NEED ADVICES on buying an used BRZ
 

Hi guys!

I just registered in this club to ask this very important question.

I would like to buy an used BRZ. I found three private sellers in Montreal, Canada. Could you please give me some advices on which one is better, or none of them is good?

1. 2016 BRZ sport-tech (limited), 43000 km (26718mi), CAD 19000 (USD 15398)

Mods:
- tomei UEL headers
- mxp comp rs catback
- tein street basis coilovers
- 18" avid.1 av20 wheels
- seidoworks whale tail spoiler
- valenti sequential tail lights

2. 2015 BRZ Aozora (Series.Blue), 60000 km (37282mi), CAD 18000 (USD 14587)

No mods

3. 2015 BRZ sport-tech (limited), 82000 km (50952mi), CAD 14500 (USD 11751), CAD 11500 (USD 9319) if return to stock

Mods:
- new clutch and brakes
- Tein z lowering springs
- Wheels: AodHan ds02
- Doors , license plate and interior lights all LED.
- Exhaust: invidia N1 with burnt titanium tips plus tomei UEL header.
- Tuned: stage 2+ with launch control and flatfoot shifting.
- Taillights: Valentin sequential.
- Lip kit: front lip, side skirt and rear spats.

4. There is another dealer car that is 2013 BRZ sport-tech(limited), 106000 km (65865 mi), CAD 16000 (USD 13000) including 3 year powertrain warranty

I am hesitate because I saw a lot of small problem for 2013 ones.

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I have not test drive them, but assuming the conditions are all good, which one do you think has the most value for money?

I will test drive them and do the pre-purchase inspection in the future. I just need some general advices on these three, or any other related buying suggestions.

If you have a BRZ for sale that is near Ottawa, feel free to PM me.

Thanks in advance!

#2 hands down.

I would tend to go with a non-modified one.

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Thanks for your advice. I do want an unmodified one, but it's in blue and I want white. If it's white then I will definitely go for it.

What do you think about the 4th one, dealer car?

Number #2. The dealer one makes me a bit suspicious on how or why they would offer such warranty. Some major repairs must had happened in order for them to offer that. Plus 2015 and 37K miles on #2 is a pretty good purchase. Doesn't need any major repairs other than maybe taking a look at Trans/Diff/Radiator Fluids.

#1 ain't bad either. But that exhaust combo is annoying. Loud and droney. Unless he kept a catted Front Pipe. But it'll still be a bit loud.

Assuming they are all of equal condition #2, but you will likely want to ditch that Invidia N1. They are known to be loud.

Thank you!

The 4th one actually has the best CarFax report I have ever seen:
https://vhr.carfax.ca/?id=icO+eQ7L0I...4K59OErI4niQUE

For the 1st and 3rd ones, I also worry about the noise and drone. It's gonna be my daily car for at least 2 years, I don't think I can bear with the drone.

The 3rd has stock exhaust included. But that mods, tune and new clutch make me feel that the owner beat the car pretty hard.

there's nothing to say that #2 wasn't a wildly modified hacked to pieces SEMA build that was returned to stock only to balance out the credit card debt of the seller....

saying it was unmodified, and actually getting eye's on it are 2 very different things...

Thank you.

I thought it's the Tomei UEL made it loud?

A bit off topic, but is there any relatively quiet exhaust setup that can also fix the torque dip like the Tomei UEL do?

Thank you.

Yes I know I can't fully trust anyone. Do you think the pre-purchase inspection can find out whether the car was modified?

Catless is what makes it loud. You can tame it down with the right exhaust setup, the N1 will be loud with a catless header.

Quiet and not having a lot of drone is going to depend on the whole setup.

That's not bad, but I'm leaning towards #1 more at this point actually. You can always sell the current catback or trade it for something quieter (Q300, R400). Reason being is that even though the cars receive some undercoating protection, the last car has been on the road for a considerable longer amount of time. Is not alarming, but I would personally purchase vehicle 2015+.

i better addressed that in your other thread.

https://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=145931

So you think the #1 may even be better than #2? Another thing concerns me is that the TEIN Street Basis coil-over. Do you know if it has similar performance as the stock coil-overs? I will track it so I want something that is no worse than stock.

It was a comparison between #1 and #4. #1 would be better in that sense.#2 would still be a solid choice too. So between 1 and 2, both would be good. Unfortunately I do not have experience using any suspension mods. But I did a quick search online and there are several threads that discuss the pros/cons of the TEIN Street Basis.

