This is the End
 

Most(all) reading this post wont know me but by join date, I may be considered somehwat of an OG here. Like many of us, I found this car a few months before its release and as a 19 year old who just got his first full time job, I set my sights on an 86.

I was about the 3rd person in Delaware to have one. My purchase date was June 14, 2012. A local dealership had exactly what I wanted, an auto Asphalt FRS. For the last 5.5 years, the car has been nothing but great to me and I enjoyed driving it daily.

A few weeks ago, the day after my 25th birthday, a 17 year old kid was speeding on the shoulder of a busy road and smashed into my FRS. Airbags came out and the front end was damaged badly, so I thought it would probably be totaled. I just got the call today that it would be a total loss and the estimate for repairs was over $13k. They offered me a settlement of $15.5k which will pay my loan off and leave me with a few grand. Dealerships were only going to give me about $10k.

So this is my farewell to the 86 community as an owner, but of course I still will be checking in every once in a while and keeping up with the car from year to year. One day down the road I may even get a cheap one because the car was nothing but good to me for over 50k miles. I will leave you with a few pictures and a question...

Any suggestions on whats next? I am looking for a sedan with an aggressive look and some solid performance to match. For me, this entails solid handling and faster than my FRS (not hard to do). I would also like something AWD after 5 winters with the FRS. My budget for financing would be about 30k, but I could lease a new car under 50k.

Some cars that I’m considering

‘14+ Lexus IS 350
Kia Stinger
Genisis G70
WRX

Also considering getting a super cheap beater for a year or two

Cant figure out how to embed pics from my phone the link to my thread(which hasnt been updated for a few years) is in my signature.

sorry to hear about your accident. hope you weren't injured.
‘14+ Lexus IS 350 or a WRX

sorry to hear about that.

I'm not up on my AWD sedans , styling …. possibly Subaru, or does BMW produce a 2 or 3 series that's AWD ? Subaru is proven, not overly expensive…. get the new STi

The newer s3's look really nice and pretty aggressive. I'm not an audi guy by any means but my neighbor has a black one and it looks super nice

^^^

S3 is a good choice. Nice interior, good amount of power, fairly practical. Also responds to mods well - just a tune will get you 370 hp/383 tq. I drove a friend's modified S3 at the track (Stoptech BBK, H&R springs with OEM adaptive dampers, APR tune, exhaust, etc.) and it was pretty quick out there. Might also consider a Focus RS.

Personally though, if I was shopping for an AWD sedan I'd be looking hard for a lightly used Evo 8/9. They're not the prettiest cars inside or out, but I love the raw feedback and responsiveness of them.

I appreciate the responses so far guys and yes, I am OK.

I’d love to find a nice used 1st gen IS 300 (i know its not AWD).

Will definitely be looking into the S3 a bit deeper. I kinda overlooked it and went straight to the A4/A5 sportback/used S4

Of all the things you mentioned above, I would go with the "cheap beater" for a couple of years if you could, save up and pay cash for your next adventure, but that's me. The earlier you can get out of the cycle of car payments the better.

If I got out of my FRS right now, id be hard pressed not to buy an EP3 si or RSX type s for a few years

Wait so you still owed around ~$15k and they only gave you a few grand more?
So in the end, you paid off your loan, but have no car? Wtf?

Someone's else mistake end up costing you to have no car to drive anymore?

I'm confused... that sucks OP :/

Why rule out some of the "hot hatches" and stick just with sedans? Going the hatch route opens up a number of inexpensive yet still decent options.

You do understand how insurance works right? You don't get new car value for a used car. Unless of course you have replacement value coverage.
Paying off the loan is about the best anybody could expect and since it is gone you can now get another loan for a new car.

Yeah insurance is one of the worst scams of all time. Sucks to put all that money in over time and have some bozo 17 year old take that all away in a split second. In a real at fault negligent and not just a blown tire/slick road type of accident, the person at fault really should have to take more of a hit on the outcome. This kid just has to possibly lose his car too if it was damaged similarly, that his parents probably paid for, and maybe pay a little more each month for insurance for a couple years. That is if he even had the insurance of his own in the first place and it wasn't his parents coverage taking care of all this.

