What are the chances of getting an ft86 without preorder?
 

I'm in need of a car now and might just take the plunge and get some beater car or a cheap bike. Am wondering if I don't preorder the car what are the chances I'll be able to get one come summer this year? I'm sure theyll be limited amounts right? How many are being shipped this summer to the US?

I don't feel like preorder unless I test drive the car, just because some magazine or some people are being endorsed to say its a nice car, I'd like to see for myself. I believe there were big reviews for the Hyundai genesis when it first came out and now I don't hear anything much about it now, if anything there's much negative comments towards it. (as in real customer/owners and not " i test drive cars" kind of people).

Preorder on contingent that you test drive before signing for it. /thread

I want to know this as well! (i don't plan on getting it on release month/day) I want to test-drive the car first, but i'm afraid i'll have to wait a month or two after release, what are these chances? Anyone have any experience on waiting for a brand new car without pre-ordering?

I was called by my Local Scion Dealership not too long ago if i wanted to place that refundable $1000 deposit to secure me a car, but i kindly turned down the offer because i wanted to see the car in person, etc. but anyway, thanks to anyone who helps [us] out! :thumbsup:

$1000 deposit is crazy expensive! Most places I have seen it was $250 or $500 at most.

+1

Once we get official pricing from Subaru I'll be getting in contact with one of the dealers I've already chatted with and letting them know what trim and car I want and put down a deposit. I'll be sure that the test drive is a requirement for purchase and I would expect the amount to be around $500.

shouldnt matter, they want this car to be in production for 5-10 years, so they will definitely sell you one, you might just have to wait a few months for delivery

It is refundable. Aren't you going to put down at least 1000 dollars anyway if you decide to buy? It's not like you will make $50 from investing $1000 until June.

I have ordered my last 3 cars and the deposit was always refundable and it was always $500 or less. I have done it a check and or credit card. Using the check they never cashed it until I pickup the car.

I have never done business with Scion or Subaru, so we will see how they do it.

Here is what I heard from a Scion sales guy. If you want to be one of the first guys ever to get an FR-S, without pre-ordering one, you have no chance. In fact, it is most likely you will have to BUY one without even seeing and test driving it. What he said is each dealer would get an allocation of 1 or 2 in June when it is launched, but the allocation could be taken away to fulfill BUY orders at other dealers. There WILL be those who buy (not just pre-order) without even seeing the cars.

However, if your goal is to just get one by summer, don't sweat. Just pre-order with a reasonable and fully refundable deposit. I am guessing you won't see very many of these cars at dealers lots at leat for the first few months, so I think pre-ordering one is a sure way to go, although you may not have to do it, but you never know. Just pre-ordering is a fairly low risk approach.

That makes sense. But only one or two per dealer on the first shipment?!

Yes, that's what he told me, but I have been to only one Scion dealer and talked with one guy who seemed knowledgeable about this car.

I'm calling :bs: Not on you, but on the sales guy. I'm about 98% confident that you can get one of these cars with the stipulation of a test drive. To think that you're going to show up at the dealer and they won't let you drive it before handing over your money sounds a bit crazy to me. I want one of the first cars, and am willing to put down money to reserve one, but to buy it without driving it would be a deal breaker for me.

thats roughly what a UK dealer told me - up to 3/4 a month

Its not that they wont let you test drive one, they wont have any cars "in stock" by the time the demo model rocks up for you to test drive.

I can't wait to test drive an FT86 but I have always been thinking how crazy it is going to be waiting "my turn" to get my hands on the steering wheel. I wish to be at the dealership the day it's available to the public just to see it so fresh and so clean and at least try to get a test drive in. Then I'd give it a few months after the hype dies and see if it is something really what I want...which I know it will be anyway!

there wont be as big a hype as you might think. its a very niche market

This is what I'm thinking as well. They might be sold out initially, like the CR-Z was, but if you wait a bit it won't be hard to get one.

Reminds me of when I was thinking about getting the new Fit when they just came out. The salesman said he needed a 500 dollar non-refundable deposit. I laughed at him. They were sold out for a few months, but after that they're freely available at any Honda dealership.

Totally agree. It just will be difficult to be one of the first guys ever, but that's it. After a few months (and 4 - 5 months tops), you can just walk into a dealer and get whatever you want.

I am a Scion Dealer and we should have one drop on our lot within the next month that isn't grabbed by a pre-order. (located in Shreveport, LA 71105)

So you're going to have a car sitting on your lot even though it won't be released until May that you're not going to sell?

When I bought my 350z in the fall of 2002 I put a deposit on the car my test drive was driving it off the lot taking it home

If you want the car within a month or so of release then you probably are going to need to do a pre-order and refundable deposit. If you are serious about getting the car, then a refundable deposit, contingent on a test drive, should be a non-issue. I am already on the top of the pre-order list for a BRZ with my local dealer and will be putting down a refundable deposit once the order has been keyed.

