Used BRZ, what do you guys think?
 

Hey fellas,

So I ordered a Galaxy Blue Limited 6MT in Feb. and as of this writing, it has not been built yet. I'm getting a little antsy! The allocation won't be announced til the 10th, and I'm guessing my car wouldn't get here 'til June. There is one new one in the same configuration in all of New England for sale right now, and I haven't called yet but I'm not sure how inclined they'd be to give me a similar deal to what I'm getting at my dealer. It's also got ~$600 worth of accessories which I don't want and would prefer not to pay for.

Yesterday, I ran into a guy with, you guessed it, a Galaxy Blue Limited 6MT and he told me he wants to sell it to buy a used Boxster. The car has just over 1,000 miles on it; he bought it a couple months ago and I guess just isn't satisfied with the power. It has been nicely modified with Advan TC-II wheels and Bridgestone summer tires, Tanabe Sustec Z40 coilovers, Tanabe Medallion Touring cat-back exhaust, OEM rear diffuser, HT Auto front lip, JDM clear sidemarkers and a Perrin shorty antenna. He said he'd sell me the car with just the wheels (he sold the stock wheels) for $25k, or if I wanted all the extras (exhaust, coilovers, diffuser, etc.) for $28k. Apart from one small scratch on the LH fender, it looks brand new.

Part of me is thinking it's a great deal, except for the fact that I can get an identical replica of the OEM diffuser for under $200, not the $700 he paid for the OEM. In which case I'd offer him $27,500.

I've also romanticized the idea of getting my very first real brand new car, signing the Certificate of Origin, peeling the plastic off myself, and breaking the car in myself. I've never bought a new car before, so that really excites me.

What would you guys do? Save some dough to get a barely-used car with some quality parts or wait another month (possibly longer), spend a little more and enjoy a brand spankin' new car? I still have a reasonably-sporty car to drive in the interim.

No. You wait. It's a better feeling.

New car feel is the best feel.

What I will do is, don't get any mods, and don't pay him 25k. Try to negotiate with him to see how low he is willing to go and if he can bring it down to 23k or lower then go for it. You saving a good few grand and he took the first hit of depreciation lol

Hard call for sure,

I only bought my BRz new because it simply had to be bought new this time last year,

I would jump at the opportunity, if you are happy with his choice of mods I would pay the $28k (or whatever you can haggle that to) gladly.

This is my first new car...but my like 14th or 15th vehicle. I always prefer to let someone else take the depreciation hit, and I paid $28 for mine (got stuck with dealer package b or some shit) Sounds like a great deal to me.

I will say that part of the appeal of the used car is that I won't be stuck driving a stock car right off the bat. I hate the stock exhaust, hate the stock ride height and stock wheels. Although I'd be a little bummed not to have the stock wheels to use as drift spares, it's not the end of the world. I can always get a cheap set of 17" wheels and snag a couple sets of used tires from work. The Advan wheels would be perfect for auto-x and track days and I can get the set of 18" TSW's with higher-treadwear tires for normal driving.

If you're doing fine financially, I'd buy new. There's something special about being the first owner of a car and knowing its complete history.

But if money is tight, I'd buy the used Limited with TC-II's for $25k (or less). That's not a bad deal for a car with 1k miles, and TC-II's are a nice lightweight wheel upgrade.

Can't go wrong either way though.

at the end of the day these are machines not people, I somewhat understand the new car stigma, but really why would you let your emotions and perceptions cost you a couple months of what you want, and several thousand dollars in mods you sound like you are going to buy anyway.


People don't "do good" financially without separating emotion from purchases.

I would be all over that deal! Wheels are easy to come by. I see so many great deals on NASIOC every month, It's amazing I only have 2 sets right now. In a few years those BRZ wheels are gonna be like the bugeye WRX wheels are now. The market will be flooded with 'em 'cause everyone will be upgrading their wheels. When I get a BRZ the first thing I'm gonna do is loose the ugly stock wheels and put on my TE37s.

Buy it!!!!!!

Buy new... nuff' said.

Buy new. Baby it. Keep it for 200K miles.

If the car is in good condition just buy the used one. After a few thousand miles you won't be able to tell the difference anyway, and you'll just wish that you'd bought it used in the first place. Get it used without his mods and get him lower than $25k if you can. Then you get to make your own choices on mods and don't have to pay for his mistake :)

What kind of deal are you getting from your dealer?

it's an "event psychological" if it was me,i would "wait" and enjoy the once in a lifetime experience,especially with the great deal you got. i got a feeling you got the car for close to what the dealer "cut the check" for!..just sayin'

this is true getting emotional over material things causes extreme consternation,and has a tendency to drive one to the poor house.

I would have no problem buying used if the price is right and I'd do whatever gets you to your goal at the lowest cost and with the least amount of hassle. Plus the weather is really nice right now and you could be enjoying it... just sayin...

I'm at least going to wait until the 10th when they announce the allocation for June. If my car's not on it, I think the choice is clear. It also depends on what my local credit unions can do for financing on a barely-used car. Lots of variables... "lotta ins, lotta outs, lotta what-have-you's" as The Dude would say.

Cor, just buy it

just buy the car! why screw with it? you know you are gonna get it anyway!

Around 1,000 miles is still considered "New" by most Credit Unions, so you should be fine. Otherwise, they'll probably only finance 95%, so worst case is you need 5% down...

Good to know! Thanks for the tip Kevin. Just got my monthly bonus today, so I think I need to get to the credit unions on Thursday :)

You're so close man.. hold out for your first new car. It's a great feeling.


Or....your 'new car feeling' may be a bit lesser than most of us since you sell them (if I'm not mistaken) get the used one with wheels and haggle down towards $23k. If I could have gotten a BRZ limited for the price of the FRS when I bought it last June I would have. Just for the few amenities I like.

I'd buy the used one, if you can get it for a good price.

Bottom line is the second you sign the paper, all cars are "used". You'll still have a warranty, and you won't know the difference. I'd get the price reduced at minimum by the cost to fix the scratch, and I wouldn't pay full retail for the mods.

If I could have bought an FR-S used when I bought mine I would have. I rarely buy new cars.

I think I'm gonna go for it, but I will wait til the 10th for the June allocation announcement to make certain. I'm going to some credit unions on Thursday to discuss financing options. Unlike a year ago when I tried getting a BRZ and my credit got screwed up, I'm back above a 720 and have more money to put down so I should be in good shape!

Then I'll just have to sell my BMW to pay for all the JPM Coachworks goodies I plan to buy afterward :D

+1 "wait!" you'll thank us! c'mon find some balls!

Update?! I want to see you in this thing at some Subaru meets / auto-x events!!!

Waiting to hear on loan approval. I think I'll have a better shot at getting low-APR financing through my work, just because we have more pull with the banks than if I have if I were to walk in off the street. That and I HAVE A VIN for the new car finally! Just no date of delivery yet...
@Loki2x, I can always autocross one of my other two lightweight RWD sports cars, lol :)

The BRZ is already modded and has 1,000 miles right, so just get it.

OK, now I have a VIN# and ship# for the new car and it's moved over from "On order inventory" to "intransit inventory", meaning it should be here in less than a month. I had an agreement to trade my mother's beat-ass Mercedes E320 in at the dealer, so I'd really like to get the tax credit and not deal with the hassle of trying to sell that piece privately. It's also mainly about that status thing about buying a brand new car.

Yes, definitely. There's no shame in wanting a brand new car!

Glad you decided to wait! I think itll be worth it for that brand new car feeling. It was for me!

Does "in transit inventory" mean the same time estimate for all dealers?

I noticed that there's a good amount of dealers in MA with BRZ's all "in transit" but none of them gave me an estimate of when the cars will be available at the dealership.

Ship docks May 22nd, supposedly another 7-10 days for it to get to the dealer! The opportunity for the used car has passed. The owner decided to keep it and put a Rocket Bunny kit on it; more power to him!



"in transit" on their dealer website means a very different thing than "in transit" on Subaru's internal vehicle locator. Those cars could be a month or more out. Or they could be a week out; only way to know for sure is to call the dealer and ask.

Not really. I've done this in the past and just about every dealer had no clue when it came to figuring out the next shipment for the BRZ.

Someone on here though was actually good at tracking shipments, especially since we're on a different system (iirc) with Subaru of New England.

:happyanim:

Just got an email from the dealer today!

"The BRZ is at the port !!! This means it will be delivered within a week to 10 days. It will be run through the paces, inspection and paper processing. Then transport to our dealership."

:bow:

Good to know.

Been waiting for a CBS BRZ to check out.

Nice!!! My friend Vanessa is getting a CBS BRZ on the same shipment as us. BRZ's all around!