Possible BRZ purchase this month
 

I've been posting on the forums for a while, but I think I'm finally going to pull the trigger... except it's not for me. My brother is in his mid-30s and his birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and my dad and I talked today and thought we should surprise him with a new car to replace his aging 2000 Honda Civic that he's been driving since it was purchased new. He's not really into cars the way my dad and I are, though he appreciates them.

Yes, a car is a big gift, but no, we are not rich. Long story short, our mother was battling cancer, and he moved back home last year to help care for her at night, even though the move meant him taking on a 50+ mile one-way commute (though he uses a vanpool, so his actual drive is around half of that), though he's still living there and keeping our dad company. Now that the life insurance checks are coming in, we saw it as an opportunity to give him a big thank-you for his birthday for the sacrifices that he made, especially since a new car would be really useful.

Anyway, we're looking at getting him a 2015 BRZ Limited, but with an automatic. The reason for that is because he's pretty much only owned manuals, but he's probably over it by now, and he's not really an enthusiast anyway... I've tried to teach him how to heel-toe, but he's not interested in it. But with the auto generally getting better fuel economy, he'd really like that, as the auto's numbers might end up being a hair better than what he's averaged in his Civic. And the car is still fun anyway. We just hope he likes it -- as much as we'd love to just get him a 3-Series, it's a little pricier than what we'd feel comfortable with, unless we can get some ridiculously good deal on one.

If he isn't a car guy I wouldn't get him a brz. The are better cars you can get for the money that will suit him more while still being sporty.

Have you thought about a new civic, gti, or ecoboost mustang?

He still likes the car -- a cousin of ours who is a couple of years older than him has one, and my brother liked it. He may not be a car guy, but he still wants a nice/cool car.

I've considered those cars and ruled them out. He already has a Civic, and the new ones are bland. I'm not sure if he'd want a VW (and I'd be cautious to put him in one), plus I don't think he digs hatchbacks. The Mustang isn't his style.

If he's not enthusiast and taking long haul trip frequently, as nice as BRZ/86 to us, I'd recommend a car with better comfort features, more tech, better inside, better technology, more fuel saving.

Also BRZ is not convenient if he has to carry more than 1 passenger.
How about Mazda 6?
http://www.mazdausa.com/MusaWeb/disp...ehicleCode=M6G

I can't think of the last time he's had more than one passenger. The tech inside is light years ahead of what's in his 2000 Civic. Fuel economy at 34 mpg highway is good enough.

A different cousin of ours got a Mazda 6, and my brother thought it was way too huge. I was thinking of a Mazda 3 too, but I think he'd still like the BRZ over that.

I love my BRZ, but I am an enthusiast about driving. If I was not, I'm not sure I'd want to live daily with the lack of space, cargo restrictions, and very stiff ride. I hope your roads are all very smooth. ��

For a non-car guy, the 'discomforts' of the BRZ will be a turn off in the long run. It'll rattle eventually. Despite the suspension not being too overly stiff, you'll still feel every bump on the road. There is absolutely NO sound deadening in the car, so there's a lot of road and tire noise. The sound system is below average. And it's louder in the cabin than a typical car. The lack of space for storage isn't an annoyance to someone like me, but another person might dislike it. There's also the 93 octane requirement. It really is a bare-bones sportscar in every sense of the word. That includes every little annoyance and nuance that come with sportscars; little rattles, strange noises, etc.

Yes it looks cool, but I can't imagine someone who doesn't like cars tolerating the BRZ as a DD and commuter in the long run. I highly suggest skipping the BRZ. The new Mazda 3 is awesome looking, has a better interior, wont rattle, more fuel efficient, still sporty, more cargo space, comfortable ride, and much less expensive.

As long as youre 1000% sure it'd be what he wants, pull the trigger!


My fear is he has his eye on something else.

I mean... my girlfriend bought me a fitted hat for my birthday and I wanted a snapback... that's a $30 purchase and I was feeling somewhat ungrateful (I know, stupid). So think how he'd feel on a $25,000 purchase if it wasn't exactly what he wanted (ie what if he wants the manual, or the mazda 3 a little more)


Maybe a car buying day. Take him out, bond with your brother and pops, and let him pick out the one he wants. Then let him go home drink a few beers, and wait while you do all the haggling, hassling, and wheeler dealing. Put a big bow on the car all "wifey style" and call it a day. It may not feel as spontaneous but it will, long term, feel better for him. (This is analogous to how I give my gf a shopping spree on her birthday so I don't get her the wrong thing god forbid!)


Just my $0.02 !!

@dpesce: My thoughts as well. I'd take your brother along with you for the car shopping experience and quality time together. It'll be a win / win scenario where you get to land him on a car (out of several to choose from) that is hand picked and is exactly what he wants and is fully happy with.

OP: You know best, the BRZ is a niche car and may not be the right cup of tea for some folks. If and when he picks and drives the precise BRZ and is 100% sold on owning the car for himself and for the long run, that's when I'd pull the trigger (if I were in your shoes). A car is a big gift, as you mentioned.

He'll be surprised and happy either way... So cheers to you and your family for making the effort to show your appreciation.

