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Portalfl0w

Test driving a GT86 on Tuesday - Looking for some advice

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Hi All! 

New to the forums. I've been looking at GT86s/BRZs for a few months now. I've got a test drive booked for an 86 that is the exact spec I wanted, although with a few quirks like a few chips on the alloys etc. 

Is there anything specific I should be looking out for? I looked over the MOT history and it's looking good, also doesn't seem to have any outstanding recalls (only checked online).

 

I'm slightly worried about the tyres as they're not stock. I've asked the dealership and they confirmed that the tyres are:

Front tyres are General Altimax

Rear tyres are Mazzini

Should I be worried?

 

I'd post a link to the listing but not sure about the rules for that here :)

Thanks guys! Happy to be joining the 'owner's club' soon. I'm hoping this is the one :D 

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Never heard of those tyre brands before. A quick google will tell you if they are cheap tyres or not. May give an indication if the previous owner skimped on running costs.

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23 minutes ago, GT_86 said:

Never heard of those tyre brands before. A quick google will tell you if they are cheap tyres or not. May give an indication if the previous owner skimped on running costs.

Had a quick search around, it looks like they are budget tyres, around 50 per tyre. Do you think this is a deal breaker? I guess it really depends on the condition of everything else on the car.

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1 minute ago, Portalfl0w said:

Had a quick search around, it looks like they are budget tyres, around 50 per tyre. Do you think this is a deal breaker? I guess it really depends on the condition of everything else on the car.

i guess it depends on the rest of the car and the history etc! If you are happy with the rest of it, then the tyres may not be a deal breaker but use them as a negotiation point, so you can get some  money off to put towards decent tyres.

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I would look at it that the previous owner didnt exploit the handling if they bought tyres like that which is a good thing probably?

These cars are all new enough that you have to service properly to keep the value up so I reckon that side of things should be fine.

A set of PS4s is about £400-£450 but if it was me, I would try to get the price down before I mentioned the tyres so I could try to eke out more discount!

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40 minutes ago, MartinT said:

Cut the deal you want and cost in a good set of Michelin Pilot Sport 4 or other good tyres, then you'll love the handling.

Has it had all recalls done?

4 minutes ago, Ignited said:

I would look at it that the previous owner didnt exploit the handling if they bought tyres like that which is a good thing probably?

These cars are all new enough that you have to service properly to keep the value up so I reckon that side of things should be fine.

A set of PS4s is about £400-£450 but if it was me, I would try to get the price down before I mentioned the tyres so I could try to eke out more discount!

Thanks guys, I think that's what I'll do, try and negotiate the price down to cover the cost of some good tyres. The car's currently on sale for 10,998 (60k Miles). There were some stone chips on the bumper so they are putting it through the body shop as well. I can hopefully get the price down to atleasst 10,500 to cover the tyres. 

Overall the car looks pretty well kept so yeah hopefully will be all good mechanically etc. 

Recalls wise, I haven't asked directly yet but according to https://www.check-mot.service.gov.uk/ there are no outstanding recalls on the car.

Anything else I should ask about/look for? 

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3 minutes ago, nikndel said:

Nutty Carla had it she was as hard on that car as she was with a man 🤪 She did tradevit in for a Aero but long time ago

Not sure if that's good news or bad news for me :D I guess 86s aren't built with slow sunday driving in mind though, nice to learn a bit of history on the car lol

 

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1 minute ago, Portalfl0w said:

Not sure if that's good news or bad news for me :D I guess 86s aren't built with slow sunday driving in mind though, nice to learn a bit of history on the car lol

 

She looked after it but it went back to the dealer for the Aero so after that who knows 🤔

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Check it's had the spark plugs changed for the 60K service as that is an expensive one.  Definitely change the tyres for something better. There is a pinned thread in the newbie sectionon what to look for. 

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2 hours ago, Lauren said:

Check it's had the spark plugs changed for the 60K service as that is an expensive one.  Definitely change the tyres for something better. There is a pinned thread in the newbie sectionon what to look for. 

Thanks! That's definitely worth checking, the thread is also very useful. I might ping some of these questions to the dealership before I go as it's a 1 hour drive away for me. When you say expensive, how much would it cost if it hasn't had it done? Might be able to knock that off the price too.

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15 minutes ago, Portalfl0w said:

Thanks! That's definitely worth checking, the thread is also very useful. I might ping some of these questions to the dealership before I go as it's a 1 hour drive away for me. When you say expensive, how much would it cost if it hasn't had it done? Might be able to knock that off the price too.

Or have the spark plugs changed by them before delivery.

Regarding tyres, don't change them for Michelin Primacy as those offer the grip as a piece of soap on a wet shower floor. 🙁

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36 minutes ago, Portalfl0w said:

Thanks! That's definitely worth checking, the thread is also very useful. I might ping some of these questions to the dealership before I go as it's a 1 hour drive away for me. When you say expensive, how much would it cost if it hasn't had it done? Might be able to knock that off the price too.

It's a £600 service as it's tricky to get to the plugs. I would check that has been done or agree it at point of sale. As for the Primacy tyre, there are better tyres out there, though I stuck with the Primacy for the first 25,000 miles and did enjoy it a lot. You can get PS4's if you want grip over anything else. I had more fun though on Yokohama V105's, not quite as much grip but you could play with it more and a good upgrade over the Primacy HP. 

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Welcome to the Drivers Club....

The key is in the name of this particular club as we all love driving our GT86's to the limit, but got to also remember some people just buy the car for the looks and then drive it from A to B everyday, which of course would explain why the car you are looking at has them basic tyres on the car. They are probably a perfectly good tyre for A to B driving....

I am now on my 8th set of tyres and have just had the New Kumho PS71's fitted to my GT86, which are a direct replacement to the old KU39's.

So far am very happy with them and they do perform in the same manner as the KU39's did, which for me is fantastic.

What ever you decide, one thing we can all agree on you will enjoy the ownership of the car.

For me this is the longest have ever kept the same car and let alone how many miles I have done in the car from New!

6.5yrs and over 125k

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35 minutes ago, Test Drives Unlimited said:

Welcome to the Drivers Club....

The key is in the name of this particular club as we all love driving our GT86's to the limit, but got to also remember some people just buy the car for the looks and then drive it from A to B everyday, which of course would explain why the car you are looking at has them basic tyres on the car. They are probably a perfectly good tyre for A to B driving....

I am now on my 8th set of tyres and have just had the New Kumho PS71's fitted to my GT86, which are a direct replacement to the old KU39's.

So far am very happy with them and they do perform in the same manner as the KU39's did, which for me is fantastic.

What ever you decide, one thing we can all agree on you will enjoy the ownership of the car.

For me this is the longest have ever kept the same car and let alone how many miles I have done in the car from New!

6.5yrs and over 125k emoji14.png

Thanks! I will definitely be swapping the tyres out, I'll be using mine as a daily car but also want to have some fun on good roads. So far Michelin PS4s are looking like the right kind of thing for me. Hoping to have many happy years and miles with the 86, hopefully attend a few meet ups too :D

 

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