We pay the same amount of money to cover a brand new car each month and 5 years later, it's the same each month. I know we are mainly paying for the liability on an accident occurring and the value of the car isn't as important.
The cost to repair mostly stays the same in the 5 year period too. Where we get screwed on is as time goes by what they will pay out for a total loss becomes less and that's where they get us. The monthly payment really should slowly decrease to make up for that loss of value though to be fair. Especially if there were no accidents.

They should reward people for not getting in accidents. As in this case here, he makes it almost to the end of paying off the loan and instead of finishing it out and having a nice well taken of car, he only gets back what some shmoe would get for the same car that was beaten and driven to death. Most of this is our fault though as a consumer. If we all weren't in a rush to go out and buy a new car every couple years, the used ones we have would keep their value better. And if that was the case, if it was totaled out 5 years after we bought it, our pay out wouldn't be half of what we originally paid but a more reasonable amount for what is in reality a car with lots of life left in it that probably still is in newer condition.

My last dd car, not counting work trucks/vans, I bought before the FRS is still in the garage and my son now drives it. It's 19 years old and still is in 90-95% condition. I'll probably do the same with the FRS and get my moneys worth from it too. The future of self driving cars may ruin the fun of controlling the car but with almost no accidents on the roads any more, we will probably see vehicle ownership lasting much longer. Which means cars will dramatically increase in price to make up for it. It will be interesting to see what insurance companies do to make up for this huge loss in income due to less accidents.

Of course, they will raise rates. What do you expect them to do to keep their stockholders satisfied?

This whole automatic driving thing will be full of unexpected consequences- not something I'm looking forward to as an avid sport bike rider.

As a lifelong advocate of "zero debt" I would advise getting a used car. Not a beater because they will eat up as much money as a lease if you have to keep running to the dealer for repairs. For that matter, what do you have against a used FRS?

As to winter driving, I believe that the AWD thing is a placebo. Takes a pretty serious amount of snow to sideline an FRS with snow-tires.

Winter is almost here.

Buy a beater for the winter.

Be willing to go south, as far south as North Carolina to find a beater which has never been in the salt. Make sure it has working rear window defogger and A/C, heater which each work...best for clearing the interior in snow conditions.

Many vehicles which have little power work best for winter driving. Four snow tires worth the investment. Anything with a J as it's first digit of vin is your best bet for reliability...new or used.

Save your funds over this winter. Decide in the spring what's best for a new or almost new car at that time.

Personal Note: It's been a while, so can't say what's best now...best winter car I ever had was a (very slightly used) 2005 Mustang coupe with V-6 engine, auto trans (which I normally would hate), traction control/anti lock brakes and four Michelin X-ice snows. Balls on fun to drive in the winter car. Amazing combination of options/add ons it was for driving in western New York State winters at the time. That vehicle so much fun to drive that I constantly looked for short road trip places to drive on winter weekends, and did so. Oh what a positive attitude I had all that winter despite the gloom outdoors.

A winter car should be a FUN driving car...and very few actually are fun in the snow/salt/ ice.

>> Just throw away all your others questions...start asking people...What's the most fun to drive winter car ? <<

Attached pics just for laughs...winter coming soon to a place near you.

^This.

Takes a pretty serious amount of snow to sideline an FR-S with winter tires, but takes far less idiots to damage your car and there's nothing more rewarding than watching an idiot, who was trying to crash into your car, crashing alone. This is the true power of AWD.

Anyway, may I suggest waiting until Tokyo Motor Show?

In the last 10 years I have seen far more crashed AWD cars (and trucks for that matter) then any other type of vehicle.

Yep, AWD owners overestimate two things:

1. Their driving skills.
2. AWD in slick conditions.

Especially in trucks where emergency stopping distances are the length of a runway.

And they frequently think that all season tires are fine in the snow since they have AWD.


