Worth trading for a 2015?
 

I'll start off by saying I love my 2013 FR-S. It was the first car I've ever bought new but I was nervous ablout owning a manual because I've only driven a manual a couple times in my life up until that point and I sucked at it =(. I ended up getting an automatic one. Just recently I got to drive my friends manual FR-S for a week and really get a feel for it and had a blast after I got the learning curve.

Now that I have mine back I am sort of leaning towards the idea of trading mine in for a new BRZ w/ manual trans but I'm afraid I might need some sense talked into me! Opinions? are there more features with the 2015 over the 2013 that make it worth it??

Gonna cost you big time but if money isn't an issue then go for it.

Yup thats what I figured, just did the math and I would have to put a lot more down out of pocket to keep my payments the same.

I traded a two year old car (I despised it and was getting rid of it somehow) to get my FRS. I could probably get a nice Porsche for what I pay now. It is not a cheap thing to do.

Just live with it. The amount of money your throwing in for the same car isn't worth it. It's an awesome car and I hear the automatics are actually pretty decent on our cars.

You'll regret wasting all that cash for basically the same experience. Wait on the next GT86 gen.

Wait a bit for the rumored "refresh" and the lots will be filled with cheap 15's from all the dudes who can't stand not having the latest.

Good idea, I'll keep an eye open!

If the manual transmission is what you are really after, swap it out for a similar used FRS or BRZ. Might even be able to save some money.

If you're asking if it makes sense, no it doesn't make sense. You are spending money for almost the exact same car. But if I were you I would do it anyway. I gotta have my manual transmission. I don't care if the paddle shifts are as fast as the BMW M3 or GTR dual clutches. I want to rev up my engine freely while its disengaged from the gear and control whether I want to softly re-engage the gear or pop the clutch so hard the tires squeal.

Everyone should own a sporty manual car at least once in their life. And this car is one of the best cars you can have in manual.

2015 has a nicer exhaust. Just mod ur 2013 exhaust, and so it looks a lot better.

The deals on the BRZ's are pretty good, a lot of people are reporting that they are getting the BRZ limited for 26k-ish, which is below invoice. Of course, it depends where you are.

You will definitely lose money especially since the car has depreciated. It also depends on the financial service you put the loan through. Was it through Toyota, a bank, credit Union?

In the end, retaining your monthly payment with the least amount of financial loss will depend on 3 things:

1) The term of the payment.
2) The Payoff of the car.
3) Whether or not it's financed through Toyota Financial Services.

With that said, the dealership will have an accurate report of all those 3 criteria, so it's better to go through them to check it out. They will basically appraise the car and give you new numbers.

Performance wise, 0 difference. Aesthetically wise, MINOR difference. Other than that, THEY ARE THE SAME VEHICLE.


Overall not really worth trading it up unless you're hell bent on wanting a manual; I know because I considered doing the same but it was more so because I bought my car used and the 3-yr warranty and roadside is set to expire in October this year.


As someone else mentioned, just wait until a complete revamp is done with the vehicle (if ever) before you consider trading up. Enjoy your '13; the vehicle is perfect IMO before Toyota started molesting it with minor changes

The other thing you might find is that automatics for these cars may hold their value worse than manuals. I see it with Miatas and Porsche 911s. Typically the same year, mileage used Miata or Porsche with an auto is worth $1-2K less than the manual counterpart.

Makes sense when you consider the type of car and disproportionate number of people looking to buy a manual.

As @Chaetagnath mentioned, if you are really want the manual, your best option is to trade it for a used manual with similar miles. You may still have to come out of pocket unless you sell and buy private sale, just because a dealer isn't doing to do an even swap.

If you do that, you are no worse off than you are today except losing the money spent on the AT, although it could be worth something this early on (since essentially the same model new would cost more).

If you have financed and are upside down, then you'll have to come out of pocket for that as well. Technically, that isn't a loss since you would have already spent the money had you paid cash.