Is FRS/BRZ/GT86 a first new purchase? Will you buy brand new again?
 

My 2013 Scion FRS is my first new car purchase.

Would you do it again?

Me:

No way! I will NEVER EVER do it again lol. EVER!

Pretty much locked myself into something I'm paying a bit too much for. You live and you learn I guess. I'm still happy with this car though. In fact, I feel proud that I have the FRS as my first brand new car purchase instead of some boring wheel drive Toyota Matrix or whatever. So definitely, I feel like I chose a good car to buy new. Being the one and only owner is priceless. Especially when it's a car like an FRS being thrashed and trashed in every video you see, buying a used one you just "never know". So I'm glad that I have mine brand new.

What I'm not so glad about is the plummeting value! So from here on out, I'm buying "excellent condition" used. The depreciation value is too crazy when buying new. For me, 2-4 year old cars with 1-2 owners is the best way to go. An example, we recently got my wife a car as she wanted to upgrade from her 2000 Toyota Echo. She wanted a Lexus HS250h. Brand new in 2010 it would've been close to $45k all in. We found her car for $21k all in.

From a car dealer, they told me that FRS/BRZ auction around $17-18k these days. I recently read a thread about somebody taking their car in to see what they could get on a trade. $14,900. LOL.

I paid $32k out the door (being in Canada we get raped on tax) for a base FRS. Something like 18 months now later, my car is worth only half its value. It's not a surprise though. It's depreciation. But overall, I'm am happy that I went into this knowing the FRS was going to be a keeper. So really, no depreciation for me. But it still does hurt to know that your car is worth crap only after a short while lol.

What I definitely can't get my head around is how people purchase a brand new car, then not long after they either sell or trade it eating the depreciation and taxes along with it. People must have a lot of money to burn I suppose. Especially for the guys who bought this car brand new, modded the wheels off of it, then are selling not long after...? Must be pretty well off then I guess. I grew up poor. Eating that kind of a loss would not hurt me financially these days, but it would definitely kill me psychologically.

You guys?

I take an even bigger hit in that I rack up so many miles none of my new cars (this is my 4th) are worth crap when I trade in. To make matters worse, since I do so many miles I chew through warranties in way less than the time many people do.
Now, does that mean used would be a better deal for me? Nope! Then I start to run into repair costs and even higher maintenance fees which quickly chew up the difference in new car depreciation. I also need the reliability that you get with a new car as in my line of work if I have to get there it could be urgent.
Many people will mod and sell because the act of modding is the pleasure they get not the actual owning of the car. Once the project is done they get the itch for another and start all over again. Since this is actually their hobby the money spent still went to enjoyment and was not really "lost" (if you ever paid $200 for a round of golf you know what I mean)

This was the first car I ever bought new, and I probably won't buy new ever again, but I would consider it. I know that I'm going to keep my FRS for years(hopefully forever if it's reliable enough). I love that I know exactly what my car has been through, and I drive less than 5,000 miles annually, so it should last me a long time.

I've had plenty of great used cars in the past, and I will probably buy used again when it comes to future vehicles, but if I had the chance to do it again, I would still buy my FRS new. If I had to eventually sell the car, I hope that it being a manual monogram would help a little with the resale value.

This is my first new car, but if i was ever financially capable i wouldn't mind buying new again. I mean unless I'm buying from a buddy or something, i won't really know what the cars gone through when getting it from a dealer.

This is my first car new and would I ever do it again? Absolutely.

If it was the right car and at the right time, I would definitely not hesitate to buy new.

It sounds like you financed your taxes in with your purchase, so it's not really fair to say that your car has depreciated from 32k. The only fair way to determine that is what you actually paid for the vehicle itself. Compared to other vehicles, the twins are actually doing fairly well retaining their value compared to the rest of the market.

You also have to consider if your region offered any rebates for the vehicle as that will affect your cars value as well.

Just wait until there's a new body style that comes out and Scion/Subaru starts offering rebates on the remaining old body styles. You should see the value take a decent hit at that point in time too. Ex: Toyota has put 2k in rebates on the remaining 2014.5 Camry's to move them out for the 15's. Our appraisers said the value on the 12-14.5's have dropped $1,600 on average in the past month! Ouch.

To answer your question, I would absolutely buy another new one. Why? I'm a selfish bastard that likes to be the original owner of the vehicle :D

My 4th new car and I've never bought used or leased. Life is too short to worry about how a used car might of been mistreated in the past, especially if you intend it to be your daily driver so (to me) the peace of mind is worth the cost.


That said I generally keep my cars for 7 to 10 years so the financial hit doesn't seem so bad in the long run. Much like any other large purchase in life there are so many things one can do to reduce the final outlay.

This is my 9th new car.

I have also purchased used vehicles, but for some reason always felt less connected to those cars and trucks.

FWIW I do think it's great for people to get lightly used pets, instead of brand new ones. Rescue animals FTW! :)



Edit: BTW OP, I remember when I was going through dive school in 1990, one of the guys there had just gotten a white MR2, I WAS SOOO JEALOUS!! Nice car!

I'm 52 and have bought a lot of cars, new and used. I take good care of my cars and have had overwhelmingly better results with new purchases, with most of them lasting well over 200K miles before I let them go. I drive a lot, and bought the BRZ new and will in all likelyhood rack up well over 200K on it also. That is why things like comfort and styling are important to me. The cars styling has to hold up over many years, and the seat and driving position need to be comfortable for me. The BRZ wins in those departments at the expense of practicality. By the time I'm done with it, I'll probably be close to 60, so who knows what I'll want at that time, but I can only envision not wanting to work on it at that age, so it will probably be new again.

2011 VW GTI - paid $27k, worth $16k now.
2013 Scion FR-S - paid $25k, worth $18k now.

I've bought a mix of used and new cars over the years. IMO it only makes sense to buy new if you're planning to keep the car for a long time. Otherwise steep depreciation the first 2-3 years will eat you up if you try to sell early. But if you can ride out the first few years, depreciation levels off over time.

Depreciation on the GTI should be fine as I'm planning to hold it until at least 2017. That's right after the 5y/60k powertrain runs and I'll re-evaluate based on reliability and family needs. I'd love to keep it longer if practical, but even if I sell it at the 6 year point, depreciation should be manageable.

The FR-S will be the question mark for me. I love it and it's done exactly what I wanted as a street/track car, but I've got a bucket list of other cars I've wanted to own - Z06, 911, Elise, maybe another Boxster S, etc. and from experience I hate owning three cars. Then again, the FR-S may have earned a permanent spot and should be fairly cheap to keep/maintain, so we'll have to see.

I have wanted a Porsche since I was five years old! Once my commute is a bit shorter, I plan to get a 911 or a Cayman. Probably five years down the road.

Well I downed $5k. Still not enough to even cover the taxes when it stickered for $26,xxx. Our 13% sales taxes bends us over here in Ontario.

I only look at all-in prices for knowing exactly what you pay. I'm not gonna say I paid $26k for this car when in actuality, the final number was $32k out the door. It certainly is a car with a brand new price value of $26k, but that's not what I'm paying (I wish!). If I factored in future value, I'm actually closer to $35k for this car with the interest charges over the next 5 years.

So let's say if I sold today, those thousands of dollars I paid to big brother 18months ago I don't get back. Along with natural depreciation and only being able to get $17k for my car presently, that's $15k loss! Thank goodness this car is a keeper lol.

Where in Ontario did you find a new one for $26K? That is a great deal as they usually start at about $28 and go up from there.

The BRZ is my first new car. But due to the expense and the hassle involved with that, I don't think I'll want/be able to buy another new car again.