BRZ for me...Maybe?

[thill]

The biggest concern for warranty denial would be running a tune. It is really a hit or miss thing but if you start modifying your engine you just need to be prepared to pay out of pocket for a new motor if something were to happen.

[Chad86]

Originally Posted by thill

The biggest concern for warranty denial would be running a tune. It is really a hit or miss thing but if you start modifying your engine you just need to be prepared to pay out of pocket for a new motor if something were to happen.

In a worst case scenario of blowing up your engine, how much would a replacement motor cost?

[Mag]

I am not worried about a tune screwing up my engine I don't think I have ever even driven a car that didnt have an aftermarket dyno tune lol.

Could you not just flash it back to stock before you roll back to dealer? Alot of the programmers seem to do that.

[strat61caster]

I really think you will be unsatisfied at the end of the day, buying this car and trying to make it as fast as cars that start out >$40k is not going to satisfy most people. I honestly think that if you cannot enjoy a Miata you will end up unsatisfied with the Toyobaru (worth mentioning you can't bank on great resale value, it's average at best, you'll be out several thousands of dollars if you end up selling it). If you can enjoy the car for what it is, it's sublime, there are no true alternatives on the market imo, best of luck.

Relevant post:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=25

[Mag]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

I really think you will be unsatisfied at the end of the day, buying this car and trying to make it as fast as cars that start out >$40k is not going to satisfy most people. I honestly think that if you cannot enjoy a Miata you will end up unsatisfied with the Toyobaru (worth mentioning you can't bank on great resale value, it's average at best, you'll be out several thousands of dollars if you end up selling it). If you can enjoy the car for what it is, it's sublime, there are no true alternatives on the market imo, best of luck.

Relevant post:
http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showp...1&postcount=25

Like I said I am going to keep my Camaro for crazy hp weekend cruises and DD the BRZ. I just wanna do some mods to it to make it mine not going to try and make it a full track car like my SS. The last thing I wanna turn it into is some crazy unusable car. I already have one of them and its why I am in the market for something like the BRZ.

That guys post is also all over the place.

I am reading of bad depreciation? I could barely find any on Ebay for sale at all. They seem to be pretty popular.

Saw a thread about a slight oil leak some of them develop but imagine that would be covered under warranty?

Also is the car mostly sheet steel? Or is there some aluminum on it? I am amazed its so light.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Mag

That guys post is also all over the place.

I am reading of bad depreciation? I could barely find any on Ebay for sale at all. They seem to be pretty popular.

Saw a thread about a slight oil leak some of them develop but imagine that would be covered under warranty?

Also is the car mostly sheet steel? Or is there some aluminum on it? I am amazed its so light.

He tried to make a BRZ fast as a Porsche, bought a Porsche and regretted time and money spent on modding a BRZ to be what he wanted.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=69
Stock FR-S/BRZ with reasonable miles on it (10k-30k) would be lucky to get $20k, that's a $5k loss over ~2 years, dealerships are offering around $16k for trade in, nearly a $10k loss with the car not even out for 3 years. It's better than most European automakers but nothing like your typical Toyota.

Yes warranty, even so, it's a leak, crack it open and seal it up, not rocket science. It's been really reliable.

Aluminum hood (pop the hood it's incredibly light, carbon fiber would be for show only, most aftermarket is heavier than oem) the rest of the car is steel, which imo is good the chassis is very well sorted, stiff, and economical. Aluminum is still tricky as a chassis material due to the harsh stress cycle that a consumer vehicle must endure and aluminum has a fatigue limit whereas steel can be designed to theoretically last forever, an aluminum chassis would have driven up the price a lot for maybe a handful of lbs. saved, the weight savings is in the lack of sound deadening, bare essential cabin ammenities and designing for a single purpose instead of sharing a platform with family sedans and hybrids and station wagons *cough cough GM*

http://www.media.subaru.com/newsrele...id=190&mid=127

[Mag]

Thanks for the great answers Strat

Do you guys on the forums feel that the Tranny Issues, Idle Issues, Oil Leaks, axle weakness are isolated cases as seems to happen on forums where everyone comes for fixes or are these weak spots that really need to be addressed on a major refresh of the vehicle.

