GT86 questions, looking to buy one
 

Hello everybody,
I hope i am not bothering you with these questions, it probably has been asked many times but right now i really could use some advices

So,
i'm looking to buy a gt86, i watched a few videos about it and i know a bit more but still have some questions, with my budget i can not buy a phase 2, so it has to be a model from 2012/16

First, does year matter? Did they fix issues to the car between a 2012 and a 2015 for exemple

Cause right now i've seen 2 interesting cars, one is from 2012, white color, with 34000km on it (19500e), the other one from 2015, silver color, with 44500km (21900e negociable)

Valve springs have not been fixed on the 2012 so i would have to send it to the dealer



Second, is the transmission really a big issue? Should i worry about it breaking?

And last question is there any specific stuff i should verify/check on the car before buying it?

Thanks in advance for your help and sorry if my english is not really on point (i'm trying)

Basic rule with these is that the later model year is the better choice. There were many small improvements made between 2012 and 2017 and some even bigger ones between 2017 and 2020.
Try to avoid any car that was heavily modified. You can never be sure of the quality of work that was done. This may not be as big an issue in Europe as over here though since you have much greater restrictions on what can be done.
Obviously if you can see service records that will help establish how well the car was taken car of.
The transmission are fine. Not great but still fine. If a manual you will want to have the throw out bearing checked as that is a weak point.
If you decide that you want the 12 (or an early 13) that has not had the spring recall done then just leave it alone and don't have the work done. There are almost no reported cases of the springs failing but many of the engine blowing after the recall work.

Thanks that's great informations
The 2012 is sold so my only option left for now is the 2015, which after what you said would have been my first choice
About prices, what would be a faire price for this car in your opinion (considering it has no flaws)? Seller asking 21900e but it's been on sale for 45 days already, the white 2012 at 19.5k sold in less than 24h
I am going to see it tomorrow and check everything, i'm doing a list so i won't miss anything (hopefully)

I won't even guess at fair price there. Scarcity and demand is totally different than here so trying to set a value is really just guessing.
@nikitopo can you chime in on price?

Hey! You sound like you're French, if that's the case the 2012 was a very good deal, what with our CO2 tax messing with used 86 prices.

21.9k for a '15 with under 50 000km is a good price too. As Tcoat said I would aim for a car that's still stock or close, with service records. Maintenance is every year / 15 000km and should be adhered to, which is sometimes a problem with low mileage cars.

The manual box is good, you'll see it's somewhat crunchy going into 2nd, but they -mostly- all do that. As long as you're not intensely tracking the car or adding lots of power, it'll be just fine. The auto's good, but its gearing is questionable.

As far as things to look out for specific to 86's, there aren't a ton. The recall is not something you should be afraid of on a used car, just avoid one that's had it very recently (<1500km). Also, our inspection / insurance companies are super-picky about mods, including wheel sizes, so avoid cars with bigger or wider wheels than stock.

Oh, one last thing: if you are indeed French, don't be afraid to look for cars in neighboring countries (BE / DE / IT, etc.), they're cheaper there and the CO2 tax on imported cars is acceptable (I paid 760€ for my 2013 two years ago).