Used BRZ?
 

I'm nearing the day when I can buy an 86/Fr-s/BRZ. Trying to sell my current car before I move on. Once that is over with, I'll have a budget of roughly $26k. I've followed this car since the idea was very first put on paper. At launch I fell in love with what Subaru did. My neighbor has an STI and I've grown up around Toyota and Subaru cars. However, owning a Subaru just seems more appealing to me. At first I thought I was going to get the Fr-s, but I recently found that I can buy a used BRZ for the same price of a new Fr-s. I would love to get a limited, because I would feel like my money went further (tooshies toasters, fog lights, spoiler,....). But that would force me to go used. Wondering what you guys would recommend. Sorry if this is a bit vague.

EDIT: Also, if said used BRZ is 800 miles away, could I use that in the negotiation? Or are Subaru dealers hard ballers?

There are many cars I would consider buying used. Examples would be a CR-V, Camry or Corolla. There are many cars I would not buy used. Several of them would be a Corvette, Porsche (I did that once-mistake), the BRZ or the FR-S. The odds are too great that you would be buying something that has been thrashed. Personally I wouldn't even buy a new one that had been used as a demo. If you were buying from the owner and he happened to be an old fart like me that could make a difference.

It is odd seeing a used BRZ with <5,000 miles on the odometer for sale (just an example). You have to be extra cautious about something like that. Chances are these used cars were put through the ringer pretty hard.

people who sell their BRZ this early on in the game must not love the car, that means they probably treat it like shit.

If you look around and you're willing to negotiate you should be able to get a new BRZ premium m/t for under $26k w/ options. Might be able to negotiate a new Limited for under $26k w/out options.

Some dealership owners (not just toyota and subaru) bought these during the early months to try them out, knowing they could put them on their own lots used. If you went used/demo you're just asking for stress. The only way it makes sense is if you knew you were going to start modifying it from week one. Sounds like it's a daily driver for you so I'd skip a used/demo one.

My BRZ had 900 miles on it. Was as close to new as possible. Frankly, I don't care what the previous owner did to it. I got a great deal and would do it again in a heartbeat.

That and I'll be out of it as soon as the 4C is available...

Thanks for the responses, guys! I bought my 370z used and haven't had a single problem, perhaps just a luck of the draw. I know how sports cars can get though... Would a dealer car be a better option? Is it possible to find out if a car is a dealer car, will the dealership tell me that? Worst thing happens, I end up with a new Fr-s...bummer...haha.

There are some people who made poor financial decisions when they bough the car and need to get out of the payments. I'd say you'd be safe buying from someone in that situation.

And if there are not too many miles on the car I would buy it used regardless. So what if they did beat on it for a few thousand miles? It's not like a turbo car that's been beat on for 40, 50 or 60K miles.

I've already got 20K miles on my car and most of them were spent beating the shit out of the car... isn't that what this car is for?

old people cant have fun?:bellyroll:

ANY used sporty car has been beat IMO i dont care if the previous owner was 80 he most likely floored it a few times to feel young again haha

Honestly, it's not a smart choice to go for a used BRZ right now. They are selling for the same price as the new ones depending on your area. I actually picked mine up new at a dealer that had a used one in stock which had a higher price tag. It all depends on the loss the dealer took to get the car in and how much they can lose to you.

You can't really use the fact that they are far away though. This will actually work against you since the dealer knows once they get you in the store, there is more of a chance of you driving home in their car. You still have to make sure they know you are willing to walk if you don't get the deal you want though.

Well, I must have been one of the lucky ones. I found my WRB Limited Manual BRZ back in November with 800 miles on the clock. I drove up to NC from GA and picked up the car with a check in hand for $26K. The owner was a great guy and was just selling because his kids didn't like the back seat and he preferred his old E30 M3 over the BRZ. I thought that was a perfectly reasonable excuse and have been enjoying my girl ever since! :)

Also, the original owner posted here on the FT86 forum for sale section, so just keep an eye out there.

