Subaru's and Toyota's but I am not a fanboy, I have a favorite car from almost every halfway respectable marquee.

This is where the BRZ comes in. After following the car for 4 years (longer?) and reading all the hype about being successor to the AE86 (let's be honest, it's mostly marketing but it certainly could be seen as a spiritual successor in many ways) I was instantly hooked and stayed on the Toybaru bait all the way through. I was never positive how I'd afford this car but at the same time I didn't really consider any part of my future, I just KNEW this car had to be in it. This feeling was really driven home when I made it out to opening day of the Philadelphia Auto Show and ran to the Subaru area like a child may run to their favorite aisle at Toy's R' Us after being told they can have any toy they want. There it was, a WRB BRZ Limited...and somehow...someway...despite the velvet rope, I sweet talked the woman guarding it into letting me sit in it. 20 seconds later I was sold. I fit the car perfectly. Must have it.

Fast forward to June 2nd. Finally the morning I go to pick up my BRZ...got it with 21 miles, 12 of which my brother and I racked up 2 days prior. Added another 105 miles on day 1. Now I'm at 1 full month with 1620 miles. There's nothing I don't like about this car. With the way things are, I think there is almost a 0% chance that there will ever be a NEW car that I will enjoy more for under $60k. So with that said, I've come to the realization that I will be keeping this car for life as long as natural conditions permit. I can't wait to grow up with this car. My BRZ constantly puts a smile on my face no matter my mood. Sometimes I just look at it and laugh to myself thinking "How do I own this beautiful car?". The same happens when I'm driving and it makes all the right noises, my eyes just light up and my smile gets wider than my car's rev range. I really don't want sound like a fan boy but I've finally found my driving nirvana. Will I have other cars in my life? Hell yeah! This car can't do everything! I'm sure I'll have some older sports cars and a family car too at some point but I will NEVER stop enjoying my BRZ. I refuse.


So...anyone else in the same boat? Who else will be a member here when they have personally put on several hundred thousand miles on their BRZ/FRS?

TL;DR: The BRZ is awesome and quite incomparable to anything else under 60k for my driving habits so I will keep it forever, will you?

I say* that about every new thing I get into, sadly its far from the truth. Sooner or later I always get bored, but maybe your different.

I also have been getting bored of cars easily lately. I found my niche car right here. I'm in for the long haul too. I have owned four cars, and in none of them had I ever felt like I do in this one. I'm sold...

P.S. GBS Mafia :bow:, forever Laika!

I've put on 2500 miles in two weeks :thumbup:
It's still the honeymoon period, but so far I'm optimistic that this car will have enough support to keep me from getting bored.

I don't think I could say the same quite yet. I'm planning on enjoying mine as it is for probably 2 years, then I'll take a look at what else is in the market and see if I want to keep the BRZ or trade for something else. I'm watching the next WRX, the turbo BRZ, the new Nissan, next Miata, and of course there will be all kinds of options for FI on our BRZs by then and we'll know what works and doesn't work on the FA20. The great thing about the BRZ the way it is now is that I have no problem keeping it stock. I'll do new wheels and an axle back and that will keep me totally satisfied for the next few years, and then I can trade it in with no problems, and not worry about voiding my warranty. I could definitely see myself keeping it for a long time, but there are a lot of other cars I have my eye on too.

GBS Unite! hehehehe

I somewhat agree. This car still puts a smile on my face. My one month aniversary will be this Friday. I'm still at 950 miles. Almost 1000...almost. Still no redlining, sigh...

But anyways, I agree with Spacewilly. I might get bored of this car eventually. I got bored with my Legacy in 2 years. I plan to look at the next STI too but I will not be replacing the BRZ. The STI will probably replace my current Legacy 2.5GT.

My solution for "unboredness" are mods. I will start modifying the BRZ in about 2 years, after I've exhausted the limits of the stock set up.

Although, to end on a good note, this car is just simply amazing right now! Every corner I take is a driving event for me. The driving position is perfect. It really is a nice place to be. Not to mention the attention we all get and the random convos at stop lights.

I'm a young guy and I feel this will be my DD until I start a family and then I'll shift this over to the fun car and get a more practical DD.

I got my FR-S 4 days ago (I'll make sure I re-eavulate when I hit 1 month), I'm 26 and my entire car history is in my sig. The list of vehicles both young and old that I'd love to own is long and has always been but in the FR-S I could give a shit about them all.

Driving nirvana is the right choice of words for what I am experiencing. I'm at about 530 miles now (got it with 9) and I'm starting to think I may actually make it to the end of the break in period. I've hit 5k RPMs a handful of times so far because I just didn't want to shift but I caught myself...

As of right now I can see myself owning this car for life. I can't envision something better but you never know. Maybe Mazda will take a cue from SubaToy and bring us an RX9 with a conventional engine or a reworked rotary in a few years (don't mean to hate on the rotary lovers but let's face it... it has it's drawbacks as it stands) that does everything just that much better for the same price. Then maybe Ford (they been stepping up their game recently in a very respectable way) will give it a go and actually pull it off..... I could go on and on listing automakers that I'd like to see participate.

