BRZ tS vs Hakone 86
 

Alright so here's the deal it's July now and I need to get behind the wheel of something fun again. Not new to this chassis having owned an FRS and a BRZ in the past. After getting out of my last car I instantly fell in love with the Hakone 86 and put a deposit in with my local Toyota but there were none in the country left but they assured me they would get me one. Anyway several months have passed and with the timing of COVID has not helped. Every month I follow up and they are unable to give me an update, not going to lie I am getting impatient. There is a 2020 BRZ tS available nearby that I can jump into tommorow if I want which does have the performance upgrades for pretty much the same price but not sure if I should just go for it. Its really the same car, and can always wrap it if I want to change the colour.. I don't know. What do you think my forum friends....

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patience, never settle and you get what sounds like its rare[emoji848]

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At this point it sounds like you should just follow your emotions. So get the car that pumps you up.

With that said, did you sit inside of the tS? Have you test driven it?

Edit: How can a dealership assure they can get you one if there’s none in the country? What are they going to do...trade with a U.S. dealer? I don’t even think that’s possible?

I think I would get the TS tomorrow. If there is one thing COViD has taught us it is that life is too short! Not gunna lie, the Hakone is a great colour, but in the end, it’s just a colour! :-]

Soooo...
When I ordered mine back in early February they we not at all optimistic they could even order more from the factory then. There were only 50 slotted for Canada and 30 were accounted for at that point. They said they could order one from the factory but odds were the other 20 were already in transit and spoken for. The next day they called me and said there were 5 ATs and 1 MT available on lots in the whole country but they had managed to swing a deal with the dealer in Calgary to get the MT shipped here. I said "IT IS MINE"! This was all before Covid messed up the world. Mine was the last car in the city driven off the lot by a customer before the province went into total shutdown on March 27.
Last week I had my first service done and was chatting with a different salesman at a different dealer (I get the car serviced at a dealer near work most times) and he said that a guy saw mine when I brought it in and wanted to buy one but there were zero in the system at any point in the pipeline or on a lot. We know that production ended this month so the probability of more showing up is remote.

You could ask one more time and see if they will give you a VON. If they won't or can't then forget it and get the Ts. That was my plan if I could not get one.
Oh and sorry again for buying your local one.



No, no it is not possible.

Patience is a virtue under most conditions but since these are no longer in production then it may be more of a case of "if you snooze you lose".


It can be hard for guys in places like California to realize just how rare these cars are in Canada. The only places there are more than a handful are the very large cites (my city is 500,000 so not exactly tiny) so I can go weeks or even months without seeing another one on the road.
We get under 10% of the numbers sold in the US. Last year they sold 3400 86s in the USA. Canada had 240 total. So far this year (number to May) there have been 1350 sold in the US and only 81 in Canada. Many of the dealers don't even have them on the lot and you have to order what you want like some sort of expensive exotic.
It is probably safe to say that there are two or three times the total Canadian sales just in your area. It was funny when I attended the Norcal summer kick off meet in 2018 that the number of cars in that one place was well over the whole country wide Canadian sales for 2019!

Just get the TS. They're all the same. It's just a color change.

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yea just get the TS and a good wrap lol!

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I get the want for a special edition, I really do. There were such limited numbers available, you may just end up needing to find one used unfortunately. The dealership will make any promise they can to get your dollar. I'm sure they have tried. They probably tried calling Toyota and saying " yo, can you make 1 more of those green ones? I have a customer that wants one" and Toyota has probably said "DAME DAME"

Wrap will never be the same. And having a green car and seeing a bunch of white in all the jams when you open the hood, doors, or trunk is tacky as hell.

That being said, I agree with Tcoat. Push to get the Hakone if you can (since that’s what you really want) and if there’s no luck, go snag a BRZ tS

OP, you are trying to get a pretty rare car. Even in normal times it would be difficult. Naturally, this will cost you in time or money. I would get the Ts, enjoy the car and continue looking for the Hakone. The best way to know if you really want something is if you are willing to wait or pay more for it. You might find that you are not willing once you see how much you like your Ts.

Maybe Tcoat will sell you his!!

Since I had a hard time getting a MT one in Feb I am afraid I don't hold out much hope for him in July. The funny (from my perspective) thing is that although I don't know exactly where he lives but mine came from a dealership that was probably within an hour or so away from him but took three days to travel to me. It is like some guy in California getting the last one available in Florida.


Agree about the wrap. I have seen some beautiful wraps on cars and it all goes to hell as soon as they open a door. The tS is a pretty fine looking car on it's own anyway.

If you can’t get the Hakone maybe you should get a regular 86 or BRZ and mod it the way you want. Looking at your post it sounds like you’re not 100% on the tS anyway? Why pay extra and then swap out parts or wrap the car a different colour etc. better off buying the cheaper version and carefully select the parts you want. Unless I’m wrong and the tS has everything you want?

I hope it works out and you get the Hakone :cheers: