Things to look for in a used FR-S

[504]

I wouldn't stress about a "proper" break in as they are thrashed at factory and during shipment, however i would worry about it being driven hard without proper warmup which for 99% of that 3000miles probably was the case. It takes about 5 miles of conservative driving to warm the oil up to operating temp (the temperature gauge near the tach is coolant which warms up in a couple of minutes,its not indicative of a warmed up engine), 90% of wear occurs in those 5 miles of driving. It is an auto though so theres no worries for gear grinding or clutch molestation and it is less likely that its driven as hard as a manual test car.

[Leonardo]

I always tell people to buy cars in the color they want. Paint is expensive, and will negate any deal you get on the car. My $0.02

[cdemaar]

Originally Posted by Steve201brz

Nothing you can really do about the chirping (crickets), good chance you'd get that anyway on a new one.

3k miles is a lot for a test car. They most likely didn't put 93 in it either

Why would you say some ignorant shit like that? I work for a dealer and I can tell you we KNOW to put 93 in the car....all your doing is speculating over the internet and causing doubt for someone who might very well be an 86 owner soon. So cool it wiz.

That being said, us "dealers" also rarely dog the cars. I'll admit we had fun when they first came out, but to us employees now....they are just a new car on the lot waiting to be sold. We move them, test drive them, park them and repeat. They are simply just a car, nothing special to most employees.

I personally dogged mine a few times with only 10- 15 miles on it. Over a year later the only thing to report is the chirp I think everyone has. I even drive an automatic as my daily driver through the dealership and my 6speed on the weekends. I can tell you that even my demo (automatic) from 2 miles on, the car hasn't been ripped on. At my store I'm the scion rep, and we tell our employees that when they take customers on test drives be mindful of the 4k rpm break in period. We tell the customer behind the wheel that if they drive over that mark, they void the warranty for whomever does by the car. That keeps them scared of ripping on the FRS.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by cdemaar

Why would you say some ignorant shit like that? I work for a dealer and I can tell you we KNOW to put 93 in the car....all your doing is speculating over the internet and causing doubt for someone who might very well be an 86 owner soon. So cool it wiz.

There are exceptions, anecdotally I don't trust dealers for shit.

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49229

http://www.ft86club.com/forums/showthread.php?t=49802

Those two threads are mighty scary when it comes to trusting dealers. Not sure as to their truthfulness but touting how honorable ALL dealerships are is a recipe for trouble.

[jblmr2]

If they are offering you a 100K warranty, that's almost 3 times as long as the factory warranty. I'd look in to the details of the warranty then make my decision. With the minimal number of miles on the car it's doubtful that any significant damage has been done. Just make sure the warranty is going to cover those things that are really important...drive train, etc.

[R.S-HawK]

Originally Posted by the new guy

24k and it comes with custom leather seats, upgraded audio with a new pioneer dash + rear cam and a TRD cold air intake.

That's exactly what I'm thinking about, 2k miles of people just gunning them on the interstate and screwing over the breakin. Long term, what could that cause?

If your biggest worry about buying this car is that the previous owner gunned it, then you might as well buy a new vehicle.

These cars, these cars were meant to be driven hard.

[Clembo]

In the first place, driving the car over 4K initially doesn't void any warranty, the owner's manual states exceptions are allowed in emergency situations (which I frequently ran into myself!). These cars were meant to be driven hard and are robust enough so it's very doubtful any damage was done no matter how they were driven.

To me it would come down to 'is it the car I want, the color I want with the options I want at the price I want to pay'? If not, there are a lot more of them out there to choose from.

[Atropine]

Originally Posted by cdemaar

We tell the customer behind the wheel that if they drive over that mark, they void the warranty for whomever does by the car. That keeps them scared of ripping on the FRS.

So you lie to them.

[rxpx2012]

It never ceases to amaze me the way impatient car owners justify breaking in the vehicle by going WOT from the start. Owners spend all their hard earned money but can't be patient for the first 1000 miles to properly break in their vehicle.

[Steve201brz]

Originally Posted by cdemaar

Why would you say some ignorant shit like that? I work for a dealer and I can tell you we KNOW to put 93 in the car....all your doing is speculating over the internet and causing doubt for someone who might very well be an 86 owner soon. So cool it wiz.

Then I commend you for being a dealership that's doing it right .
But to think all dealerships do everything correctly and take absolute proper care of their vehicles is bad practice. It's not a farfetched idea that some dealers cut corners to maximize profits.

My salesman told me it runs on 91. Not all dealerships/salesman are properly educated/informed and that's what you need to look out for. If it's wrong to be skeptical as a buyer than I'll be the first to admit I'm doing it wrong.
The internet is filled with incorrect information & negative suggestions. Educate & inform or just let it go, NBD imo

But to OP: +1 to what @humfrz said about color/transmission

[PStaff716]

looked at used WRX's before pulling the trigger on my FR-S.


dealership told me to be careful with cars like that, because the drivers are usually 20 somethings and "tend to push the limits more".


After 5 months with my car I totally get it. I would never by my car off me, if that makes any sense.. I drive it like an ass and just don't care about longevity at all (I do when I read the forums and think retrospectively, but in the moment I drive it like I'm running from an army tank).


I'm not saying that the dealership test car is driven like that, but if they let people take it home for the weekend like most dealers do around here, I can almost guarantee it's been redlined, power slid, hard-brake tested etc...

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by Atropine

So you lie to them.

LMAO. was going to post that.

I bought mine from the first US shipment. The dealer I bought from told me they don't allow test drive of STI (and now BRZ) unless the customer puts a deposit or they have a demo car. He told me they have had horror stories of kids coming for test drives that can't drive stick, almost getting in accidents, trying to hooligan etc.

I understand that and they required a 2k deposit at the time to reserve the car for me. I had no problem with that and when the car came in I went there and the salesman came on the test drive with me to the gas station to fill it with 93.

And he gave the break in period speech about 4k rpm 1k miles early oil change. Which i adhered to until 700 miles lol

I think I would never buy a used sport car with a manual. An auto I'd probably buy used. I think my next car will likely be a used C7 corvette auto actually...

[gily25]

I test drove a dealer demo, I made sure to get the full experience and I'm sure others who knew the car was a demo did the same. For 24k it's not a good enough deal to justify a demo. Is it at 0% or are they offering you a good trade-in? those things can be big factors in buying a demo.

Who is the underwriter on the 100k mile warranty? Most of those third party warranties are crap. If it's a Toyota warranty it might be worthwhile but in most cases it'll prevent you from wanting to mod the car so if you're considering a tune, turbo, etc. then the warranty should be worthless in your decision making.

[EAGLE5]

People here are funny. Sounddunnys like a reasonable deal. Look for the usual stuff: accident damage, engine error codes, and weird smells. No demo will be seriously warn in 3k. Are you going to keep it for 150k miles? then get a new one.