AWD gives an advantage when starting or accelerating in the snow. It gives zero improvement when stopping, turning or any other maneuver in slick conditions.

Too bad your car got wrecked up ...... :(

First off, it's not "The End". You have simply finished the chapter with THAT car.

Sounds like you got a lot of pleasure from owning that car ....... however, it's time to begin a new chapter.

So, now that you are 25 years old, what are your present transportation needs and desires ...... ?? How about a few years down the road..??

There ya go ...... buy what you can afford (willing to pay out for an automobile) ..........;)


humfrz

Kia Stinger
 

Would be my choice. AWD and sharp looks for a sedan. Tokyo Auto show will have many on here's hearts a racing as rumor has it the new supra is going to be released.

Also the first year of a brand new car. Many people here can vouch for how well that sometimes works out.

My rental is due back monday. I work at night so I can drive my GF car to work for a little while but obviously dont want to make that long term.

I couldnt do another FRS. My dog hated it lol. Theres also a good chance I could have a child over the life of my next loan, so I’d like to get something that’s a little more “mature” and comfortable for a small family.

Ive obsessed over the 14+ IS 350 FSport since they released a few years ago and I could get one with under 40k miles for about 30k. I feel like that may be the best combo of everything I want but its slow compared to other cars in its class and the infotainment system sucks.

Definitely open to all options and advice. Appreciate all the condolences

I see just a problem with your long-term idea: if the baby becomes "2 babies", will you sell your dog or your gf?

girlfriend, obviously

Anybody that has had to take care of two babies knows that getting rid of the other caregiver is a bad plan.
Get rid of one of the babies.

You owe me a new computer screen!

:clap::bonk:

There's several good reasons I don't have any babies yet.......

This is one

The suspension design on an IS300 is it's secret weapon, surprisingly underrated imho, solid reasonable reliable car if you've got the timing belt and water pump taken care of, basically a USDM E36 M3 killer that came out ~5 years too late. Good compromise car for the next few years to save up for the future.

I'd suggest not writing off FWD if you want something more modern on a budget, get it set up right and the back end rotating around on you on corner entry puts as big a grin on my face as kicking the tail out in an 86, and 'dat turbo torque on offer in pretty much every hot hatch right now, Mini, Fiat, VW, Ford, Honda, it's a good time to buy a cheap fun car.

Beater then save up for the Supra.

I think it is pretty clear that is not in the cards for him.

Might be able to get a Chevy SS for close to 30k, but they are hard to find.
I am also in the get a beater for the winter and take your time on the nice car camp.

Good choice. Manuals are way harder to find. It's the same 3L Supra engine, in the IS300 correct? :thumbup: If you can find one with under 100k miles, could be a good situation.

**There is a Gray, 2002 in Florida for sale right now, manual , almost 92k miles.... for about $8500 , check Autotrader

If you take a look at it, tell us about the Stinger, please.

The naturally aspirated 2JZ is a different beast than the turbo 2JZ.

It's a great engine, but it doesn't have the same performance potential, keep it stock or at most a few bolt-ons, you won't see much more than the OE ~220 hp/ft-lbs of torque without FI or some serious money dumped into it.

But you can definitely tell the torque is a good ~70 ft-lbs better than an 86 even when the car is hauling around another 500+ lbs of mass. And it runs silky smooth in the IS300, only downsides are the weight, the fuel economy will be high teens or low 20's at best, and the timing belt/water pump change at 90k miles is more intense than a spark plug change on an 86.

Why such a negative outlook on life! ;0

My daughter first ten years of her life in the passenger seat of a Miata and claims she is a better person for it.

Why such a negative outlook on life! ;0

My daughter spent the first ten years of her life in the passenger seat of a Miata and claims she is a better person for it.

First 13 years of my life was the back of a 93 civic si as the family car.

@tdoggy57 I had a 2011 g37x (AWD) i picked up and had a few years. Solid car and I didn't have many problems with it. AWD works decently. plus it had pretty decent power

I hear you. Having said that, I plunked my money down on the FRS without seeing one. Outside of the tail light condensation it has been great.