Ordered Whiteout Monogram without Test Driving
 

So I recently ordered a Whiteout Monogram MT and I have yet to actually test drive the car. I am coming from a 2003 Celica GT. I thought I should at least go and test drive before the car comes in just to make sure I liked it enough...

I went to my local Subaru to test drive and I was surprised how uptight they were. They basically said I have to be serious about the car before test driving and it would be one or two days to schedule a test drive. (This was my third time to their dealership and I've always gotten a bad feeling from them.) They said they don't want people just walking in to test drive and start redlining, etc. without any intention of buying the car. I think this is pretty lame. The Toyota dealership where I ordered mine from (which is not local) said I could test drive any of their FR-S at any time. Talk about not making a person feel welcome in purchasing a BRZ from Subaru.

So basically, here are my questions:

• Going from a 2003 Celica GT to the FR-S will it be fast enough for me?
  ...So many people on here have said yes. I do not trust the dealer but he said that the FR-S is not quick at all and I will not find a big difference if any at all from my Celica
• Without having test driven, is this an unwise decision?
  ...I have watched all the reviews and HP is not the most important thing to me as I drive a Celica. Handling is more important
• My gut tells me to buy the FR-S, what do you guys think...hopefully you guys will agree to disagree with the dealer

I am confident in my decision and plan to keep my Celica as a winter driver, but just want to know your opinions on not test driving first. (I tried with Subaru. If I make it up to the Scion dealer before my order comes in I will test drive a regular FR-S)

:party0030:
:burnrubber:

You are so screwed!

On the fence about the test drive thing, but given some of the clowns who buy these cars it may be a good idea.

No, it's not fast or quick, but for a car driven even remotely sanely on the street, the stock FR-S is fast enough. You won't win any drag races or straight line pulls, but when you get to the fun curvy bits you will be sitting there wondering why the ass in the 60K car cant manage to go the even speed limit.

The Whiteout is the best color, BTW. Very classy looking car.

ETA: Yeah, my local Toyota/FR-S dealer where I got mine is a nice place to visit. Always helpful. I stopped at the Subaru dealer to look at the interior of a BRZ and got the feeling I was not welcome.

ETA again: The list of options for almost low-cost power gains is getting longer every day. I LOVE mine, bone stock, for the driving I do which includes hauling ass on fun roads with no trouble at all. It's like a 250 two-stroke bike. If you can learn how to carry speed into and out of corners, that's where the fun lives. The dork who only knows how to step on the gas is lost.

faster than your celica for sure. Fast compared to other sports cars? Not so much. Fun to drive? Hell yeah it is

You made the right decision, shouldn't worry about it unless your really tall and overweight. Nothing against overweight people, just saying that it might fit too snug.

Not many fat Canadians! Six even, my only complaint is that I sometimes wish the front edge of the seat was just a bit lower.

I went from a 2005 Scion tC TRD SC. Obviously, the tC was faster in all cases. Yet the handling, ride quality, and engineering of the FRS is far superior. Remember, the tC just replaced the Celica. Not much a difference. I say get the FRS. You won't regret it!

And Raven is an excellent color just as much as Whiteout :=)

I had a Release 8. Nice car, not anywhere NEAR as nice, or as good, as the FR-S. The FR-S/BRZ is a <Jeremy Clarkson Voice>Extraordinary</Jeremy Clarkson Voice> car and people who think otherwise are too stupid to have one.

These cars FEEL fast though, not fast as in torque but the way the cabin encapsulates you and the COG makes the car feel like it's so quick.

I bought mine based on Top Gear's impression, no test drive. no regrets.

I also had a lousy experience at Subaru - Japanese Volvo?

Anyway, I love the 86 (MT) but would be getting something else if I had to drive it everyday in the crazy Manila traffic.

my guess is you'll be pretty happy with it coming from a 03 Celica GT

I ordered mine before a test drive. Hell, I hadn't even seen one in person yet. That was April 2012. It was another month and a 2 hour drive from home before I got to take a spin in one. I finally took delivery in June of 2012. No regrets.

I have driven a 2003 Celica GT before. On the power front, the FRS should be satisfying enough. Its got enough low down torque in the areas where the Celica GT was good at while having the high end hp that you get from the GT-S, only it doesn't scream as much as a GT-S. Handling, while I think both are very good the FR-S I found more communicative which is odd only because I found the Celica's steering rather heavy(and nice) whereas the FRS has a lighter wheel and usually prefer the heavier steering. Fuel economy, should actually be nearly the same although FRS needs premium whereas a Celica GT doesn't.

However definitely test drive a base FRS even if its an auto. I don't think you can go wrong with either car as the 7th gen Celica was one of the cars I was contemplating before buying my Impreza. The only thing I that actually kept me from buying a Celica was the FWD part...had it been given RWD or AWD, I'd have it immediately.

At the very minimum, because it's of similar size to a Miata, I wanted to make sure I would fit (not a comfortable man in a Miata). Called up, asked if the car I wanted was still for sale, came over an hour later, sat in it, drove it down the street and back, and in about an hour and a half later, I drove off with a new car.

