Purchasing a 2015 Subaru BRZ with 500 miles. What to look out for?
 

Hi all,

Long time lurker here and proud driver of a leased 2015 Subaru BRZ with 50k miles. My lease is almost over and frankly, I am still in love with the BRZ like the day I got it. The dealership that holds the lease is offering me a shit deal, so chances are I won't be purchasing my current BRZ..

I've found another 2015 Subaru BRZ at another dealership with just 500 miles on the clock for just a couple of bucks more! It's always been a showroom car, that's the reason why the mileage is so low.

But it is a car from 2015... Is there anything I should check before purchasing this car? I know that the warranty is gone. So I should check when the last time was they changed the oil. Am I missing something else?

Kind regards,

Mizu

Unless Holland is weird or something.. the warranty shouldn't start until the car is titled. Was this car purchased by someone or just a car that the dealership has had sitting around?

Holland is quite weird.. We have a vehicle registration tax (BPM) that's really killing. I'm not kidding.. A new 2019 Subaru BRZ has a starting price of 71.000 USD. Basically the tax increases every year and the dealer tried to avoid the tax by registering the car in 2015.

And therefore, the warranty started when the car got registered. High emission cars are expensive here in Holland. Am I nuts to buy this car in Holland? Yes, probably yes. But it's worth it man.

In Belgium (which is right next to the Netherlands), it's quite common for dealerships to register inventory cars in order to meet sales goals. And the warranty is effective from the day they do. It's often a good way to score a nice deal.

As for OP, I'd specifically look for cosmetic damage inherent to a showroom car: paint damage around the entry & egress points, wear marks on the seats, damaged interior trim, etc.

It's only a 3yo car, so tires / belts / etc. should not be too bad, although I would pay special attention to tire deformation during the test drive (car shaking / bearing-like noise). If the car sat for longer periods without moving at all, they may need changing.

But with all that said, it should be good to go after a small maintenance.

Just curious, how much are they asking for it?

EDIT : just saw your post... a new 86 had a 24-25 000 USD registration tax in France until not so long ago. They reduced it to about 10k with the new, more realistic fuel economy testing process.

Thanks so much, I'll definitely check that out. They're asking 33000 EUR for the car.

Any show room car will have very little wear even if many people played with it. There will have been far less entry in and out of the vehicle than one that was used on a regular basis.
Really nothing to watch out for on a 15.
See if they will give you a discounted extended warranty just for the piece of mind it could bring.

Ugm, how do you register a car (well that isn't a Delorean) 4 years before it us built?

Oh, in my previous post I mentioned it was a 2015 model and registered in 2015. I was just using the new 2019 BRZ model as an example as how crazy our taxes can get.

I think he's saying a 2019 BRZ starts at $71k USD, but the car he's looking at (2015 BRZ) was registered in 2015 to avoid the tax increases.

Walk away if you find the handbrake has been excessively used... Only means one thing in Holland, zero hill starts but lots of J turns..

Holy cow. How does that compare to a used ‘15 with some miles (other than your car)?

This is probably a long shot, but have you looked at purchasing the car in Belgium or Germany? A ‘15 with reasonable miles should be around half that there. I assume there’d be taxes to register it, but you might come out ahead.

The problem with purchasing a car whose used value is artificially inflated is that it’s future value depends on the source of inflation remaining at least stable. I’d be concerned regulatory changes wind up making the car worth much less.

Thanks for all the information everyone. I can only find second hand cars around '18 and '19. I'd love to get the Kouki but they're out of my budget. If I import a '18 Kouki with low mileage, it'll set me back around 30.000 EUR but the government slaps another 10.000 EUR in added taxes. And there's still costs for importing, transport.

That's why I think the 33000 EUR one for a 2015 model is an OK deal...? Or am I just too dense to see I'm making a huge mistake. :bonk:

I'm going to make an appointment to get a test drive, check for sounds and noises, check if the tires are still okay and look for swirls and scratches.

Its difficult for most of us to say (since we're in the US and Canada) since we don't have much experience with ridiculously oppressive government taxes.

In the US I would imagine that a 500 mile showroom/demo BRZ would be advertised for around $22,000 USD.

SPEAK FOR YOURSELF!