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BRZ Falling Out of Favor?


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I have noticed the price of the BRZ is well below MSRP even with dealers who tried to add the greedy "market adjustment" (MSRP + $5K) when they originally came out.  Subaru is now offering deals on a car that was previously praised in the press and apparently such a great seller that there was no need to discount . That appears to have changed.

 

Now it appears that after several uncorrected complaints (noisy fuel pump, condensation in taillights, uneven idling and direct injector failure) people are shying away from the BRZ and the FRS. Consumer Reports rates the BRZ/FRS as unreliable.  Cars.com reports they had trouble selling their test BRZ.

 

http://blogs.cars.com/kickingtires/2013/12/selling-our-2013-subaru-brz-wasnt-easy.html

 

 

I know that the BRZ is still a new platform, but from what I can tell based on what users are reporting on sites such as ft86club is that the Toyota/Scion dealerships are much more responsive in dealing with and fixing warranty issues than are the Subaru dealers. Apparently the Subaru dealers are more likely to deny warranty service. This does not inspire confidence. Perhaps this is a conditioning that Subaru dealers have because of their history of dealing with WRX owners who abuse their cars and then want it fixed under warranty.

 

Of course the original press on the car was over the top. This may just be a natural settling down period.

Edited by MR_Loyale
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My dad drives his 86 pretty hard, it has some 24,000km now and no major issues. Had one taillight fixed due to the condensation though, and the reversing sensor wiring was badly fixed and rattled at first, but apart from that it's been fine. Great even, a really nice car to be in/drive. Handles much better than his previous Impreza 2.0R.

 

In NZ, the 86 version seems to be a lot more popular though, I've seen numerous 86s, and only one BRZ. Probably due to the fact the Toyota 86 costs ~$34,000 base compared to $49,000 for the BRZ. I haven't heard any complaints from NZ 86 owners.

Edited by KiwiGL
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Just as a point of interest, for every 10 Toyota/Scion versions there is only 1 BRZ produced by Subaru so they will always be in limited supply.

+1.  We all know they were born of Fuji engineering, so they're all Subarus anyway, regardless of badge.

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The FR-S is everywhere here. I've seen maybe five BRZ, not including what I've seen at SEMA or dealerships. People who want this car, just don't want to pay the markup, and with the FR-S, you're really not losing out on that much of what a BRZ is offering.

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The FR-S is everywhere here. I've seen maybe five BRZ, not including what I've seen at SEMA or dealerships. People who want this car, just don't want to pay the markup, and with the FR-S, you're really not losing out on that much of what a BRZ is offering.

 

Yes I am wondering if it would be best to get the FR-S over the BRZ. Consumer Reports, in their annual auto issue lists both the BRZ and FR-S as used cars to avoid.

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If I had lots of money id buy a BRZ,if I had a moderate amount of money id buy a FRS and put subaru badges on it.Seeing as I don't have money my best option is to put a EJ22 in a small RWD car like a RX7.Call it a BRX7...

 

Already have an 84 RX7 in need of engine,but its 2nd in line after my offroader that needs to get built before I can work on it.Although once things settle down abit at this new job things might progress.

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Dang. I finally got to drive a friends FR-S yesterday and I was thoroughly impressed with the perfect power and handling combination. He has 20000 miles on it and has never had a problem since the day he drove it off the lot with 8 miles on it. Seems like a solid car to me.

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