What would you do?
 

Hello everybody,

I started my search for a BRZ this spring and have test driven the car a few times, I even tried the FR-S but wasn't impressed by it's interior and am personally more of a fan of the BRZ exterior. Anyways I've done my research and am ready to purchase (went through a few hiccups on the way). So now I have my choice to make.


Option 1: 2013 Subaru BRZ Limited in Galaxy Blue Silica
Pros:

• Galaxy Blue Silica (my favorite color for sure).
• It's local to me.

Cons:

• It has been test driven an unknown number of times.
• Front bumper is (most likely) drilled for a plate.
• It has been washed by the dealership.

The car would have to be transferred to the dealer I want to purchase from as well, I don't know where in New England it is now but I think it's somewhere in CT and would be coming to Maine. Luckily the dealer I'm working with will tow it on a trailer for me to avoid putting miles on it. This dealer also sells all cars with a lifetime warranty which covers the engine, cylinder block, intake manifold, oil pump, water pump, transmission, engine control computer, front and rear wheel drive, and much more. The downside is that I have to bring the car to a mechanic for EVERYTHING which I won't do so I'm not sure that really adds any value to my purchase (hence why it wasn't listed as a pro or con).

Option 2: 2014 Subaru BRZ Limited in I have no idea what color.
Pros:

• No drilled bumper, no dealer wash.
• No miles on it, no test drives would be done in it.
• A roadtrip from Colorado with a good friend of mine is included!

Cons:

• It's across the country so by the time I get it home it would have 2,500 miles on it.
• NOT Galaxy Blue Silica

I don't really know what to do, the cost is not really a factor as I can get two plane tickets, hotel rooms, fuel and food for the difference in price (Colorado is cheaper of course) so in the end they cost the same. Basically it comes down to is a brand new car and a roadtrip worth giving up galaxy blue and having a few test drives, a drilled bumper and a dealership wash on my new car. Also I'd be taking a good friend on the trip to Colorado so we'd both end up doing ~5 hours of driving per day for a total of 10 hours in the car every day...good thing I have Pandora/Spotify haha

What would you guys do? I don't know what color I would even choose if I bought from Colorado, Clint has no more GBS :(

Lifetime warranty. DO IT! BTW FWIW I wasn't able to test drive my BRZ because they are so limited and people didn't want to buy one w/ any miles on it. Theres a good chance the one you want wont have many miles on it either (mine had 7). Also the dealer car wash can be corrected easily w/ a polisher. If you are like me you will do everything you can to keep the paint looking as new as possible which means you'll invest into a polisher and DIY. As far as the holes in the bumper go. Either they're there or you spend ~$70 for a side mount which doesn't look as good imo If they are try to get the dealer to discount a little for the hoes. And Finally YOU WONT HAVE TO WAIT for the 13 in the color YOU want.

Lifetime warranty...have you got any experience with them? It's aftermarket (not through Subaru) and says all work has to be done at a certified mechanic...personally I'll be changing my own oil and modifying my car (first few months will bring an intake, exhaust and tune and after Subarus warranty expires it's getting FI). I just don't know that it's actually anything to get excited about if I'm just going to do stuff with my car that will get all my claims denied by the company that runs the warranty program.

I have done 3 test drives in a BRZ and one in an FR-S and I'm not part of the demographic that screams "I'm going to buy your car today" so I was actually shocked how easy it was to take one out, in my search I've also driven a WRX, a Miata, Focus ST, Hyundai Veloster Turbo, GTI, Forester, Forester XT, Crosstrek XV, and I'm sure I'm forgetting some other cars. The ONLY car/dealer I could not test drive was...a Fiat 500 Abarth because "The people who buy these cars don't like having miles on them" at which point the salesmen gave me his business card (printed on printer paper mind you) and went back to his desk. He was the only person at the dealer and as I left I went by ~15 Abarth models on the way out...I highly doubt none of them had miles on them.

As for the dealer wash...I was unaware of the polish fix, I'm just still skeptical as I've never detailed my car or anything so I don't know what works or what doesn't. It probably isn't a huge deal since fairly soon it'll be winter here and doing my own washes is impossible when its 15 degrees out and the water freezes on the ground. I'll just take it through the touchless wash a lot I guess...but I've also heard the touchless wash isn't good? I'll be doing a full detail in the spring though!

As for the holes...I am not going to run a front plate most likely so I just don't want any holes in the bumper. I agree the side mount option doesn't look that great but still I'd rather just not run any plate.

Get your favorite color, 60,000 miles from now you'll walk outside and sigh a little bit wishing it was blue, past abusive test drives won't even be a remote thought in the back of your mind, especially after you thrash it around on your own.

Edit: people make a big deal about dealership wash but you won't be able to tell in a couple weeks without breaking out the microscope.