I say bring on the low-cost, great handling, moderately powered, sexy, attainable sports car wars!


Note: Having this car as my one and only DD is great but, coming from a Jeep, I plan on buying a old beater truck/SUV for snow and hauling shit and perhaps some off road shenanigans. Once I've entered the realm of dual vehicle ownership I can ABSOLUTELY see myself owning this car for a long long time. I worked out an excellent deal on it with superb financing. I'll have it paid off before I know it and can invest (poor word choice since vehicles are not an investment but a luxury) in a new DD while keeping the fun car.

Right now it's great but I know in the future I will want more power. If there is a reliable kit when the warranty runs out in 2-3 years I'll be in it for the long haul. If not I'll either save up for a porsche or sell out to a mustang.

I got mine one month and a day ago. Have about 550 miles racked up so far. Yeah, another month before I'm out of break in period!

I won't be here in 10 years, though I may still have the car. Have (and still have) owned my WRX for 9 1/2 years. I left that forum a good 5 years ago.

Basically - once newer models come out with more features and changes, people will naturally talk about the new one, less talk about the first year ones.

Rest assured, a reliable kit will be here at that time.

I felt that the FRS/BRZ will bring back great memories from my old vehicles (AE86, S13). Better yet, it has the modern safety features, plus factory warranty...
I never thought I would depart with my Saabaru, but I guess Toybaru got me sold. so... anyone wants to buy my Saabaru?
My only new car/suv is my wife's SUV.... She misses our old S13 some times...

The only car I ever felt like I could own forever gave me problems non-stop and was an absolute nightmare to work on (1991 MR2 Turbo). The joy of driving, not racing, that car was the peak of my enthusiast happiness. Sure it could handle well and it was sort-of fast, but the seating position, the tightness of the steering, the way the exhaust sounded, everything just made me smile non-stop. The HFH (Hose From Hell) went on me, had to replace that. The 3rd cylinder lost compression and I had to rebuild the motor. The IC developed a leak and I had to replace it. The transmission cables came off in the middle of a 4th to 5th gear change and gave me a lot of trouble replacing. The boost gauge stopped working and I had to replace the entire cluster.

But at the end of the day, I did not care. It was my favorite car and I still miss it to this day. Every car I drive now I compare to it. So if you have the same feelings that I did, you will definitely love the BRZ for many years to come.

I'm in the same boat. I'm the type that buys a lot of toys and gets bored of them quickly. not with this car.
I'm already at 2.2k miles and I'm just loving the driving experience of this car. The only way I'll ever be getting rid of this car would be to trade up for the STI version in a couple years if they manage to give it a bit of power without upsetting the balance they have created.

1 month and 1 week (and 2300 miles) later, and I love my car. I look for excuses to drive it, play with it, and keep it clean.

I walk outside on break to look at it.

In for the long haul.... BUT depends what Toyota does with the 86... If in a few years they upgrade it to turbo with stronger internals, stronger gearbox or something along those lines ill probably trade for new.....
Ive been waiting for this car for to long to "just get bored of it"........

The only way I don't have the new BRZ for a while is if they release a turbo in the next year or 3. Even then, I may still keep it.

I'm really OCD when it comes to driving position and controls setup/position (took me two years of continual adjustments in my WRX to find a position I liked; only took one week in the BRZ), and I think this car has spoiled all future cars for me, at least those that I might afford.

I love my car, I drive cars till they die or close to it.
I had 186000 on my wife's car a 98 Mitsubishi mirage and it still runs.
I have a jeep wrangler 97 with 98k .

I promised myself a car to replace the Mitsubishi when I could afford it.

So when I was looking for a car I first looked at dependability and then noticed the scion FR-S. when I researched that car I heard about the Subaru version.
But when I called my dealer was told I would have to get on a list for 2014.

So I looked at scions version. I saw a blue auto for 31k but I wanted a white manual. I didn't have any luck.

I decided to check every dealer along the east coast. Then I checked up north close to where I lived once. I finally found a Subaru BRZ limited in Maine for 2 l cheaper than what my scion dealer was going to charge
Me for a white FRS

So I got my BRZ for 28k and very happy with it. I going to keep her for the long haul.

Seems like a keeper for me.

I don't have mine yet, but will probably keep the BRZ for the long haul once I secure one. My last fun car was a used, lifted, Jeep Wrangler X. The way it looked just suited my personality and the best part was it was too slow for me to get a ticket. I often strike up conversations about the vehicle everywhere I go even though there was nothing extra special about it. I think the BRZ would work well with my personality as well; fun to drive but not TOO powerful.

Don't have a twin, but just wanted to say it's so nice to see other people feel this way. My friend and I were talking about how cars are becoming "consumables" to people these days, kinda like cell phones that you "upgrade" every few years. There are so few things to take pride of ownership in anymore it seems :(

So it's really nice to see people *caring* and showing such passion here :)

I plan on keeping this car for a long time myself.

3 of the 5 cars I've owned, I've only kept for a year or so. The fourth I had for 6+ years, and the BRZ is definitely going to be a long haul car as well.

