My story in somewhat of a nutshell (Warning, potential rambling ahead): First caught wind of the Toyobaru rumors in late '06/early '07. I was in high-school at the time and became a big Subaru fan. The idea of an affordable, light-weight, RWD coupe with a boxer engine sounded like nirvana to me.
In 2008, the FT86 Concept was shown, and the rumors swirled into official word that the cars were going into production. Spy shots start hitting the web, and my excitement continues to grow. Then, I see spy photos of Toyobarus with production-spec bodies, sourced from this website....I believe that was in late 2011. I have stalked the forums ever since.
FINALLY the car is unveiled, and my goodness what a machine. I worked at Subaru of Keene at the time as a parts advisor, and was there for BRZ day when a prototype was shown to the public for a few hours. I was actually able to back the car out of our recon department and drive it around the front of the building to the showroom amidst the flashing cameras (I was asked to exit the car when it was time to back it into the showroom...oh well lol.)
A few weeks later, pricing was announced, and....I just couldn't afford it. I wanted a BRZ as my first new car, but at around $26-29k I just couldn't make it happen. I test-drove one of the first BRZ's off the truck and it was like nothing else I had driven before. I was crushed...and bought a Honda Fit Sport for commuting instead and to build credit.
Two years later (back in April of this year) I see a Galaxy Blue Silica BRZ Premium spring up for sale on Craig's List for $19,899. I thought "Hey, a BRZ I could afford." Owned by a 66-year-old doctor, the car had 26k miles and was bought at the Subaru dealership I once worked at (I was there from 2010-2013.) Sadly, someone beat me to it, but the fire was already lit; I wanted to buy a BRZ this year. I arrange to go to look at another '13 BRZ Ltd with 10k miles in the same color (I love Galaxy Blue on these cars,) but after driving 2 hours to go see the car, I get a call when I'm 10 minutes away that the car was sold...grrr. I had been looking into a couple other RWD options and was ready to buy...I was very miffed.
I find one more Galaxy Blue BRZ that is a little further away than I wanted to drive, but the trip looked easy enough. I vowed that if this car fell through, I wouldn't look again until next year. Well, I go look at the car, I hear about it's story, I take it for a ride...and the rest, as they say, is history. Now, since threads like this are worthless without pics, here's my new-to-me-baby! As it sat on the lot when I went to first look at it:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...psotsay1fl.jpg http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...pszzbdfvxs.jpg
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...psv4fxihyi.jpg After picking it up May 9th, Here it is as of last weekend, when I spent six hours claying the car and putting a coat of wax on. All I have added is a rear cargo tray and '15 BRZ exhaust tips to fill the exhaust cut-outs better.
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...psdfwvnmq3.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps1sgudsy6.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...psqgmdpqi5.jpg I couldn't be happier with this car, and look forward to many happy years with it. She will never see snow and will be garaged come winter time. If you don't recognize the car, that's because it used to look like this:
http://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...psmgi3pgym.jpghttp://i159.photobucket.com/albums/t...pso09p1nie.jpg :) Turbowned, your old BRZ is in good hands! Oh, and if you have anything left that you might not be interested in... *wink/hint/nudge* :P I don't know if I'll be doing any mods for a while, since the purchase and registration left my wallet a bit light, but I like to keep my options open!
