Thinking about buying a used FR-S (or BRZ)

[Lysdexia]

I'm planning on buying an FR-S or BRZ. My plan is to get the car, spend some time learning how it drives, and then to spend some more time (and money) modding it to be a capable occasional track car (suspension, breaks, wheels, tires). Ultimately, I plan to do an LS swap.

My question is this: Given this plan, should I be concerned with buying an older (say 2013) model that has mileage around 60K? It seems that I can pick up a car with about 30K miles for approximately $17k, and one with about 60K for approximately $14k.

Obviously the extra $3k I save would go nicely towards some modifications. But am I making a mistake buy trying to save $3k on a car that I will ultimately spend a lot more money on (for the LS swap)?

Any feedback or thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Lysdexia

I'm planning on buying an FR-S or BRZ. My plan is to get the car, spend some time learning how it drives, and then to spend some more time (and money) modding it to be a capable occasional track car (suspension, breaks, wheels, tires). Ultimately, I plan to do an LS swap.

My question is this: Given this plan, should I be concerned with buying an older (say 2013) model that has mileage around 60K? It seems that I can pick up a car with about 30K miles for approximately $17k, and one with about 60K for approximately $14k.

Obviously the extra $3k I save would go nicely towards some modifications. But am I making a mistake buy trying to save $3k on a car that I will ultimately spend a lot more money on (for the LS swap)?

Any feedback or thoughts are greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Hello Lysdexia and welcome to the forum .......

I don't think the mileage matters as much as how the car was cared for.

I'd suggest you pick one that hasn't been messed with and has the transmission you prefer and the color you like.

You may find that with some good tires and a modified exhaust, that the car is enough fun and you won't need an engine swap.


humfrz

[Lysdexia]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Hello Lysdexia and welcome to the forum .......

I don't think the mileage matters as much as how the car was cared for.

I'd suggest you pick one that hasn't been messed with and has the transmission you prefer and the color you like.

You may find that with some good tires and a modified exhaust, that the car is enough fun and you won't need an engine swap.


humfrz

Thanks, that's good advice, and the welcome! I've been lurking for a couple of years, and finally had something to write about.

I definitely want to go with a manual transmission, as that's what I've driven most of my life. I also want to get a bone stock car. That's also a good call out about how it has been cared for mattering a lot.

On the engine swap - you may well be right that once I get the right tires on I might not actually want to change it. I used to drive a Honda CRX some years back, and that was absolutely insanely fun. One of the reasons I want one of the twins is because I see them as the only current equivalent of the CRX (yes, yes, I know they're quite different).

But that said, the idea of an LS in a twin is just too rad! But time will tell!

[Spuds]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Hello Lysdexia and welcome to the forum .......

I don't think the mileage matters as much as how the car was cared for.

I'd suggest you pick one that hasn't been messed with and has the transmission you prefer and the color you like.

You may find that with some good tires and a modified exhaust, that the car is enough fun and you won't need an engine swap.


humfrz

Agree completely with the above. 60k miles is nothing for a modern car if it was cared for properly. Though keep in mind that's when the spark plugs are due for replacement as I recall. And that's a PITA.

[Riftur]

If I was positive I was going to do a swap on the car I would buy the one with the best body and interior. Since you need to change everything else under the hood for the swap to happen. If you still aren't sure then you buy a stock one that has been cared for the best. You can usually made a pretty good educated guess when you look at oil change intervals and how many times its been in the shop for certain issues.

[stevesnj]

I think the 13 has the most issues engine wise than the other years looking at the maintenance forum, maybe a 14+ would be better piece of mind.

[Lysdexia]

Thanks for all the responses, folks. I'll keep this all in mind when I finally make a decision.

Hopefully I can pull the trigger on something in the next month or so!

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Lysdexia

Thanks for all the responses, folks. I'll keep this all in mind when I finally make a decision.

Hopefully I can pull the trigger on something in the next month or so!

Ah ....... springtime driving a twin .......

Before you decide to swap engines, I suggest you take a trip around this loop ..... and see how many other vehicles can keep up with you.

http://cascadeloop.com/


A mustang type car may pass you on a straight stretch ... but, at the end of the day, I'll betcha you pull into the motel first ...


humfrz

[Lysdexia]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Ah ....... springtime driving a twin .......

Before you decide to swap engines, I suggest you take a trip around this loop ..... and see how many other vehicles can keep up with you.

http://cascadeloop.com/


A mustang type car may pass you on a straight stretch ... but, at the end of the day, I'll betcha you pull into the motel first ...


humfrz

Thanks for the pointer! I'm relatively new to Washington (well, almost 3 years in), and haven't had a real drivers car, so I am definitely excited to find some great roads, too.

[humfrz]

Originally Posted by Lysdexia

Thanks for the pointer! I'm relatively new to Washington (well, almost 3 years in), and haven't had a real drivers car, so I am definitely excited to find some great roads, too.

If you make that loop and stop for the night in Leavenworth, make sure you have reservations ...... that whole place fills up fast.

Also, I recommend you stop in Winthrop, which is a neat little cow town.


humfrz

[Sarlacc]

Originally Posted by humfrz

Ah ....... springtime driving a twin .......

Before you decide to swap engines, I suggest you take a trip around this loop ..... and see how many other vehicles can keep up with you.

http://cascadeloop.com/


A mustang type car may pass you on a straight stretch ... but, at the end of the day, I'll betcha you pull into the motel first ...


humfrz

Ooooh yes! That looks just like the routes I like to take here in Norway.

After 4 years of ownership I will not do anything to upset the weight distribution of my car. The center of gravity is exactly where I like it.

[bcj]

My '13 FR-S passed 57k yesterday. Still running quite sweetly.
No warranty issues nor broken shizz.

Took a midweek drive in the nice weather.
SEATAC area to Lewiston ID on Tues. then WA129 south on the Rattlesnake Grade
to Enterprise OR. and back home last night.

I got pictures. Will put up a new drive report in a bit.

Didn't crash.

[HKz]

any teething issues with the early twins should be noticeable during most test drives...but who cares if ultimately you want to do an engine swap anyways..i say go for the cheapest one, beat the shit out of it till it blows then racecar

[D_Thissen]

If you're going to LS swap it, get the cheaper car. If you want to mod the FA20 I would go for the one who has less km, or was a later 2013 car. I think most of the issues were in cars produced in late 2012 and the first half of 2013. If you can find one with a production date of say July 2013 or later, you should be okay.