Calling Captain Hindsight: Regrets/Satisfactions With Your Purchase

[ahquit]

The touchscreen stereo (this is my first experience with them). I hate having to take my eyes off the road to use it. But then again the base stereo is just so damn ugly.

Also, I wouldn't call it a regret but getting the car in whiteout now makes me second guess purchasing anything that is supposed to be paint matched to the body colour. Don't get me wrong, I love the look of whiteout but it is so difficult to match that I'm scared future things won't match (including scratch repairs). I did get the CARSMO rear spoiler pre painted and it's nearly a perfect match, but I trusted Ray because he kept us updated on how difficult it was to match and how many trials they went through to get it almost perfect.

But overall I'm very happy with everything so far!

[OrbitalEllipses]

I will say if you're an informed buyer - meaning you want this car, did the research, it fits your lifestyle, the interior pleases you, and won't be reselling it a few months because it doesn't have enough power - that this car is great. What can really make or break it is the buying experience. Make sure you know who you're buying the car from and what kind of people they are.

[alrashwa]

From my own experience and what I've seen on the Problems section of the forum, make sure it's been manufactured after Sept. 2012 to avoid the camsgear issues, but I think they are flashing ECU's to prevent this code from appearing now.

Also, there's no avoiding the crickets. There are no changes to the fuel pump, even the ones being used per the TSB. A lot of owners here are probably ignoring the cricket, lucked out on fuel type in their local area, or just don't care.

So my personal experiences kinda fall under the regrets category. When I bought mine there wasn't a lot of data or feedback. Everything about this car was "OMG the coming of RWD Jesus" so I was pretty excited.

If you made it this far, and you have a car, do yourself a favor and wait for 2014. Look at how people treat the early models of 350z and RX-8... Anyone with access to google will know that the 2013 models had some issues, even if it's only 1% of total sales, it's bad news when it comes time to sell.

I'm currently waiting for my offer from Toyota after pursuing my state's Lemon Law for my FRS. My example is extreme, but I'm just giving out my heavily biased 2 cents.

[Purdue FR-S]

Yeah, there is some concern about driving it in the snow ... I suppose winter tires are a must else I should find a winter beater.

This is why I was starting to lean more toward a FF layout. I'm also going to be working for Ford of all places .... so I might get keyed in the parking lot driving a foreign car to work lol. The ST wasn't a bad car, it didn't feel like it had all that much more power though... I expected a bit more "Ooomf!" for 60 more horses.

The civic si is probably my next favorite. Simply by how well built and solid it felt to drive.... you can tell this has been Honda's game for a long time by the way it shifts so smoothly.

I have stopped test driving at this point though, I'm not sure I'll find something in my price range that's as crisp and sharp as the FR-S. Though I am interested in the GTi, as well as the Speed3.

Sidenote, I've wanted a WRX since I was a kid and watched the commercials (of the early 2000 ones ... with the awesome bug-eye headlights). However, I'm not a fan of the most recent iteration, and I'd of course have to get the Sti which adds another 10 grand to the equation.

I can't really consider older stuff because I have very little credit, and I don't want a crazy rate. I currently drive a POS. We'll leave it at that lol.

[Saab2Frs]

Originally Posted by Frostyman

I will be the first to express my regrets.

The dealership I purchased from marked my vehicle up, and added some ugly as sin pinstripes. They also installed the license plate bracket.

Let me say that when I finally got around to taking off the pinstripes I was less than pleased to discover my paint had been cut when they cut the pinstriping tape ON THE CAR.

Also, they used screws that were too long to install the front plate, and tore up my paint on the bumper behind the bracket.

So, no regrets at ALL with the car itself, but do yourself a favor, and don't become impatient, make sure you look the car over from head to tail, and be picky as crap. If they drilled the bumper, don't buy it. If they added stuff to the car, at your cost, don't buy it. If it's not everything you want it to be, don't buy it.