I've stated it on this forum quite a few times, and I'm not tired to repeat it again - this is a special car, from many angles. Its definitely going to make it into the 'classic' category someday.

Having said that - I don't have time to change cars too often. I like to choose mine carefully and keep them long time. After having BRZ for a month - I'm definitely not bored with it. I like its design (exterior and engineering, both), and I'm in for the very long haul - 5-7 years, maybe. Could be that I'll keep it even after I move onto the next one.

My FR-S is the first new car that I bought. I had a '88 325, 02' WRX Wagon, '91 Explorer, and a '05 STi. The STi was my dream car since I was like 10. I had a great 3 years with it. The problem was I needed a DD and it wasn't the greatest in terms of cost and maintenance. The FR-S I think is something that I am going to keep. I have never tracked or AutoX and I think this is a good car to learn in. Eventually it can grow with mods as my skill do. While I may get "bored", its hard to predict, but I don't see myself selling this one. Maybe getting something new years down the line and making this a real toy.

My 07 STI is my "long haul" car. I hope to still own it when I die. But the BRZ is a great car that I like more and more as I live with it. I hope to stay with the platform for a long time to come.

I have no plans on getting rid of it, its only my 4th car at 31 y/o only reason ive had to get new cars is because my old ones got totaled =(

Well, as the guy whose friends introduce him as "The Guy Who Drives His Cars Until They Don't Make Part For It" I'm pretty much in it for the long haul, so don't expect this one to be any different.

I've had 2 cars over 150K miles each (one of those being my MK1 MR2), and 2 cars over 250K miles each.

Too early to tell but I do very much enjoy the car and have no regrets. I intend to drive the car long after my family life starts and I have to part with the motorcycle. We'll see though, no one knows the future.

Well FWIW, I made a point of keeping my 02 WRX when I got my BRZ. That car I am definitely keeping for the long haul (well, it might become a Factory Five 818 at some point). I'm just not sure if the BRZ falls into that category of "keeper" yet. Time will tell!

I don't get bored of things very easily at all and life has been great because of that. I never have a bored need to freshen things up, as things don't often feel stagnant. I plan on keeping my Celica for a very long time, and i plan on keeping the 86 for a very long time. I'm also very sentimental-- which helps.

There are a few possibilities for me.

I have a plan to semi-retire to Playa Del Carmel/Cozumel area in 5 years. If so, this could be my LAST car. Under that plan, I'll keep this at least for 5 years. To that end, I bought the extended warranty and had clear bra installed.

Or I could be tempted by the turbo version of this car which I think is inevitable as a 2014 or 15 model.

I've typically gotten bored and only kept car 1-2 years at most. I only owned the 2012 Audi S4 I traded in for this (with cash back) for 7 months. However, between this car being special AND since my 5 year plan requires some fiscal restraint most likely I'm in this for the 5 yr "medium haul".

I've noticed a lot of users on this board are coming from either a turbo Subaru or some type of BMW, Benz, Audi ...or what have you.

I can tell you from a guy who drove a Dodge Caravan for 2 years and then a Subaru Legacy for almost 10 I will never get tired of this car and plan on keeping it for life, maybe even pass it down to my future kids.


...and my BRZ didn't even come in yet!

I plan on keeping this car as long as possible. (i.e. 5+ years or longer)

24 to 36 months. I'll probably bail to one of the companies that close in battle with Toyobaru for the affordable sportscar crown. Although, I might, just might be drawn again to the Gunma boys trough if they come out with a wicked quick, giant slayer track type revamp for the Subie marque (think type "R").

It's too expensive to be bored with cars within 5 years for me. Plus I love not having car payments :)

Also, this car is definitely special with the looks, performance and affordability. If I do become a 1% all other super cars I will own will be judged against this car (except the HP figures ;p)

EXACTLY how I feel about my MR2. I'm on my 3rd engine swap, 3rd set of aftermarket wheels, second suspension setup, and I still want more, more, more! I know when I get a BRZ it will be a similar feeling. I get bored with cars easily, and have bought and sold a dozen cars before and since my current MR2. I'm even getting bored of my S4 after 6 months despite the fact that it's one of the best cars I've ever driven (I picked one out of stock; had I built it, things might be different). There's something about this car though, it just screams "love affair". I know I'll keep it for at least five years until it's paid off, and that will be the longest I've owned a car (even the MR2 has only been 4.5yrs). I'm sure once it's paid off I'll buy something else, but I don't see myself selling the BRZ, just keeping it (and hopefully the MR2) in the garage to accompany whatever comes next! I actually hope to finance an Audi S4 in ~10 years assuming Audi manages not to screw up the formula; I know I'll be able to appreciate it more when I'm older :thumbsup:

I'm just waiting to see if they make really drastic changes in 1-2 years. This is one of those cars where you want to buy the best year made and keep it for as long as possible. Other cars it doesn't matter what year you buy cause it's just a car, but this is THE car.

Probably me. I intend (at the moment) to keep it stock, or at least keep all the stock parts somewhere, so that it retains its status as a "modern classic".