Dilemma BRZ vs FRS

[Burrcold]

Originally Posted by Gost

I love how the thread turned into a financial debate. (seriously, not being sarcastic)
The money isn't the problem for me. I'm actually deciding to go with the scion for personal (which most would probably find to be stupid) reasons. And after sitting in both cars a few more times, looking at pictures and videos, I'm starting to feel more for the scion over the subaru. (for reasons that only my own insanity would understand). I know I won't have regrets with the car and that is the most important thing.

But getting down to business, I am definitely looking to see what the best possible deal I can get is. Unfortunately in this cruel world, it's all about connections and getting deals. I could care less what their pure pricing says. I am sure someone is looking to make a sale, and will be able to hook up something.

As I said before, either choice is a great choice! Good luck!

[Razz]

I would get the BRZ that you want and then dearch for an aftermarket radio you like.

Then tell them you want the BRZ but you want the Bespoke and NAvigation removed for credit and for them to install the radio you like.

Now you have everything.

[jmaryt]

Originally Posted by The359

Well your interest rate would be atrocious if you bought cars in the past with cash and had no real credit rating.

Then again, financing a car would establish a good credit rating. It's a necessary evil. The only "stupid" thing is people who buy beyond their means simply because a bank is gullible enough to give them a loan.

The point is, if he has the money to spend on a BRZ, he should buy a BRZ, because it's what he want. I doubt a turbo is going to sway him from what he wants. Not everyone is after horsepower.

Originally Posted by Burrcold

It all depends on the type of car (or manufacturer) of course, and the country. In the US they have more access to different means of financing that we don't have here in Canada (all we really have are banks, in-house financing, or 3rd party). Also, anyone who falls for the $1.5k off with cash purchase is just dumb. You walk in and negociate the price first. Once that is ironed out, then talk financing. Again, this is not the best case scenario if we are talking about Canada, but in the US they do have that ability.

Case in point, I talked my way down $3k off MSRP when I bought my Genesis Coupe...they told me at that kind of discount, they couldn't give me 0% financing which they were touting at the time. I walked away. Next day I got a call and all was good...$3k off MSRP, and 0% financing over 6 years. There would have been ZERO incentive for me to pay cash for that car even if I did have it available (which I did). So instead, a portion of that money went in to GIC's and a few other investments I had going at the time. I made enough money to even compensate for some of the depreciation when it came time to sell. All in all, this scenario would not have been possible if I had paid cash. I would have had to pull my money out to buy something else, and take a bigger hit on depreciation since my money wasn't working for me.

understood,however,you are still stuck with "payments" no matter what,and for a long time too! you have to consider that over time! generally,if you are trying to adhere to a working budget,you MUST have enough cash from month to month to make this work,REGARDLESS of interest rate. it's all i'm saying! it's the monthly commitment to money over time that can be a genuine hassle. naturally this argument assumes one has the cash to buy the car,but is concerned about what's up ahead financially. who can honestly predict the future? especially in this economical climate?

[Saab2Frs]

I went with the FRS for several reasons. I've driven cars with all the bells and whistles and, honestly, it's nice to have a car where I don't have to worry about sensitive shit breaking all the time. Not that the BRZ has a ton of over the top features, but still. I would have liked to have seen more options on the FRS. I do want foglights, I do want LEDs and Xenons, but that could be future upgrades. I wasn't willing to sink an extra 3-4k on a car whose overall looks I wasn't sure of. The FRS does have a prettier front end than the BRZ.

For me, it came down to how I felt at the dealership. I told the Subaru place I wanted to sell my car or trade it in. They didn't even ask to look at it. I asked for a test drive. They told me "not unless you have put a deposit down." I went to Toyota. The salesman let me test drive an auto (they only had autos) and said "How can you decide whether you want the car or not without a test drive?" That same night the sales manager began looking for a Hot Lava edition, found one in a week and then it arrived sooner than expect. They were willing to pay off the lien on my car, but I ended up selling it. The deal went smooth.

[SPEEDGOD]

It's not worth the price for the BRZ. Anyone who follows the car knows they owe it to the sports 800, Toyota 2000GT and AE86. Get the original, get the FR-S/GT86. Plus Toyota has a stronger brand (top 10 of 100) in the world.

Yes the BRZ has a nicer interior dash (just the toggle switches and start button). That's not worth the extra $4K.

Start button: $250
Toggle switches: JDM
Spoiler: $500 (doesn't look too nice get the lip)
Muffler tip: $166-190 on eBay
Nav: $1000
Silver panel (above glovebox): doesn't make sense, ugly (did a test, asked 20 people at work, they all agree: I work at a design firm)

= $2000 (rounded)

Spend the extra money to make the interior even better with leather armrest,(back and front) leather speaker cover etc, and Toyota badges



Sent from my iPhone (switching to android soon)

[Brzetto]

Since I'm not a math whiz I will throw in tidbit that will more than likely get flamed by fatoni lol. If you own a BRZ then your car probably won't depreciate by much, mostly because it's rare/highly sought after but the fact that it's well built doesn't hurt at all. It has all the earmarks that make a car a good investment, good mpg, 5 star crash rating, above average built quality and its rare.