Just know you might get a better loan rate on a new car than a used one. That difference of a couple percent might make up the difference in new vs used.

New BRZ Limited is $27k or so. I think in CA, I was around $31k out the door with 8% tax, tags, fees, destination.

Flooring a car a few times is hardly beating on it. I'd rather buy a car that was taken to redline every once in a while than something that puttered around under 3k all the time.

Yea that too. Can be as much as 2-3% which is pretty huge and would offset the cost of a new car in most cases.

Well, this 78 year old man has fun but he treats his car like a fine timepiece.
:burnrubber:

if you do buy it... make sure you get the warranty!! just saying, you never know!

I'm paying 1.49 on my BRZ, which I bought used. Used vs new car rates are pretty similar right now if you have good credit. And if you don't have good credit, fix it before you buy a car!

While I understand why you would want to steer clear of a car that was beaten on and not taken care of along the way, it drives me crazy to see people not lookinig at the other side of this scenario.

I would by a car that was raced, tracked, drifted or autocrossed by someone that actually knows how to and does take care of their cars over buying a car utilized in the same scenarios with just daily driven quite hard added in. If the car is taken care of chances are it will be in better shape than a car that was flat footed and clutch dropped from 5000 rpm at every stoplight and sign it ever came to rest at.

Do your home work, but don't let the fact that a car was driven hard completely push you away from a car you really want.

How would you be able to tell that the car raced, tracked, drifted and autocrossed hadn't also been flat footed and had the clutch dropped from 5000 rpm's?

I don't think you are really understanding what I am saying here. I have been racing since I was four years old. In that time I've seen people beat the crap out of a car and let it sit until the next time it was going to be raced and then wonder why all sorts of things break on said car.

I have also been involved with several cars and teams that race and then nut and bolt the entire car after every time it sees a track. These cars are taken care of because people that want to win know you can't run at the front if the car is going to break down on you every other time it sees a race track. It is not hard to see if a car has been taken care of or not. Do your home work and you can get a great car even if it lived its life one lap at a time.

Thanks, guys, this is making this all come a lot easier. I have found 3 BRZ limiteds with less than 2k miles and a price around 26.5k. Will the 2013 prices go down once the 2014s are rolling off the line?

The 2013's might drop a bit when the 14's hit the lots, but I don't see prices falling on the twins drastically any time soon.

I agree Jedi, I do the same when I buy used computer enthusiats parts like processors. I like to buy a chip that was overclocked by someone who knows what they are doing. That way I know exactly how it was treated and what kind of voltage was run through it and what it is capable of. Not sure if everyone on here can follow what I'm talking about but maybe it helps.

I'm a tech geek and car geek. I have too many hobbies.... :mad0259:

Too many hobbies? Explain.

Well, too many relatively expensive hobbies for my amount of income.

Cars, technology (computers, phones, other devices), recently got out of competitve paintball. I plan on buying a few guns pretty soon though.

Keeps my mind busy though, so that's always good I suppose.

That's quite rare. All banks typically have a 1% higher rate for used cars. Not sure why since they are normally cheaper.

Personally, I just can't justify buying used when I can get a new one for the same price unless you can't find a new one where you live.

That's why I use a Credit Union and not a bank. But Bank of America is offering 1.79 on used cars currently. The rates on all secured loans are rock bottom these days and will remain there for some time if the Fed acts as expected.

I wouldn't buy used vs new either unless there was a financial benefit for doing so. In my case I saved a substantial amount of money by picking up a car with 900 miles on it. If I could have gotten a new car for the same amount I would have bought a new car instead.

IMO, if you are getting 26k cash, I would just use half of that down on the car and use the rest of it elsewhere

why throw all of your current cash into a depreciating asset like a car NOW, when you could potentially grow some of it, especially with the low rates some banks are throwing around