@DeeezNuuuts83: You sure you don't want to squeeze in a BRZ for yourself while you're at it? :D ;)

This. There is no harm in making him involved in the process of deciding. For a purchase this big and this personal, I don't think the meaning will be lost by talking to him first and having a car in the driveway later.


Everyone is really hesitant to recommend the BRZ because it makes a lot of compromises to be the driver's car that it is. Most people I know would not want to deal with it on a daily basis. It isn't a big deal, but enough that I would want to be sure first. I wasn't able to decide until I drove it whether I could live with the compromises as a daily driver.


There are other coupes that you can consider that are a bit tamer/average Joe friendly that most people would still consider sporty. I think of the Genesis Coupe, Mustang Ecoboost or V6, Civic SI and Accord Coupe.

Thanks everyone for your responses -- I've definitely been able to look at it from other perspectives that I may not have thought about before, since I was maybe a little excited at how cool of a gift this would be.

I've been trying to think of ways to get info out of him about what he'd want in a car, but without being obvious (even though I highly doubt that he would assume that we are getting him a car), just to see if it's a good fit. It's a small car, but again, he rarely has more than one passenger, if that. He doesn't need a ton of space, plus we're not really all that big anyway -- genetics kept us both around 5'5"-5'6", and he's been in my cousin's BRZ and didn't seem to feel cramped.

True, but there are plenty of non-enthusiasts who have them too. I just remembered that we have another cousin who has an FR-S, and she loves it.

And about me... I like the car, but I didn't like it more than my Evo IX. But if something were to ever happen to my car, I've always told myself that I'd probably get a BRZ in that scenario.

Buying a car without the recipient's input is kinda risky. This is a guy who has kept his last car 14 years so will this car suit him longterm? What if he has a family?

If you want whats best for him I think he should be given a budget to choose his own car.

I'd like to look at a Gen Coupe, though I'm leaning against it. Someone else brought up the Mustang, and it's just not his cup of tea. Aside from the rear end, I think the Civic Si looks a little gaudy, plus I feel like we should put him in an automatic now, after 20 years of driving stick. I did consider the Accord Coupe (which I remember him seeing once when we were getting lunch a few months back, and he said "Is that an Accord?" in a surprised way), so I looked at one yesterday, but the interior is a little goofy... it's not bad, but everything just seems so unnecessarily big.

For long highway commutes, BRZ can be somewhat darty/tiring unless the driver enjoys the liveliness of the car. Longer wheelbase is probably better for cruising comfortably at highway speeds.

I will say that I don't think he'll have an issue with the refinement coming from a 2000 Civic. I drove a 2001 Accord previously and I find the BRZ much quieter and easier to drive on the highway. I didn't find a big difference in ride quality either, but sure did notice the lack of body roll.


Compared to other new cars, sure its no quiet cruiser but compared to a 90's era Honda it is. He also is unlikely to complain about lack of torque. I feel like I could pull tree stumps in my BRZ compared to my Accord.


I was cross shopping an Accord Coupe and liked everything about the interior more except the head unit dual screen setup. The BRZ head unit may be bad, but at least it's easily replaceable without tons of bezels and messing with car integration. The Accord had a real back seat, much bigger trunk, but less usable pass-through when the seats were folded. The steering was accurate and had decent weight, but was completely devoid of feel. The only auto the 4-cyl Accord Coupe is a CVT though.

I got some feedback from my brother (though I was pretending that my girlfriend was looking at a car, and I brought up a lot of the cars we've mentioned -- hedoesn't seem to sense anything). I think this might be the way to go. He actually is happy with coupes, as he said it's convenient because he never gets roped into having to drive people when going out. He tailgates a lot with friends, but he said having a coupe also gets him out of having to transport the big stuff, as he generally just ends up bringing sodas. So from a practicality standpoint, it works out. Plus he's a diehard UCLA fan, so the WRB might be a nice touch.

I would consider the gen coupe.

The BRZ is definitely for an enthusiast. Mine was a year old when I bought mine.. so someone bought it, and took a big loss to get rid of it.

I love it though :)

I'd hate a surprise like that...

I tend to keep my cars for a long time, so I would want any car I own to be EXACTLY what I want.

GC is now V-6 only

I would definitely advise you include him in the search for the right car. If someone had gotten me the BRZ I currently own but in a color I didn't want, I'd have conflicts in my head whether I could and should return the car and find another.

He probably drives a manual because he likes it. I hope to always own a manual car. He may feel the same way.

the 3.8 sounds glorious :D

I almost picked one up today... but the dealership I went to was being a little shady. On to the next.

Everyone, thanks for all of your input... a lot of the points brought up along with some of the Subaru dealerships I've visited being uncooperative (read: douche bags) and there being pretty much only one new WRB BRZ Limited auto in SoCal that won't even be delivered until the 17th (meaning that a smoking deal is a little harder to negotiate for), we're thinking of just getting him a 320i. Considering you can negotiate for a better deal (I looked at several local dealerships, and they all have at least five of the exact base 320i in white that we'd get) along with that holiday promotion, we can probably get one for not that much less than what we'd likely be able to get the BRZ for, even with my VIP pricing through my work. It's also a little nostalgic (which is how I got my dad to sign off, aside from the free maintenance), because my brother's first car was a hand-me-down white 1980 BMW 320i that he started driving in 1994 or so.


Thanks again!