Congrats! Hope you enjoy it! I've had mine for almost 3 years which is pretty long for me.
Congrats! Hope you enjoy it! I've had mine for almost 3 years which is pretty long for me.
How are the twins holding up near the 100k mile range that a number are starting to get toward?
Closing in on 90k. Replaced battery this past year plus maintenance items like fluids etc. otherwise no issue. My car is one of those recalled so that’s that, but otherwise it’s been a great car and offers not so much power to kill you on track but enough to keep up with most cars and develop your driving skills.
Closing in on one year of ownership with mine and it's been great so far. I'm at something like 64k miles now, so close to 20k since I've bought it. I've done nothing but fluids in it so far, although it's now overdue for plugs (which I'm planning to do this weekend) and the dampers will probably need to be replaced within the next year or so. The interior has held up well to my hyperactive dog and mechanically speaking I see no reason to believe this car won't last well past 100k. Easy to work on too, at least for what little bit I've had to do so far, though I'm not looking forward to the plug change.
I drive this thing pretty much every day, rain, snow or sunshine, and still love it. Handles winter just fine on Blizzaks. In spite of what the internet wants you to believe, it has plenty of power to be entertaining on most public roads, although some day I would love to do a header and tune to eliminate the somewhat annoying torque dip. Handles great, really forgiving and fun car to drive, and the suspension tuning doesn't beat you up in daily commuting either. Wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.
the 2013s with the valve spring recall or whatever it is?
A little late to the party, but figured I'd chime in to say congrats on the new ride!
I bought my late '13 FR-S in the fall of 2013 and still love the car. I don't pile the miles on, but mine has been reliable so far and is a wonderful driver's car. Mine seems to have avoided the valve spring recall, but I do have the fuel pump crickets, which get worse when it is hot and worse when running ethanolated gas. Pure gas seems to quiet it down, but not make it totally go away. It is most noticeable when idling with the windows down in an enclosed space like inside a parking garage, so no big deal in my mind.
As others have said, the interior can be noisy...I've thought about adding a little sound deadening/dynamat to mine to make it more of a mini-GT, but haven't yet. The low front overhang can be a hassle with steep curb cutouts, but that's the price you pay for driving a sports car. I get an occasional mystery squeak/clunk coming from the rear which seems to get worse for a bit when the rear suspension gets into lots of droop, like jacking the car up, or creeping at a sideways angle out a steep curb cutout. 
It quiets down after a bit and I haven't noticed any real problems. Interior comfort is quite good overall, but something about the top of the front seat backs could be better for me, but I'm on the bigger and taller side, so YMMV. The extra space/utility over a Miata is a large part of what sold me on the car....I just can't daily something with no back seat, next to no trunk, and no roof.
As for the power gripes, I haven't found it to be an issue. I came from a background with lots of experience with AE86 Corollas, MR2's, Civic Si, Integras, four-cylinder Alfas, four-cylinder 3-series, and other cars like that, and find the FR-S to be plenty quick. In fact, I did the math, and if one were to hustle around the 90-degree left onto my favorite highway entrance ramp, then floor it and keep shifting just before redline, a stock early FR-S would be doing over 100mph at the top of the ramp. Not that I would do such a thing, but in theory, of course. I've never understood the "not enough power to keep up with traffic" stories. Yes, a new V-6 minivan driven at 10/10ths off the line might beat you, but I find most minivan drivers tend to nap/check smart phones at the lights, and if/when they do get around to accelerating, tend to be afraid of more than part throttle, so no problem.
Just make sure to change the trans/diff fluid at much sooner intervals than you are used to.
The manual calls for 22.5k changes. In my experience, even with good fluid, do it every 15k to keep the box happy.
Brokeback said:Check insurance prices. I'm also interested in these as a slightly larger miata DD/trip vehicle (2 small dogs don't quite fit in the miata) but the insurance costs for me kinda killed it.
Bit of a zombie thread revival. I've been shopping one of the twins as a first car for my 16 year old son. I like the idea of a great handling, low HP car. Can anyone share thoughts on this insurance comment? That has me concerned about my plan.
I'm not young anymore, but in my area the cost to insure cars of significantly different values, type and performance doesn't vary much. Get a quote.
I haven't done enough research on my own, but I'm curious what the consensus is for these cars past 100,000. Have they been having any big maintenance items that a guy should be looking out for? What's a good used price for a 13-15 with 80-100,000?
In reply to dyintorace :
Candidly I would not let a 16 year old get this car. Too easy to be foolish with it with real consequences. In Chicago I see a lot of owners on the younger side, and also a lot of accidents. Obv I don't know your son but it's at least worth thinking twice about it.
In reply to NBraun :
Good price for accident free is under 10k. Also depends on what you want to do with the car - street vs track. If street then not much diff between the years. If track than 15+ will be better with updated ignition coils etc. besides normal maintenance is at least budge a clutch if it hasn't been replaced (manual that is...)
dyintorace said:Brokeback said:Check insurance prices. I'm also interested in these as a slightly larger miata DD/trip vehicle (2 small dogs don't quite fit in the miata) but the insurance costs for me kinda killed it.
Bit of a zombie thread revival. I've been shopping one of the twins as a first car for my 16 year old son. I like the idea of a great handling, low HP car. Can anyone share thoughts on this insurance comment? That has me concerned about my plan.
My 135i was noticeably cheaper for me to insure than my BRZ.
In reply to z31maniac :
Flat brim hat tax on a BRZ/FR-S/86. Those things must have accident rates through the roof.
Dave M said:In reply to z31maniac :
Flat brim hat tax on a BRZ/FR-S/86. Those things must have accident rates through the roof.
Yep, but I can't say much. I put mine in a ditch in inclement weather 3 years ago when I still had it.
Dave M said:In reply to z31maniac :
Flat brim hat tax on a BRZ/FR-S/86. Those things must have accident rates through the roof.
When you look on facebook you see basically new cars with 1-5k on the clock, and they're parting them out b/c they ran into a tree or whatever. I don't think the rate of accidents is necessarily worse than other cars like Mustangs, etc., but if I had a son I would certainly want him to be driving a Corolla or something.
Every time I check used prices, there's at least one with a salvage title. That alone would be enough for me to have reservations about putting a teenager in one.
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