[Veloist]

You should now be able to order a 2018 BRZ from a Subaru dealership.

You cannot order a tS or 50th Anniversary Edition.

Yesterday BRZ tS’s and 50th Anniversary Edition units appeared on the 1st Allocation for 2018. This was to let dealerships know which color/how many they were getting so that they can clarify with their customers. The amount of units and color (for the tS) are pre-determined.

50th Anniversary BRZ is reported to be painted in “Heritage Blue.”

The tS and 50th Anniversary are due to be available in April.

Q. How do I get a BRZ tS/50th Anniversary BRZ?

Your only choice (until there are pre-owned models) is to buy one from a Subaru Retailer. However, being that this is a Special/Limited Edition car it is not going to be as simple as it sounds. Take a look below to see how a dealership gets their hands on a BRZ tS/50th Anniversary BRZ to sell to a potential buyer.

Q. How does a dealership get a BRZ tS/50th Anniversary BRZ in their inventory?

Without going into too much detail, a dealership will be “offered” a BRZ tS from Subaru. However, a dealership must earn this “offer.” A dealership will earn that offer based on their BRZ sales. The market affects this, so states with little demand for the BRZ will see less dealerships with BRZ tS and vice versa.

Example: If Market A sells more BRZ’s than Market B, then Market A will earn 7 BRZ tS units, and Market B will earn 3 units.

Dealership A and Dealership B are in Market A. Dealership A sold significantly more BRZ’s than dealership B. Therefore Dealership A will be offered 5 BRZ tS’s while Dealership B will be offered 2 BRZ tS’s. Market A’s BRZ tS distribution has now been fulfilled.

Q. So are you saying that a dealership cannot order a BRZ tS/50th Anniversary BRZ?

Yes, unfortunately a dealership cannot order a BRZ tS—that is directly from Subaru. However, once the dealership has received the BRZ tS offer, they can accept to order the car or decline the offer. The color and obviously the trim (tS) are already pre-determined.

Q: My Dealership is telling me they are getting a Specific BRZ tS. How do I know that’s true?

Every new car has VON (Vehicle Order Number) which is different from the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number). SOA can look up VONs and tell you information regarding that unit. Model Year, Model, Model Trim, Color, Accessories, and transit status are all information that can be found with a VON.

Q. So how do I put my name on a BRZ tS/50th Anniversary BRZ before it is delivered to the dealership?

First, get ready to search around. Some people will be lucky enough that their local dealership gets a tS AND in the color they want. If not, you’ll have to do a tiny bit of work. The dealership’s cooperation and participation will heavily decide if you’re able to put your name on a car before it arrives.

There are two things a dealership can do. The first one is to upgrade the car to a “Sold Order.” Normally, “Sold Orders” are cars that were built from the ground up by a customer—they chose the trim, options, colors, and accessories. However, if it is early enough in the timeline it takes for a car to be built and delivered to a dealer, any car can be upgraded to Sold Order.

Sold Orders allow a customer to change the accessories and also to take non-contract ownership of the dealership’s order for this Vehicle. It doesn’t mean you own the car, but the order is under your name, and Subaru gets notified of that. Sold Orders generally mean you have nearly total commitment to purchase the car when the dealership gets it.

The second thing a dealership can do is “Reserve” the car under your name. When this happens, you as the potential buyer are interested in buying the car without any changes to the accessories on the car. You will essentially be notified as soon as this car is delivered to the dealership.

Both Sold Order cars and Reserved cars will be removed from the dealership’s website when they attain that status.

Some dealerships may require a deposit. Some dealers/states will allow you to purchase the car with cash while it is still in-transit.

Dealership participation in sold order/reservations may vary.

Q: What if I didn’t participate in a Sold Order/Reservation process?

Then you will have to wait for the BRZ tS to hit dealership lots, and you will have to search around your area, visit multiple dealership websites, and view their inventory too see if they have the one you want.

Q: Is there somebody on this forum who can save me the hassle and just do a nationwide search to help me locate the nearest BRZ tS/50th Anniversary BRZ to me?

When it's closer to the release date (late Feb-Mid March) the retailer network will be populated with all the available tS VINs. The purpose of this is basically for dealer trades. I might know a guy, who knows a guy, who knows a guy who can do this. PM me