[dori.]

Originally Posted by SPEEDGOD

It's not worth the price for the BRZ. Anyone who follows the car knows they owe it to the sports 800, Toyota 2000GT and AE86. Get the original, get the FR-S/GT86. Plus Toyota has a stronger brand (top 10 of 100) in the world.

Yes the BRZ has a nicer interior dash (just the toggle switches and start button). That's not worth the extra $4K.

Start button: $250
Toggle switches: JDM
Spoiler: $500 (doesn't look too nice get the lip)
Muffler tip: $166-190 on eBay
Nav: $1000
Silver panel (above glovebox): doesn't make sense, ugly (did a test, asked 20 people at work, they all agree: I work at a design firm)

= $2000 (rounded)

Spend the extra money to make the interior even better with leather armrest,(back and front) leather speaker cover etc, and Toyota badges



Sent from my iPhone (switching to android soon)

some people don't want to spend money right away to change their car

and anyway, you're mad if you think the price difference between the FR-S and BRZ L is 4k. It's almost exactly 2k, which kind of defeats your argument

[Brzetto]

Originally Posted by SPEEDGOD

It's not worth the price for the BRZ. Anyone who follows the car knows they owe it to the sports 800, Toyota 2000GT and AE86. Get the original, get the FR-S/GT86. Plus Toyota has a stronger brand (top 10 of 100) in the world.

Yes the BRZ has a nicer interior dash (just the toggle switches and start button). That's not worth the extra $4K.

Start button: $250
Toggle switches: JDM
Spoiler: $500 (doesn't look too nice get the lip)
Muffler tip: $166-190 on eBay
Nav: $1000
Silver panel (above glovebox): doesn't make sense, ugly (did a test, asked 20 people at work, they all agree: I work at a design firm)

= $2000 (rounded)

Spend the extra money to make the interior even better with leather armrest,(back and front) leather speaker cover etc, and Toyota badges



Sent from my iPhone (switching to android soon)

Do you own an FRS?

[JDKane527]

I wanted to get a BRZ when I was looking, but all the dealerships near me had ridiculous markups or it would take 3-4 months to get. At the time, my last car was totaled when a woman in a truck ran a red light and t-boned me, so I couldn't wait to get into a BRZ and got the FRS instead. I've been pleased with it.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2

[Clembo]

Personally it was my previous dealings with my Toyota dealer that helped me chose. They have always treated me well and I know everyone at the dealership which is close to my house. I've never dealt with Subaru before.

Paid cash and they threw in lots of additional stuff for free - trunk mat, extra oil changes, mud guards and a hat. As far as finance went, I got about $2K more for my ten year trade-in than it was worth, even in a private sale. That saved another $130 in state tax as well. Cash is king - yes they make money on financing but cash pays their bills that same day.

Plus they had to go to New York (100 miles away) to get exactly what I wanted and they did it in one day. Can't get much better service than that!

[Burrcold]

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Check with your insurance company first, because in my case a Limited BRZ ended costing less (full ownership cost) monthly than the FRS. So anyone trying to compare price should do a little more homework first, and find out what the total cost is going to be.

That being said, if you just like the FRS better regardless of money, there is no argument to be had. Get the FRS.

[whaap]

Like most of us here I too had to decide between the two of them. I was hot for the BRZ Limited because I much prefer a leather interior. What turned me off was the spoiler being part of the Limited package. I don't like things I consider useless bangles and that's what I think of the spoiler. I also preferred the front face of the FR-S over the BRZ and finally considering the price difference I went with the FR-S which I truly love. I figured if I still wanted leather I could always buy a set of Katzkins. Since owning the FR-S I've decided that leather isn't that important to me after all. On top of that I appreciate the extra change it left in my pocket.

[Sport-Tech]

^ My initial reaction to the spoiler was negative as well but after seeing it on a few BRZs at shows I'm more neutral on it, and sometimes an FR-S now looks like it's missing something at the back without it.

PS it's not totally useless, it does bring the CD down by .01.

I also found the mouthguard on the BRZ's front fascia was far less an issue IRL than in photos, especially with a plate mounted (unfortunately required here). Certainly the BRZ front lights are a big step up from the chromies on the FR-S.

[Sport-Tech]

Originally Posted by Burrcold

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Check with your insurance company first, because in my case a Limited BRZ ended costing less (full ownership cost) monthly than the FRS. So anyone trying to compare price should do a little more homework first, and find out what the total cost is going to be.

Interesting - I suspected that might be the case. And that gap is probably going to get wider as the younger (on average) FR-S drivers will get into proportionately more accidents, driving their rates up further.