Not saying you have to put a deposit down in order to ultimately get a BRZ or FRS, but IMO for the first several months, the dealers will be hard pressed to provide tons of tests drives, and have different models/colors to choose from simply because they will not have the cars... You are looking at 2-3 cars per month/dealer.

That makes no sense. The car won't be released in Feb.

Btw, you mean you work at a Scion dealership rather than you are a Scion dealer. Also dealer is capitalized. So I'm not sure if you are trolling/ a spam bot.

I know you probably are not allowed to answer this question, but do you have any pricing information? If you are getting a car that early, it sounds your dealer is somewhat special compared to others and you may have information others do not have?

When I bought my 2004 350Z roadster..I ordered it 2 months before it was delivered. I put down a $500 refundable deposit as a check that they did not cash until I bought the car. I was able to test drive before I signed any papers.

It will be the same with the FR-S or BRZ.

I did the same thing when I bought a G35.

Now if you wait till June 2012 to get a FR-S, you will not find any on the lots. You will probably have to order and it could be like 2 to 3 months depending on allocation.

Basically I am just waiting on what the final options and pricing are for the FR-S.

Scion just sent an email to me, and it sounds like they will announce everything on Monday Jan 9th.

As long as you get into the cue before May, you will get your car before the end of summer.

But if Scion announces pricing of $21.5k on monday, then all bets are off...

It might be sold out till the end of the year.

^ yeah, like other have stated, Feb sound a bit early... iirc, Japan Toyota dealers are getting around Feb, prepping to sell march-ish (source? Can't remember), & US is getting same time is pretty crazy to think.

...but again, my source isn't 100%, so I might be wrong or old

This is good news. We will know good or bad, no more guessing.

Pretty sure if I have a deposit down with the dealer proving that I intend to buy the car that they're going to let me take it for a short test drive before taking actual delivery.

I need to stop being so nice in my posts. You always end up posting what I was actually thinking to myself a couple posts later.

Edit: Looks like he is Electronic Marketing Director.

If that's how they want to be then they'll never get my business. That nonsense they carry on with about refusing STI test drives is flat out ridiculous. I can understand if they turn down a test drive for a teenager and don't let the driver do clutch drops but if you want to buy a performance car you have to be allowed to push it a bit. I've never had a problem walking into a Porsche dealership and being allowed to aggressively drive brand new Caymans and 911s. And by aggressive I mean squealing the tires on exit ramps, shifting at redline, testing the ABS at 90mph and noticing the smell of brake pads in the air after returning to the dealership. And they let me do this when I was only 28 and admitted that I was not in a position to afford a new Porsche at the time.

Regardless of production numbers we're talking about a mid-20s sports car here. A base price below the average new car price in the US.

We are getting that on Monday hopefully!


Hey Scion FR-S Fans!

Scion will be making a very important announcement about the all-new
FR-S at the upcoming North American International Auto Show in
Detroit and they would like to make sure that you are a part of it.

You will receive an email message with details about the big
announcement on Monday, January 9th. Please make sure to look out for
this message.

Feel free to contact Craig_Taguchi@Toyota.com or
Johnathan@beyondmg.com for any media inquires.

I know you can go down to the Porsche dealer and test drive any of them, if they know you can afford it. So I can not see why Subaru or Scion would not allow you to test drive if they had a demo car. If they do not have demo car then I can understand.

It would be stupid of each scion or subaru dealer not to have a demo FR-S or BRZ to generate orders.

The Subaru camp seems awfully quiet.... Really wonder what is going on.

Agreed. But it was my understanding that Subaru dealerships were refusing STi test drives to anyone. I absolutely agree that if the car in question is somewhat special or fast then you should be subject to a credit check before any driving is done. In my case I could have "afforded" the Porsche, if by afford I mean I'd be eating ramen every night and wearing 2nd hand clothes to work, lol :thumbup:

Subaru always keep it quite til official announcement. That's why it's rare to see Subaru leek infos

Exactly. If it wasn't for Toyota leaking the info before Tokyo Subaru would have waited until the official day.

I ran into the no sti test drives unless you put a deposit down on the car from a few dealerships before. Quite crazy if you ask me. I could understand if I was a 20 year old kid, but seriously I would think if they wanted to sell cars they would have a test mule on the lot. I think the problem here might be they wont have any test cars at first, might take a few months till production ramps up and they start having surplus cars on lots. I am on both my local subaru and scion dealerships lists and didnt have to put a cash deposit on either till we had the ordering specs and pricing. I am first on the list at subaru and second on the list at scion so I am not to worried about getting one. Hopefully next week we get final pricing and specs so I can put a cash deposit down to get it here first.

Shouldnt be a problem. Im not aware of it being in limited production and most folks outside of these forums probably aren't even aware of this car yet.

You think he's a bot because he used a capital D? Lol.

Also, you have a space after your / but not before. I'm not sure if you're a bot.

Whoosh.