Used 2013 Advice
 

Hey y'all! I am a Yota girl, I come from the off-road world (I have a jacked up, blacked out FJ, aka the love of my life), and have always wanted to add a sports car to my fleet. So...I've settled on a used FR-S. With that said, I'm now looking at what's out there, and wanted to get some advice.

-2014 vs 2013: In your opinion, is it worth it to pay a couple $K extra to get a 2014 vs. 2013? I've heard the 2013's have a couple issues, so is the 2014 far more solid and worth the extra $ to potentially avoid little problems? Or not so much?

-Mileage: I'm looking probably between 50-75K. Is there anything that typically needs to be replaced within that mileage range? I drive well below 5K a year, and spread between 2 vehicles, so it's going to take me several years to get to 100K, regardless.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Buying used you will have problems. You never know what the previous own did to the car. I suggest buying from Toyota Certified as their pre-owned vehicles come with a warranty I think it's 7 year/100,000 from when first bought new.

https://www.toyotacertified.com/

Overall differences are very minor, the biggest thing that changed with the 2014s is the touch screen stereo and the knee pads on the side of the center console. Any of the original teething problems of the 2013 should've been solved by now.

Aside from that, condition is king. Get both cars inspected by your mechanic and pick the best conditioned car. If both are really good, then go with price.

Obviously there are always pitfalls in buying a mid-priced sports car used. Hopefully you can score one as the second owner, which will at least average out your chances it wasn't hooned. Certified from Toyota, or even from some place like Carmax that will allow you to add on up to six years and (I think) 50k of miles worth of full coverage warranty probably isn't a bad idea.

But to answer your questions specifically, most of the "problems" you may read about on here were seemingly for very early 2013's. Mine was manufactured and bought in October of 2012 and I haven't had any of the major issues that a minority of folks have complained about.

Yes, it has the crickets - this is due to fuel blend (if you can find 0 Ethanol, they will go away)
Yes, I've had a tiny amount of condensation in one tail light. Never enough to worry about personally, but that's up to the individual.
Yes, I had the driver's side, passenger window switch issue where it wouldn't go all the way down automatically. That's the one thing I got replaced under warranty.

But any major failures or problems have been nonexistent. I average about 8k miles/year (my job has my out of town regularly). I've Auto X'd it at least a half-dozen times a year since I've owned it, and done a couple of track days as well, so it hasn't been a completely easy life.

If you can find a one owner, unmolested 2013 within your mileage range you should be fine.

I would suggest if you get it used,get it from a dealer and try to get it with some sort of warranty. Not only that,you know that if you get it from a reputable dealer,more than likely,it should be in tip top condition.

I bought my '13 over two years ago and haven't had any problems other than a leaky tail light which was a recall item that they replaced for free.

I have no idea of what a Yota girl is ....... but welcome to our happy forum ....... :happyanim:

I think that @Dake summed it up pretty well when he said:

"If you can find a one owner, unmolested 2013 within your mileage range you should be fine."

I have a 2013 with 20 some thousand miles on it and haven't had any problems with it.


humfrz

You need a new man?

I purchased mine certified. I wouldnt fuck with the 13's if you dont plan on getting one with a warranty.

I have had my 13' for 5 years 3 months and 22 days with no major issues. I avg 36 miles a day - everyday!


I don't think that getting a used 13' is necessarily bad idea... I would try and find one that has:


Maintenacne records - this is important!
Low miles
No accidents
No engine mods (my personal preference after buying many modded cars)
No check engine light
The color you want
The transmission you want
And finally - IN YOUR BUDGET


If you take the time and find the right used car, the chances you will be happy are much higher.


Good luck!

This, I rushed into mine. Got a color I didn't really want at first (but it grew on me because Ultramarine is literally the best color) and I also ended up buying from a duchey dealership that i'll have to deal with for the rest of my ownership.

Check the service records if oil has been changed regularly and service done at proper intervals that's generally a sign that the previous owner took care of the car. Shoot for 1 owner if possible.

Thanks so much, everyone! I really appreciate it :)

I'm not in a big hurry, so I'm taking my time to do it right. I will likely have to travel to find what I want (I'm in Arkansas).

Yes, I have on my list -- one owner, all maint. records, zero accidents, color I want (Black or Gray...White would be third), manual, no mods (I'll do what I want after I get it)...

I am aware of the crickets and condensation, not worried about that, nor the touchscreen and pad upgrades from 13 to 14. Getting from a Toyota dealership with the Certified stamp would be ideal...

You guys are awesome. Can't wait to join the club!

Oh, and Yota girl = Toyota girl ;)

Lol was waiting for that :lol:

I got a 2013 with this touch screen:
http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8431/7...9c765435_c.jpg

It wasn't a deal breaker for me but it is nice and is possible even on a 2013.

Pics of FJ?

I just picked up a 2013 with 71k miles, that had one previous owner.