Screw that dealership! If anything they're probably the ones who redline the damn cars when they take it out for test drives! You should've seen the damn sales person who I had a test drive with. Dude was nearly doing donuts and redlining the shit out of my car. Unfortunately at the time it was very hard to come by a SWP Limited BRZ in central Texas and I had waited nearly 8 months for one to show up that was not already reserved....so I didn't want to walk away from the car...although I should've reported that sales rep.
Don't buy the car without driving it first. There are too many people that end up selling because of the lack of power. Test drive it first and see if you're okay with the lack of power. If you can't test drive a BRZ then go try an FR-S, or vise versa.

Be at ease ..... you will like it ..... ;)


humfrz

Those people are also known as "non-driving fucks" and are too stupid to appreciate the car for what it is.

I don't think you'll have any regrets, its a really fun car.

Having driven a Celica GT myself, you will not be disappointed with the FR-S. The fun-to-drive factor far exceeds what the spec sheet suggests. Numbers do not matter anymore once you drive this car.

You should be good man. I went from a 400hp Challenger to my twin basically without test driving. I was so rough at driving manual that I don't really count the test drive. It's been almost 6 months now and I've yet to spend a minute regretting my decision.

Same thing here, went to two Subaru dealerships and they didn't want to allow test drives. I went to a nearby Scion dealership and had no problem with a test drive (except I had to go with a salesman whereas I could solo with a tC).

Mine took some care when I did a test drive. He had me warm the car up first (good on him), then had me get on the highway, and probably knowing I already wanted the car, let me open her up a bit. I put on about 2 miles during the test-drive.

The completely sold me. Bought the car, did the sub 4k breakin', and now she sings beautiful notes often.

:burnrubber:

Any dealer should have a good feel for who is serious or not. Hell the dealer where I went to "look" at the car put some plates on the car printed out a loop to drive, handed me the keys and off I go with the wife. Half an hour later we are back and finalizing a deal!
An unwillingness to allow someone to test drive a car would send me to another dealer.


:cheers:

I will never go back to a Subaru dealership again.

Toyota for life!
:respekt:

As long as you're not trying to race every mustang you see on the freeway you should be fine. Hell i didn't even test drive my car. I just sat in it and was like, this is comfy. I didn't even know how to drive stick at the time!!! But the car suuuure grew on me. :)

That is hilarious! That is exactly what I did in the BRZ. I sat in it twice and the second time I was like, damn these seats are comfortable...

:word:

Haha, I remembered the first time test driving at Longo Toyota.

I brought my Corolla in for scheduled maintenance. Was walking around, saw they happen to have FR-S in stock, then I asked the girl in the Scion sales department whether I can test drive it.

So we talked, traded some info, I got the key, sat in the car with her, and the first thing I told her is......

"By the way, I have not driven stick for three years"

The intense fear in her eyes.... oh boy.

The test drive went without any problem, the clutch in the FR-S was a lot easier to control than I would have thought, and I started looking to buy a FR-S ever since then.

You won't regret it. I did the EXACT same thing. Pre-ordered a white monogram 6MT, before even sitting in one. I came from a 2001 Prelude SH. Haven't gotten a chance to open her up yet since I'm only at 700 miles.(damn daily commute is only 12 miles with errands) Throttle response is much better, but I do get the felling my Prelude was faster, I do miss that vtec lol.

Subaru was annoying as shit to test drive at because they wouldn't let me really drive a "new" BRZ. They had a used one that I was going to test drive but it sold before I got to the dealership. Toyota, however, let me tear up an FRS easily and not just on a straight away. Funny because the salesman was saying no break in needed when the manual explicitly says go easy for the first 1k but fuck it, wasn't mine lol. I took my Monogram home the night it was delivered to the lot simply because I didn't want anyone else driving my baby the way I test drove the FRS lol.

Do it, you won't regret buying it. Especially the Monogram! Push to start is the shit!


Actually...only regret I have was selling my Prelude...

I know you will love the car. It is quick enough. Not having super speed makes you learn how to drive. It has the lightness of the Celica but the fun factor is way higher. Go test drive one @ the Toyota dealership. As far as size, I am 6 foot five and 283lbs and my daily driver was a Miata for the last 5 years. The FRS has way more room than the MX5 and a back seat for the grandkids. I picked up mine in December and have put 7k on it already. I have owned 422 vehicles and the FRS is my daily driver of choice. It does anything I ask it to do, gets good mileage,(averaging 32 in city,) and returns a ton of smiles per mile.

422?! As in, personally driven/owned 422? or "legally" had them under your name? Lol that's insane!

32mpg city?!How?? Aren't we rated at 30mpg highway? I must be doing something wrong lol.

Yes personally owned, restored, and driven. Now, keep in mind only 312 of those were cars, the other 110 were motorcycles. I have been doing this for over 45 years.
The six speed auto is a real gas miser if you stay out of the paddle shifters and only mash the gas a few times a day.
My Daily driver has been a Miata for the last 5 years and I sold my 1983 Porsche 928S to buy my Whiteout FRS.

Coming from a Dodge 5.9 Cummins, anything is fast. I'm in the break in period and this thing is blowing the doors off my Cummins at 4K shifts haha.