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

[themadscientist]

This will be my first and only brand new car. I had thought the time for a new car had passed. When I could finally afford it, there seemed to be nothing out there that would please me, but then I wandered into a Subaru dealer and met the BRZ. Over the next month I studied the car, read reviews and finally took a rental out for a wild afternoon. The decision was easy.

Will I ever buy a new car again, probably not. The paradigms of new cars is and continues to move more towards something I wouldn't spend a dime on and I don't foresee having the cash to buy anything new in the future.

[berkbrzfan]

When I was shopping for a BRZ in May this year, the difference between a used 2013 and a new 2014 was about $1300. And the APR on a used one was slightly higher. The price difference was not good enough to justify buying the previous year model.

Six months later the used 2013 prices have come down by around $2000, more so because of the winter. If I was buying now, maybe I would have bought used as the savings would have been substantial.

[Tcoat]

Would I buy a used car?
Well that depends:
Used Camry, Corolla, Focus SE, any SUV? Sure, without a moment of hesitation.
Used WRX, Evo, Mustang GT, FRS/BRZ, any performance car? Not a hope in hell!

[x1UP]

Probably going to buy one more new car in my lifetime. When I get married, probably another brand new family car. Other than that, that's it!

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by x1UP

Probably going to buy one more new car in my lifetime. When I get married, probably another brand new family car. Other than that, that's it!

AHHHH come on you guys the handful of us that still buy new can't get enough of them to fill all of your used needs!

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Would I buy a used car?
Well that depends:
Used Camry, Corolla, Focus SE, any SUV? Sure, without a moment of hesitation.
Used WRX, Evo, Mustang GT, FRS/BRZ, any performance car? Not a hope in hell!

I dunno, around here you see all kinds of nice sports cars being driven by 90 year old grandpas going 40mph in the fast lane.

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I dunno, around here you see all kinds of nice sports cars being driven by 90 year old grandpas going 40mph in the fast lane.

Those are the ones I will be looking to buy

[Ultramaroon]

My 2013 with 1800 miles was the newest used car I've ever purchased and the first one from a dealer. Saved for a long time for it. Never had a car loan. I still don't think I'll ever buy a new car.

...and rescue pets need love too.

[Ashybone]

Definitely have to rescue some poor mistreated cars.

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by dreamingat30fps

I dunno, around here you see all kinds of nice sports cars being driven by 90 year old grandpas going 40mph in the fast lane.

Hey, that will probably be all of us on here at some point, so when you pass them give 'em a thumbs up and head nod out of respect!

I know my plan is to sneak out of the old folks home my sons but me in, hot wire the first fast car I see and "escape" on regular basis. Anyone gonna join me?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by Dadhawk

Hey, that will probably be all of us on here at some point, so when you pass them give 'em a thumbs up and head nod out of respect!

I know my plan is to sneak out of the old folks home my sons but me in, hot wire the first fast car I see and "escape" on regular basis. Anyone gonna join me?

I am there with ya!

[paulca]

It was my first new car. No I don't think I will buy new again. I don't think I will ever buy this expensive again. It just takes away from it because of the stress of the value in the thing. The roads here are just too congested with idiots, old age pensioners and people who can't drive safely.

I had an accident a few months back, not my fault, nothing I could do and I only hit the other person at sub 20mph speeds, so no airbags, no injuries, just car damage. I expect the bill will come in at around £3500/$6000. If I had of had a cheap car I might not even have claimed on the insurance, heck my last car I would have just driven it to the scrapper and bought another one the next day it was only worth $800.

I might go a little more expensive than $800, but not new again. It's too hard to walk away from financially. You can get many a nice sporty car of 5-7 years old for sub £5000 / $8000 over here.

I've also been lucky with reliability and teething troubles, many aren't. A friend of mine who delivers new cars for a living told me never to buy the brand new ones because he estimates for every 3 cars he delivers to the dealerships 1 goes back to the factory as "unfit" or "rejected by customer or dealer". He reckons you should stick to nearly new or 3 year old post lease to buy cars where all the bugs and warranty claims have worked themselves out.

[RickyBobby]

Will never buy a new car again, but the only used cars I will purchase are low mileage certified pre-owned from a dealer.
I purchased my 2013 FR-S from a Scion dealer in January for $19K + tax and registration. It was mint with only 4.5K miles on it. Saved thousands.

We negotiated back and forth for a week on the dealer doc fee. In TN the average is now up to $600. on new and used cars. This is a pure profit bs fee and I refused to pay it. Dealer gave me some bs about if he didn't charge me the fee it would leave him open to a class action law suit. The fee in TN is not regulated and not required by law.

We settled on him adding the fee and then taking it off of the final negotiated price, so it appeared that he charged me the fee but did not.

Here's an old, 2011, list of dealer doc fees. They are higher now. Some states, like NY and CA, have placed caps on them. CA has since raised the cap to $80. All states should place low caps on them.
http://www.realcartips.com/newcars/4...by-state.shtml

[NOHOME]

Originally Posted by hmong337

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?

Not sure where you get the $14,900 resale. I looked a the Toronto Autotrader and found 48 examples for sale. Cheapest was right at $20,000 for a 2013.

Remember, the price of the car was NOT, the Government and the dealer added $5000 to the $27,000 price of the car. So really, in three years the worst case scenario is $2,300/year loss in value.

My amortization figures out-the door cost on a cash sale depreciated to zero over ten years. so, I am happy with $3,200 per year cost to own.

If you MUST drive for free, there is only one way that I am aware. Buy a well restored classic car of your choice, drive and maintain it meticulously and sell it for what you pain at the end of the five years, or in-between if someone wants it more than you do.