Will a high-mileage, used 86 make a reliable daily?
 

Hello FR-S owners - I have a very specific "to buy/not to buy" case to present to you, and I'm looking for a "yes/no/no way" recommendation.

I'm interested in a stock, MTX, NA sport coupe with a back seat. I test drove a used 2013 FR-S at a dealer this week and loved it. However, based on my budget, I'd be looking at a 2013/14 FR-S/BRZ with lots of highway miles (~100k) - anything newer is too pricey. My last three cars lasted 179k (ZX2), 225k (Prelude) and 280k (e30), so miles don't necessarily scare me if a car can handle them.

My intent with whatever car I get is to keep it bone stock, perform all scheduled maintenance, and DD it until it rusts out, with one autocross event per year at most. I can handle rear drive in the snow. I drive under 10k miles per year.

My question: Should I buy a 2013 86 with a ton of miles? If you vote "no," bonus points for predicting what problems I'll face. I'm choosing NA over FI specifically for reliability and reduced maintenance costs, and I'm wondering if a highway-miles 86 will meet these ideals.

Thank you much.

Buy it through a toyota dealer and negotiate or buy a warranty.

It should be reliable but if you really want one save up more and buy with lower miles. I just bought a 2013 with 35k for $16000 otd. You aren't going to find too many for sale yet that have close to 100k and I see ones with 60-70k still selling for close to $15,000

Stretch your budget, buy one with less miles. I barely trust my car that has less than 21k miles.

Wait for a car with less than 30K. They're out there with good pricing if you're patient and be sure to check carfax for maintenance etc not that carfax is 100% reliable however it can disclose certain points of interest

I'm at 72K on mine and I don't expect any problems at 100K, especially if it's mostly highway. Only item needing attention has been the throw out bearing. It's been making noise for the last 5K, but I still haven't replaced it.


If the price is right, buy it.

I'll go with minority on this one and say don't worry about the mileage too much. For most of my life, I've bought cars w/ mileage in the 80,000 range and driven them into the 200,000's, then moved on to my next 80,000-90,000 mile used car. I drive a lot, and am good about maintenance. Salt kills my cars before anything else does.

I've had Toyotas, Fords, BMWs, Mercedes, Volkswagens all fit that description. I've had Mitsubishis, Nissans/Datsuns, a Ford van, a Range Rover, and a '73 Oldsmobile Delta 88 that DIDN'T make it to the 200,000 mile mark. With the exception of the Range Rover, the ones that didn't make it were mostly my fault; I was younger and didn't stay on top of the maintenance like I do now. The Rover, I babied, but it was just.. well... a Rover. Couldn't keep up with all the stuff that kept going wrong with that truck.

I wouldn't think twice about buying a high mileage twin, provided it hasn't been abused and the price is right. Dependent upon the driver of course, NOT driving a car is worse for it than driving it.

I have always been more concerned with maintenance and condition as opposed to mileage. I would rather have a car that has been driven than one that has sat in the garage, they tend to be more problematic.

Test the back seat before you buy. It's useless for just about everything.

Based on my own FRS, I wouldn't be too concerned. Have a 2013 with 76,xxx miles on it. The vast majority being highway miles (cruise control on 85) and it shows no signs of wearing out. I have performed all scheduled maintenance.

Right. When buying high mileage you are counting on the previous owner having taken good care of it. Without records or other evidence, it's mainly a crap shoot.

If you're asking if the car is capable of lasting > 100k when well taken care of, there aren't a lot of them out there with high miles yet but it seems reasonable to assume the answer is yes.

Well that depends on your budget... If I'm you, I'm waiting for a lower mileage dream car to show up. I shopped for my car for 4 months before finding what I wanted (and it was still a 5 hour drive away).
Like already said, you should be able to find a used 2013 with 20-40k miles for under $18k.
Cars built in the past few years are going to be reliable (and its a Toyobaru for god's sake) but the more miles it has, I'd be worried about the higher probability of the previous owner messing something up.

These^
If it hasn't been messed with or beat on then100K is nothing. Mine has 100K of almost exclusively highway miles and although to front bumper looks like it saw the blitz I have had zero issues. I didn't screw with anything on it though.
The problem lies in knowing for sure how one was driven and maintained.

Note to self: If ever selling my 2017 86, add 5k to the cost for anal maintenance record keeping.