I almost had my car for about 7 years and have about 40k on it. It a great car and I haven’t had any real problems on the car beside the one I created by modifying. Just get a stock one and enjoy it.

OP if you are worried about reliability then statistically the 2014-2016 86/BRZ twins are among the most reliable used vehicles on the market... With the updates made to the refreshed 2017+ engines on the MT variants, it appears they have taken a slight hit to overall reliability (fell off Consumer Report's list though could be due to small sample size). Though if you're getting one with an automatic trans then my previous point is moot as mechanically the engine has remained the exact same. Either way, I don't think this should be a concern for the OP, the twins are reliable enough.

the bigger task at hand is figuring out if OP can really daily one...he really needs to just go out and do an extended test drive. He comes from a Corolla & Altima so I'm betting this would be his first low & RWD car so there are bound to be commuting trade offs he hasn't experienced yet. Sure, it may be "cooler" to be driving around in something sporty but if you've gotten used to the supple ride of your sedans you may end up hating the twins especially if your area has poor roads. I have a friend who has a Scion tC (another good consideration for OP) and he almost loathes having to be my passenger since he can really feel the road (for better or worse) throughout the car...and I'm in Phoenix where most roads here are actually rather nice! Nothing is wrong with feeling the road, having to "fall" & "jump" to get in/out of the seat, having a loud cabin or being unable to park your bumper right over curbs, but if you weren't expecting a lot of these things for your daily then you'll be in for a shock.

..and we haven't even gotten into how RWD drives a bit differently to FWD especially if you haven't experienced it before. We've had enough posts on this forum of people curbing their twins to suggest the difference is significant enough to prepare for.

FRS/86/BRZ will be far more reliable than any VW product. I had Golf, a Passat and a GTI and I got to know the service advisors all too well.

I have a July 2013 built BRZ. No mechanical issues. I did have the rubber door gaskets replaced due to a water leak. Done under warranty.

This week is 6 years since I bought mine, still happy with it. 150k miles so far and the only thing that had to be replaced was the TOB.

What is the symptom of a failed TOB? Mine is 45k, and it worked very well except one noise issue. I can hear some weird noise when I do the following
1 lug the engine. Low rpm, give it more gas. Not a lot of gas in fact. Just try to accelerate at low rpm
2 engine brake at higher rpm. Around 3500 or more
3 a less than perfect shift

Is this a common symptom for TOB failure? My car has this issue from day one. And it's just a noise issue. Car drives fine.

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Your tob is going bad if it makes noise when you hold the clutch in at idle. If the noise goes away when you let the pedal go, it’s the TOB.

It can also increase the pedal effort, but it happens so gradually that you won’t notice until it’s fixed.

Oh, Thanks. Then it is not my TOB then. I hear no noise when pressing down clutch when idling. That annoying noise has been very hard to track down.

Are you referring to a sort of snorting/snoring sound under those 3 scenarios? I have the same. The BRZ I rented on Turo did as well. I think it's just the nature of the car.

I always imagined it comes from the clutch springs adjusting under sudden high load of some sort but maybe it comes from the engine... I don't know my stuff so just taking shots in the dark here. All I know is I've always had it as well.

EDIT: under low RPM acceleration, the sound tends to go away around 2k RPM for me.

had mine for 6 years, at 80k +


TOB went at 60k, JO2 recall service performed with no issues so far (over 1000 miles since the service). Driver side windshield sprayer got clogged. Other than that regular maintenance.

I won't describe the sound as a snort. I read many similar threads, the closest one is 'a can of marble shaking' sound.

*floors it 100 times during daily driving*
engine: blows up
"this car is not reliable" walks away

I doubt the 2017 is any less reliable then a 2014-16.

Get in your car no shoes (trust me), running or off, press down on clutch pedal all the way, then press down harder. If there is a crunchy feeling, see your nearest dealer for service.

The "snort" or "honk" is fine and nothing to worry about.

But...

"Marble shaking" is a whole different matter and you need to change that TOB. SOON!

Don't wait.