BRZ ownership costs and depreciation
 

Hi everyone,

I just test drove a 2022 BRZ base model a couple hours ago, and, well, I was thoroughly impressed. Holy moly the car is FUN to drive! Reminds of a cross between a couple of my previous cars: E36 and S2000. I wish it had the engine note of the BMW, but I'd bet the engine in the BRZ is at least 150Lbs lighter, haha. I move through a lot of cars and I'm driving an '02 Mini Cooper right now, and damn, it is a pile. Just built like trash, but it is cheap and it looks good. Anyhow, I was thinking maybe it is time to stop the revolving door of old cars (and repairs) going through my ownership and the BRZ is about the most fun new car I could imagine that might be in my price range.

What are the ownership costs of a BRZ like? I'm talking total ownership cost: Depreciation, repairs, maintenance, financing cost, insurance, etc. Some of these things I've got concrete numbers on like insurance and financing cost. Where do you guys see depreciation going with these cars over the next 3 to 5 years? What kind of maintenance costs are typical for a BRZ (I'm assuming the 2nd gen will be very close to 1st gen)?

Any thoughts on lease vs finance? According to Subaru Canada the residual value of the BRZ in three years is about $18500 (MSRP= $29,500, MSRP+delivery+fees=$31260). So, that's a residual of 63% after 3 years, which seems low to me. Finance might end up costing less in the long run if Subaru Canada is under rating the residual value of the car.

-------------------------
On another speculative note: I'd guess that we will be seeing an inventory shortage in new vehicles for at least another 2 to 3 years as supply chains catch up to unfulfilled demand that has built up. So, its possible we might be seeing the current inflation of used vehicles continue for a while longer, but eventually it will definitely settle down.

Right now a quick survey of Craigslist shows 2016s averaging an asking price of about $25,000 and 2018s at about $28,000. Then there are some of crazy marked up cars like a 2018 BRZ with 16,000km for $38,000- like, what?! I guess dealers can ask whatever they want to ask. It's a free market.

I created a big spreadsheet a couple months ago to calculate ownership costs of different cars that takes into account pretty much every metric I can think of, but some of the data is speculative, like maintenance costs, and some is pretty accurate. I'd like to try to see how the BRZ compares to some of the other choices (including used cars) on my list.

Subarus, in general, hold their value. We had 6 over the years and always made out well at trade-in or autotrader. Christ, my WRX only depreciated 40% in 11 years, I can’t complain about that! As far as maintenance costs go, really depends how you treat the car. Not sure anyone can predict that. But overall they’re pretty reliable cars.

Car prices are unusually high now so not reflective of holding value. But Subarus do pretty good.

For people like me who, if they buy a new car, tend to keep it for 8 or 10 years, the elephant in the room is what's going to happen with electrification. There's talk of possible break-thru battery technology in the next 5 years, like solid-state batteries that are 1/2 the weight for same range as todays batteries.

On the flip-side, even with new battery tech, maybe no mfr would bother to make a good handling, lightweight, RWD only sportscar that was battery powered. Seems the electrification movement is all about big sedans, SUVs, and even pickups... and usually awd.

I can't speak to the 2022 car since that would be predicting the future, but I can say that I bought my 2016 Limited for 26.8k (plus tax) brand new, and sold it about 2.5 years later to Carmax for 16k. Granted that's a little bit lower than market value, but you get the idea. Also, that car had a 25% higher insurance cost compared to the other "normal" cars I had before and after it (2010 Chevy Cobalt and 2016 Mazda 3). The BRZ takes premium gas as well, which again is about 25% higher than regular gas. Consumables are pretty standard price wise. Tires are a relatively common size. Oil is synthetic, which is only a tiny bit more expensive if you change it yourself, maybe a few dollars. But then again, what new car doesn't run synthetic now? I do feel like these cars depreciate more than say a Camry or Accord would, but outside of that just gas and insurance is a little more expensive. Everything else is pretty standard.

Leasing is a way for Karen's to drive a car that they normally couldn't afford, or for the very wealthy that don't mind wasting money so they can always drive something new with a warranty.

Leasing also is a way to have tax writeoffs.

At least for my 2013 (and talking to friends/locals that had them too)
- The base depreciated more than the limited
- Insurance is higher than average for this platform
- It's fuel economy is better than advertised

Operating costs will be about the same as any other car. Only "gotcha" really is (at least for the 2013 - 2020) changing the spark plugs sucks and is much more labor than most other cars.

Can't speak for depreciation right now because prices are inflated (apparently mine is worth $15k+ usd now?)

As for maintenance, I have had nothing go wrong with the car that wasn't caused by one of those trained chimps that pass for PA state inspection technicians nowadays.

I do my own maintenance, once every 6 months.
Oil +filter: $40/6 months if you buy it on sale

Air filter: One time $60 for a reusable dry filter that I clean out. Or like $10 a year for paper

Tires: stick with stock size and these are cheap. Like $120 a tire for good ones. The frequency of replacement is based on you and your tire choices. I alternate between winter and summer sets and rotate each time I put a set on.

Washer fluid: $? as needed. Idk it's nothing special

Brakes:. I bleed the brakes every 3 years or so. Nothing special here. Pads and rotors are still original equipment and have plenty of life 8 years later.

Mod bug: Just don't catch it if you are concerned about money. Most things have been relatively cheap historically. It's not a Porsche or anything.

I think I spend more money on detailing supplies than maintaining the car lol.

As for insurance, that's more person and location dependent than anything else. Getting a quote is the best way to look at that.

To be honest a twin is not really a car you get worrying about depreciation, maintenance costs, running costs etc. you buy it because it’s fun to drive. The fact that it is reliable, with relatively low maintenance is a bonus.

I do a 119 mile round trip commute 3-4 days a week in a 16 BRZ modded. Any normal evaluation would put me in any number of sedans with over 30mpg, a hybrid or god forbid a Prius. I can’t spend 2-2.5 hours in a car a day that I don’t enjoy.

If it's leased as your business vehicle or through the company you own as a business vehicle, yes. And then you can either write of mileage or expenses, not both. Most of the time mileage is the way to go.

But if I just go down to the dealer and lease a car, I can't just write it off. That's not how it works.

And for most people that is not the case. It gets them into a BMW/Audi/Merc for much less than if they actually purchased it on a 5-year note, so they can appear to be more successful than they are.

if deprecation is most important, toyota edges out subaru for resale value, so the 86 is a better long term valuation than the brz.

Historically, I see BRZ prices maintaining a decent margin over FRS/86s.

Hmm, if you buy a car could you write that off as a business expense as well? Or does it only apply to leasing?