The warranty is tempting but because of the kind of car it is I can't help but imagine the test driving it has gone thru wasn't the kindest. I would opt for the new one out of state. I've flown out of state two different times to buy vehicles (car and motorcycle) and always considered that expense the cost of a neat mini-vacation and not the cost of the car. Driving home all you would have to do is jump off the highway a few different times so you could be alternating the rpm's for the break in. That would add to the adventure.

I guess I should add that if your plans are to thrash it there would be nothing wrong with buying the demo.

Yeah, that's what I'm worried about I guess (the color). I will abuse the car myself sure...and I can't imagine a salesperson let anybody take a car out and do some drifting in a new car...

Good to know about the wash, I've just heard a lot about it and seen some pictures.

Like I said the warranty probably means nothing. The mini vacation does play into it but with Clints price I can get the cars for the same price including the mini vacation!

Get the color you want. That's the only thing I regret about my purchase. I settled for what was available, when I really wanted a blue one.


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Galaxy Blue Silica. Do it. Now! :D

Go with the Galaxy Blue. It will be more rare. The holes can be filled and painted for a reasonable price. You don't want to buy a car that isn't the color you wanted, you will regret it.

Simple:

Not modifying: buy local and get the color

Plan on modifying: get car from Clint (or any other dealer), or buy local and fix on your own

"Lifetime warranty" or warranty of any kind are only useful if you know how they work. Most of the time there's always some fine print to let the warranty provider off the hook, and it's a hassle to deal with them on that.

http://www.lifetimewarrantymyths.com/ some good info for you, but there's one piece of fine print I've seen elsewhere that may be of use to you:

In other words: if in 5 years the car is worth $8k due to mileage, and your engine costs $8.5k to replace due to a problem, they won't fix it.

Skip the color and save your sanity later.

-alex

Dude that's not the only galaxy blue MY13 BRZ left in the country.

I didn't say it was. I know it isn't because I know there's at least three in New England...

Okay, sorry if that sounded short. Why not find another MY13 BRZ in Galaxy Blue that hasn't been used as a demo model?

There are none in New England to my knowledge.

www.SubaruOfNewEngland.com used to allow you to search for cars in all of New England and I knew there were 6 available a few weeks ago when I searched. Since then that function has been removed :(

But when it was available I called all six dealers and they all had been test driven and washed.

Unless a dealer outside of New England has one and wants to do pricing like Clint I doubt I will find one and I don't really want to call every dealer on the east coast...

i picked up my GBS BRZ with 88 miles on it. they had to drive it from the dealer, so idk how it was driven, almost sure it was beat the fuck up.

i now have 16k miles, no issues so far.

however my bumper isn't drilled, and also i told the dealership that if they wash it i wouldn't buy it. you can tell them you want it detailed, they should be competent enough to be able to give you a car with no swirls.

dont forget this is the last year you can get GBS...i say get GBS!!!

i picked up my GBS BRZ with 88 miles on it. they had to drive it from the dealer, so idk how it was driven, almost sure it was beat the fuck up.

i now have 16k miles, no issues so far.

however my bumper isn't drilled, and also i told the dealership that if they wash it i wouldn't buy it. you can tell them you want it detailed, they should be competent enough to be able to give you a car with no swirls.

dont forget this is the last year you can get GBS...i say get GBS!!!

I love your car...it may or may not be the background of my phones lock screen :lol:

I think I'm leaning towards getting the GBS, the dealership will trailer it from wherever it is to their dealer for me to keep miles off it (which really impressed me that they offered that to me).

Is it absurd of me to ask for a bit more off the price that I've agreed upon if it shows up with swirls and a drilled bumper? Not having a front plate is illegal in my state so that may not be a great bargaining chip. It's my first new car so I just want it to be perfect...

Thanks for the input guys!

With swirls? Yes. With front bumper drills?... not really.

I think your strongest argument for price reduction is that it already has been test driven + if there are swirls.

Do you want the GBS because of its exclusivity? If not, I'd say go with 2014 in a color you really want instead of having something more rare because it's discontinued.

He really wants the blue. If he wasn't interested the the GBS it wouldn't be an issue, just get the '14, the only reason not to get one with lower miles would be to save some money.

It's exclusivity? :lol:

It's still a color for the FR-S which a lot of people (non-enthusiasts) consider the same car, even some enthusiasts consider the same :mad0260:

I want GBS because it's by far the best color they offer for these cars...or used to offer I guess. If they were still producing cars in GBS I would be getting a GBS in Colorado no doubt...but they aren't which puts me in this position.

That serves me for not reading every post lol. Hey, there are people who are looking for GBS due to it being discontinued.

I'd just get the local one in the color you want. Unless you REALLY don't want that front plate mounted it doesn't look so bad that you can't live with it and be happy (especially since its illegal to not have the plate in your state). Definitely inspect it well before you buy it, but that goes without saying. I'm assuming this time of year in New England, you should be able to get a great deal on any BRZ. Especially a 2013 model.

Yeah, I'm going to go in next week and bring some money with me to put my deposit down and get a good price for it.