Regarding your actual questions, don't pay for the dealership to add ANYTHING, other than radio or that exhaust. No paint films, no paint protection, no interior spray protectant sealer that will protect your carpet from nuclear bombs. It's all junk, and you pay more than you should.

Once you have your car, find an Opti-coat / Optiguard dealer, and get your car professionally coated.
The Toyota stuff sucks, I know because I figure'd I'd try it out, and it lasted all of two car washes before I'm seeing it worn off in places on my car.

My pain, your gain buddy!

My car had that plate bolted onto the bumper also. I was pissed when I realize that there were 4 screws in the bumper! The problem was they ordered mine from another dealership because they only had automatics at theirs.

My one regret was never getting to test drive the BRZ. The dealership wouldn't let me without a deposit! I got back and forth with the looks on these cars. Sometimes I like the BRZ more, sometimes the FR-S, but overall I am very happy with the car and look to add minor upgrades over the next few years and then a tune after the warranty is up.

[EK_Golfer]

No regrets. My car does have the tail light condensation issue but I hear dealerships will fix it. Just make sure you're not paying more than MSRP.

[Subie]

My only wish is that I had been willing and able to wait to get a later-production vehicle. The majority of the problems I've had with my car were all addressed in TSBs, and have since been fixed in the cars now rolling off the assembly line. If I had to buy a BRZ again today I would not hesitate to do so, and the same of course would hold true for the FR-S if that had been the car I was interested in.

[kthxbai]

I've had my Whiteout M/T for about 5 weeks. It came equipped with the following:

-Bespoke; paint protection film on door cups/door edge/rear bumper guard; window tint on side, rear, and the top portion of the front windshield; trunk mat

I do not regret getting any of these options as I made a list up of items that I was willing to consider if it was already on the car. I have found most of these accessories useful, but that doesn't mean I feel they were worth the $$.

Now, if you were to ask me of all those items listed if I had the choice to have removed if given the choice, I would have chosen the following:

-Bespoke, trunk mat, and paint protection film from the door edges (I don't feel these are really worth getting in the long run)

What my fiance and I regret most is letting our guard down and allowing the finance officer to work in extra warranties at "no extra cost to our monthly payment" by offsetting it with a lower APR. After we ate dinner and brought the car home we looked at the paperwork again and just couldn't believe we had let the finance manager pull that on us. He wasn't trying to cheat us but we didn't exactly fight hard enough for a lower APR knowing we both have 'excellent' credit.

Make sure you EAT something before you go to sign paperwork for your car. We were so hungry by the time we got to finance that I think it was a huge distraction to us when it came time to making decisions on things that we did not need.

[Purdue FR-S]

As far as maintenance plans and so forth go, is the standard plan sufficient?

Sounded like 2 years of maintenance plus 5year 60k on powertrain were enough to make me happy.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Purdue FR-S

Though I am interested in the GTi, as well as the Speed3.

Add Fiat Abarth and the Mini Cooper to your hot hatch list, if I didn't buy an FRS I would have bought the Fiat. If you have your reasons that's fine but just offering advice, can't really add anything else to what everyone has said, sunny California means I won't be worrying about snow anytime soon.

[jarviz]

No regrets whatsoever, love this car. the only problem is the HPFP but I can never hear it anyway 'cause my engine is always above 4k rpm and at idle my radio is blasting anyways

[mangostick]

2500 mi, no regrets what so ever. Thought I might have some coming out of a stageII '10 wrx hatch. This car has a tenth of the cargo room and literally half the torque... but I really haven't noticed those differences. At least, they've not become issues.

I love this little gocart of a car. Its cheaper for me to run and own, insurance cost was about same.. If anything it gives me an excuse to find a $500 beater truck for home depot runs n dragging my bicycle around :p

[dnL]

I'm glad I got the carpeted trunk mat. It's thick so it provides a lot of friction for the stuff in my trunk.