I realize now that this poor 86 has seen some things... I didn't do a full inspection before I bought. I caught a bunch of smaller issues, but there are so many little things that I missed, like the front brakes being worn out, lightweight pulleys being already installed (bonus), it being on a stock tune with an Injen airbox, spare tire missing, etc. etc.

Just be really thorough and take your time looking the car over, look for every little thing and use that to bring the price down. Whatever you save in the pricing you'll end up spending to take care of the little nagging things.

That all said, the car is largely fine, aside from a bunch of correctable problems. I got it for $13k, so the money saved and then spent fixing it up has gone towards enhancing what would otherwise be stock parts.

At least he didn't ask her to the prom!:bonk:

FJ!

Stock rear Lockers, 33" BFG KM2's, Granite wheels, ICON 3" coilovers, Total Chaos Upper Control Arms, Demello hi lift jack clamps, Expedition One Front Bumper w/ Hella Black Magic driving lamps...

(hi lift jack is removed from the roof rack in the pic, I took it down to be re-Rustoleum'd, thus the rust spot shown), also you can see windshield just replaced, nice blue tape... Need to add a nice rear bumper and some wenches.

I really hope I can secure an "FRS" or "FR-S" plate to match the FJ...

And no, I don't need a prom date, but thanks for asking :)

pretty new to forums... sorry those are sideways...

Thanks for the feedback...!

Fixed!

And nice long mod list. Hope once you get your FR-S you can have an equally long list!

Thank you! Yes, cars are a little foreign to me, so I'll prob get advise on where to start from you guys, besides wheels, tires... I do want to retain the character of the car. I have friends sending me videos of 86's with LS V8 engine swaps and such, and I just don't want to go that route. Really want to keep her closer to what she was created to be. A little extra power would be nice, but I'm definitely keeping the Boxer.

Also worth mentioning, keep an eye on the cars for sale subforum here: http://www.ft86club.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=69

Might find one come up locally or in an adjacent state.

Fantastic. Thanks again

that... is an interesting font. touch buttons like that have no business being in cars imo.

as for you OP, check for oil leaks, check the window seals, and check for leaking/cracked tail lights. I can almost guarantee you will get at least one of these issues.

Hmm if you're interested, i am possibly selling mine!

2013 Ultramarine FR-S
42,000 miles
Warranty until 2021 or 100,000 miles (it has the Toyota extended platinum warranty)
All stock with only dealer installed TRD parts
No accidents
I also have the updated touchscreen navigation system from a 2016 FR-S
TRD Forged Alloy wheels (same as the RS2.0 wheels but in gunmetal color)
TRD exhaust
TRD intake system
TRD shift Knob
TRD front and rear sway bars
TRD Front strut bar
OEM Spoiler
OEM Fog lights
OEM Mudflaps

But i'm located in california! :iono:

Ask how old the previous owner was. If teenage boy, pass. If modded in any way, pass. Maintenance records would be a plus. Make sure you ask if the ECU is stock or has been flashed, as you don't want to get stuck with a proprietary ECU flash somebody forgot to remove or mention, which means the previous owner is probably an idiot, so pass. If they don't know ask them to check.

Wow, it sounds like you've done a great job. It's a bit too far for me, though, and really want black or grey/charcoal (I know I'm not using the official Scion color names, don't stone me)...

Very, very good points to consider. Thank you!

I say skip the '13.
Get the '14: knee pads, easier suspension for daily & less tail happy than the '13 (wait .. was is the '14 or '15 that got this change?), & awkward stereo unit is better anyways.

Now if the maintenance and overall condition is in favor of the '13 .. get the '13

2013 Sittin' on just over 133k miles here, only major maintenance besides fluids, spark plugs, brakes and rotors was my throwout bearing for the clutch, which completely exploded, happened at about 80k. The clutch was still in good shape but opted to upgrade it since the transmission was gonna get dropped anyways. The spark plugs were also a PITA to get to but was able to do it just under 3 hours with the help of a friend without dropping or raising the motor.

Chiming in too - I have 80,000 miles of daily driving, road trips, and a few track weekends on my '13 and have never had a major issue. Some broken wheel studs from salty roads and stock lugnuts but that's it.

To each his own.. The tail-happiness of the 13FRS is the reason why I don't have a 2017 brz.. Smooth ride is nice but doesn't make up for under-steer in my opinion.

Overall the '13 seemed more angry to me..I like it.

I loved it at first .. but after 5 years of ownership and DD and driving from Nor cal to So cal pretty frequently ... I'd prefer a smoother ride now ~

I think we'd all like to add some wenches to our cars .

:party0030:

I google image searched "FR-S with wench" and I got this photo... which was posted on our very own forum.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/attac...1&d=1452309141

beware the '13s with early production issues. I have most of them, worst one I had the cam sprocket fail along with a new ecu. luckily under warranty.

The 13 is a teenager with no sense of responsibility. The 17 grew out of that a bit. They are both fantastic cars, though.

I would also love to have a wench.