Long-term intro: Shijil’s 2013 Toyota 86
When time came to replace my daily driver, a 2008 Volvo S40, I wanted something that’s fun and involving to drive. Soon a list was formed which included V8 Mustangs, Nissan 350Z’s, Hyundai Genesis Coupes and VW Golf R’s. As with all my car purchases that start from one thing and end up at something else entirely, I randomly checked the Toyota 86 listings online and bingo! There was a base-model 2013 model Toyota 86 automatic within my reach.
On the surface, car looked just fine except the front bumper which had some kerb damage. I took it around for a quick spin and my brain was shouting out loud to buy it. Before a serious offer could be made, I wanted to feel how the car felt as new, so I excused myself from the seller for an hour and made a quick stop at the Toyota dealership for a test drive of a new one. Upon understanding that it drove and made all the right noises as the one I was looking at, I went back to the seller and requested him to stop by my friend’s garage for a final inspection before striking a deal, to which the seller gladly agreed.
One of the main concerns was that the car had absolutely no service history. Upon inspection at the garage, some accident repairs came to light. My garage buddy had a quick look at important mechanicals and they all seemed fine and clean with no leaks anywhere, aside from a respray. Being close to clocking 80,000 km meant it had to go through a major service. Keeping all these conclusions in mind, I decided to bite the bullet and made a final offer of Dhs 44,500, a fair bit lower than the advertised price of Dhs 49,000, to which the seller agreed and within a few hours, the car was under my apartment, all mine!
Finally, how much of my hard-earned cash did I blow up? To start with, insurance was Dhs 2575 with comprehensive cover. All 2013 base models came with no exhaust tips, so I threw in a pair of steel exhaust tips for Dhs 50. Another Dhs 50 was spent on transparent ‘door edge protection’ stickers, which helps to prevent damage to door edges in tight parking spots. Then Dhs 79 was shelled out at the Toyota dealer during April, which I opted for to double-check the health of the car that fortunately came out clean with the only remark made by them was to replace worn-out wipers. I also got to see its accident history, namely a single incident that resulted in quite a bit of respraying along one side of the car, all done at the dealer, but I’ll talk more about it later.
Finally, for the due 80,000-km major service, the Toyota dealer quoted a rather striking Dhs 2400 for just all oil and fluid replacements with brake cleanup. Upon a quick visit to Dynatrade, the same service was done for Dhs 1400, including an engine flush. I also threw on some fresh window tint worth Dhs 500 from another outfit.
At the moment, my only plan on the table is to fix the kerb-damaged front bumper and probably to add a lip spoiler on the boot. Only time will tell if I’m motivated enough to invest in customising to my visual and driving likes. Watch out for next update on how it’s like to live with a low-slung sports car doing work and city runs.
Original Mileage When Bought: 79,890 km
Latest Mileage To Date: 87,300 km
Latest Average Fuel Economy: 8.9 litres/100 km
Cost of Latest Problems: Dhs 0
Cost of Latest Maintenance: Dhs 1400Total Non-Fuel Running Cost Since Bought: Dhs 1400
Comments
Shinas
Long awaited one…!
Thank you so much.
I am trying to buy one as well as a second car. Just for my daily drive.
Shijil Hashim
It’s an enjoyable, easy on the pocket second car. Also, stay tuned for more updates!
K
Can you please tell me where you got window tinting done. And what brand ?
Shijil Hashim
I got it done from a place called ‘Prestige Detailing’ in DIC. You can search for them on Facebook, they have good deals.
Usman
In reviews everyone is complaining about it not being fast enough….. do driving dynamics make up for it? or is 370z a better option??
ghanib
Driving dynamics does make up that’s why there is so much hype about this car. I would not expect performance from cars like this one, MX and S2000, especially with available engine options. 370Z will definitely perform better, but if someone writes review about 370Z, people will compare it with Porsche, and then the latter with GTR, and the latter with Ferrari and so on… the argument will never end with so many choices. The idea behind such cars is, what you can deliver to common man in sports car format. Otherwise there are plenty of mid-size sedans with 3+ litre engines that are faster than these small sports cars, but they don’t command such driving dynamics.
M. Asif
Congrats on the purchase, may it serve you well and for long.
How come you didn’t opt for a comprehensive check at Tasjeel, do garages do a good, thorough check-up?
Would be great if can share a good garage reference. After so many years, I have yet to find someone I can call my go-to-mechanic. Its a rare breed.
Shijil Hashim
Hi Asif, since I checked it over at my buddy’s own garage, if I hadn’t got that option, would have chosen RTA’s comprehensive testing. But please do avoid any of those online car reports, nothing can replace direct physical inspection
farrukh
Its for most common in UAE that people start shortlisting with great American and German brands but finally they ended up buying Japanese and that’s also TOYOTA!!
I’m not criticizing but what I mean is local market Resale and parts servicing convince driver to go for Toyota even after he dislike.
Shijil Hashim
Not really. This is my first Japanese car actually, all my rides were European and still one of them is. Yes, non-Japanese cars can get a bit hefty on pocket when they ages, but it also depends on how well it has been taken care of. keep in mind that dealer maintaining a Japanese car these days aren’t that pocket friendly either.
My case was purely because I like 86/BRZ as an fun, economical drivers car and couldn’t find anything else that could really beat the price. Nothing really bad with the other rides I had in my list really
PJ
44,500 for a 2013 base automatic 86… Wow that’s a bargain!
Congrats on the new ride, hope you enjoy your drive with her!
Shijil Hashim
Stay tuned for more updates on daily usage and spends!
Faran Khalid Cheema
is buying a BRZ a good idea in 86’s place since BRZ is considerably cheaper. am i going to find any trouble getting spare parts or is it exactly the same? much appreciated
Shijil Hashim
Go for the BRZ. The local dealer in UAE for Subaru has been dealing with boxer engines in their lineup for quite a long time so nothing to worry about that. I’m also assuming that since not many Subaru’s are on UAE roads, the time taken for service and it’s quality should be better too. Plus Subaru is a cooler badge to wear. Dealership in UAE are having some great offers for BRZ as we speak, but keep in mind the new face-lifted one is just around the corner!
Ed
Where is cheaper the BRZ?
Faran Khalid Cheema
followed your advice and drove away with a 2017 BRZ couple of weeks ago. great value for money and got a great deal from the abu dhabi dealership as compared to 86 cause we all know how toyota dealerships are. not to mention turned a few local heads at the mall too so that always means ur doing it right. it is exactly the same. the only downside is the lack of Bluetooth and parking sensors both of which i can live without. do keep us updated on that lip spoiler as i am also looking for one as well.
Shijil Hashim
Good to know you’re loving your BRZ, Faran. Bluetooth and parking sensors are something than can be fixed from outside that are not expensive. Lots of mods to personalize this car, if you’re into that kind of stuff.
Watch out for an update soon
shinas
HI Shijil, looking forward to see some updates.
Shijil Hashim
There will be an update soon. Just that I’ve been busy with work and life, but yes, it’s been quite a while..