Thank you very much. I will go check out those threads.

Somehow my post was posted twice. Thank you for your advise, I will delete that duplicated post.

#1 because I know for a fact your going to want to mod the car.

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LOL yes, I will go check them out this week.

If you know for a "fact" that he is gong to want to modify the car then #2 is still the better choice. Start with a fresh canvas for doing his own mods not working around somebody else's.
Not sure how you know this is a fact though since there are loads of people that don't mod their cars.
If he is struggling this hard to decide which car to buy (even though there is a clear and evident majority) I can't wait to see the questions on each and every mod!

Sez the guy whose profile proclaims "bone stock"...:bellyroll:

I'm sure you could look up my build thread. Bone stock in my sig was to be sarcastic. Noobs on here.... smh

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I would recommend #1, nego the price to same as #2. If one of those parts are not to your liking, you can buy a 17+ component, replace, sell the aftmkt and save some money.

This is considering that you wanna have this kind of headache.

Hi guys. Firstly thank you for all these responses. I tried them last weekend. The 1st one is way too loud and the steering is very loose. The 2nd one is amazing, almost like new.

I found another CPO 2017 86 from Toyota Dealership. 60k km, CAD $21200, include 3 year warranty. I was gonna go for it, but I noticed one thing in the warranty policy (please see the bold text below):

Parts not covered are: all glass (mirrors, heated windshields and rear windows with defroster), fog lamps, lenses, sealed beams, lamps, light bulbs, tires (with the exception of ECP Road Hazard Coverage), wheels or wheel studs, trim, seat frames, convertible top, mouldings, weather-strips, bright metal, sheet metal, body parts (including frame), bumpers, upholstery, carpet, paint, brake rotors and drums, brake linings and pads, batteries and cables, manual clutch disc lining, pressure plate and bushings, throw-out bearings, catalytic converter (which may be covered by Emissions Control Systems Warranties), exhaust system, non-manufacturer installed accessories.

This makes me question that why don't they cover these part. I know there is a known issue with TOB on 2013, is it the same case in 2017?

clutches are like brake pads. they're generally considered consumables

So manual clutch disc lining, pressure plate and bushings are all parts of clutch? What about the throw-out bearing?

I would say find a cheaper one bro.

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The market price has increased from last year, I hope I can find cheaper ones, but I got no better choices in my area, cheaper ones are all beaten, heavily modified, or have bad accidents.

yes, the throwout bearing is what allows the clutch fork(which is what the clutch pedal operates) to move the pressure plate fingers to disengage the clutch.

they're trying to absolve themselves from people misusing the clutch and burning it out-- because all of those components are commonly replaced when replacing a clutch assembly. it's no different than their clause to not replace brake rotors and pads, due to people riding their brakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6DL0j0eKD8Y

All bearings, bushings and contact surfaces are usually exempt from any warranty. As the others have said they are not going to cover things that are subject to abuse or even expected wear. Warranty coverage is for things that should not wear out or break not every single piece of a car.
You have little to worry about with the TOB in a 17+ car but even if you did need to replace it it is not horribly expensive unless it blows and takes the whole clutch out with it.

It is Canadian pricing so that is dirt cheap for a 17.
Good clean examples are very scarce here so even our normally higher prices have gone way up in the last few months.

As an aside to this thread, just skimmed through used 2013-2020 BRZ pricing for the first time in a while and was shocked to find most retailing at or slightly below what was at the time of new OTD cost, WTF? I know there’s currently a supply/demand issue across the entire auto industry but still!

Thank you for this clear explaination!

Thank you, good to know

Yeah my roommate got a 2016 brz 60k km for CAD 17000 last summer, which is a impossible price for current market. This is why I was so struggling on finding the best deal. I just wanna feel less unfair lol.

My current car is too old and some small problems are starting to occur, don't wanna spend money on it so I have to sell it and buy a car now. Otherwise I would wait for a couple of months.

Yeah just checked and a similar ‘18 brz to mine with 30k mi is going for more than I bought it new. Wondering if I should try to sell and get the new gen for a bit more when it’s out…

Just wanna say thanks to everyone here. I bought a 2017 86, CAD 23500 all in with 3 year warranty. Preparing for the track!

Congratulations!!!

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