Toyota and Sub are usually pretty bulletproof my family has owned many (LandCruiser Tundras Avalons etc) over the years with no problems but reading some of these threads is a little disheartening as it seems there are some real issues.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Mag

I am not worried about a tune screwing up my engine I don't think I have ever even driven a car that didnt have an aftermarket dyno tune lol.

Could you not just flash it back to stock before you roll back to dealer? Alot of the programmers seem to do that.

You can flash it back to stock but it resets the ECU counter and Subaru Of America (SoA) who has to authorize engine work/replacement can tell the ECU has been reset and by how many miles.

So if you blew your motor, flashed back to stock, then brought it into the dealer that could tell the ECU was recently reset. This is where it is hit or miss. There are situations where SoA has denied warranties claims for this due to suspicion of abuse, but it is hit or miss.

You just have to be prepared to pay out of pocket for worst case. Rule of thumb is that if you cannot afford to throw your warranty away and pay for repairs yourself, you should limit what mods you do to your car.

Subaru really does not seem to care about modded exhausts, suspension, etc, but if you start modifying the engine, it can be hit or miss with warranty work.

[thill]

Originally Posted by Chad86

In a worst case scenario of blowing up your engine, how much would a replacement motor cost?

Depends on if you get a new motor, used, and what labor rate you pay (dealer for example will cost more). I would say anywhere form $3-8K depending on used vs new and you installing it vs a dealer/pro shop. Labor rates can really vary even by region.

[Mag]

Originally Posted by thill

You can flash it back to stock but it resets the ECU counter and Subaru Of America (SoA) who has to authorize engine work/replacement can tell the ECU has been reset and by how many miles.

So if you blew your motor, flashed back to stock, then brought it into the dealer that could tell the ECU was recently reset. This is where it is hit or miss. There are situations where SoA has denied warranties claims for this due to suspicion of abuse, but it is hit or miss.

You just have to be prepared to pay out of pocket for worst case. Rule of thumb is that if you cannot afford to throw your warranty away and pay for repairs yourself, you should limit what mods you do to your car.

Subaru really does not seem to care about modded exhausts, suspension, etc, but if you start modifying the engine, it can be hit or miss with warranty work.

Thanks for the info. Ya I wouldn't try anything shifty like that I mean like Oil leak happens and I take to dealer and they won't fix cause I have an exhaust and tune would be really lame. I guess it depends on dealer alot I have no experience with my local Subaru dealer either so its a wonder.

Never had a new car so sorry if these are dumb questions.

Also my couple above still stand for whoever wants to chime in. Thanks again for all the help thus far.

[strat61caster]

@Mag I feel that the problems are mostly minorities, like you said people come on the forums to find solutions.

It really depends on your usage of the car, if you lower it an inch add power and beat the hell out of it, budget for axles, it's that simple. Tranny is hit or miss depending on quality control and it is not a smooth gearbox imo, just the way it is, notchy and mechanical.

After two years and 34,000 miles I had my first issue, a check engine light on the track that cleared itself after turning the car off and on a few times, I'll scan it tomorrow and see if it's worth making a fuss over.

[Mag]

Hey strat getting closer to pulling the trigger. Now I just saw all the CEL cam problems . Haha have wanted one of these cars so long but seems there are some quibbles. I would want to keep it for awhile I don't wanna dump it after warranty runs out. ugg. More research to be done.

[Speed2th]

Simple. Every cars all carry right risks of issue or defective. There is no car forums that you see no one post in the "issue, warranty" section. If you drive it like a race car or mod it, you will have increase of risks. It doesn't matter what brand or cars. I had own 20cars in the past and so far i am very happy with the quality ( still cannot touch Lexus however)

[funwheeldrive]

EDIT: basically what he said ^^^

Originally Posted by Mag

Hey strat getting closer to pulling the trigger. Now I just saw all the CEL cam problems . Haha have wanted one of these cars so long but seems there are some quibbles. I would want to keep it for awhile I don't wanna dump it after warranty runs out. ugg. More research to be done.

There is no perfect car when it comes to reliability. Go search the forums for any other kind of car and you will plenty of quircks and issues.