Find Eff a new car

OK, I've been along and looked at it, and zero marks for Garland Motors yet again.
We had thick damp fog overnight and it was covered in water droplets when I got there although the fog had largely lifted. I spent about 10 or 15 minutes wandering round and examining it, in full view of at least 2 salespeople in the showroom but nobody came out to greet me or ask if I was interested in the car, so I haven't opened the doors, bonnet or boot.

It looks like it is on the original Michelin tyres (at under 14,000 miles, why not?) but both nearside wheels are kerbed although the tyres appear to have undamaged sidewalls apart from one possible slight chunk out of one, superficial and nothing to worry about. The kerbing is not deep but does go a long way round each wheel, a haggling point to get them refurbished for a sale. It's been waxed fairly recently and there are plenty of small traces of wax in different places such as the upper edge of the bonnet. The paintwork looks very good but there are a few light marks commensurate with age, the worst one I saw is roughly in the middle of the passenger door and appears to be a parking incident where someone else has opened their door into the car, but there does not appear to be a ding, just the paint damage. The brake discs a little more rusty than in the AutoTrader photos, but there is minimal wear, a lightly detectable lip on all 4 discs

Without opening doors etc I can't tell for sure but it does not appear to exhibit accident damage, all wheelarches are very clean, almost spotless and with such low mileage it may have been a "fun car" for someone rather than a daily driver - or the owner passed away and it's been held whilst probate was sorted out... with no salesperson willing to engage in conversation I couldn't ask questions. Both plates have been changed and there was no sticker in the rear window so I couldn't identify the supplying dealer but RJ is local.

If you're seriously interested I'd call them and offer £17k explaining that they are obviously not interested in selling it as an acquaintance spent some time looking at it, as the only potential customer on the site on a damp Saturday morning but nobody went out to speak to him - and get them to have the nearside wheels refurbished (that would tell them that I did have a close look at the car)

EDIT: MoT history from GOV site suggests this was a "fun car" used for a few thousand miles each year, and the comments on the nearside tyres tie in with the wheel damage that I saw

With the way things are going, this could appreciate in those 8 months. Get it now if you can do the right deal, then sell it on in 8 months time (by which time you may have decided that this fits the bill anyway and you can save money by not getting a newer one.....)

That's an interesting point. And what about finance? If interest rates rise in the next 8 months will they honour any current deals?

I've been told that the base GR86 will start at a fiver under £30k and the Premium version will be around £34k. In other words, more less the same as the GR Yaris. That doesn't make sense to me given that it's the junior model and is significantly cheaper than the Yaris in other markets. With nothing official from Toyota UK, it may well be pure speculation on the part of the dealer.

But if it is true, it will remove the dilemma. I'm not paying £34k.

I agree - what else fits the bill at £34k for this type of car purchased new, other than perhaps an MX-5 (I know, not exactly the same type of car and I'd rather have the GR86 than and MX-5 although I'd enjoy either).

But £34k still buys quite a lot of used Cayman, or 2-series BMW coupe, etc...

I'm sure the new one will be a lot more desirable and a better car by the reviews but compared to the one Chris went to look at I can appreciate it looks a lot of money at 34k compared to 18K for a used one. Its a Toyota so for the next 3 years you'll be very unlucky to have anything other then routine servicing and even if something does go bang you have the awesomeness of Toyotas 10 year warranty. What will three years of ownership cost, 8K in depreciation? The new one your probably looking at 15K over the same term?

Plus at 34K I'd go for the Yaris GR every day of the week, not that you can actually buy one. Plus you'd think it has a safer place to put your money then the 86. And thats before you compare apples and oranges in the used car market. M2 comps won't be far of that money in 6-12 months. 

And if Toyota offer the finance deals like they were doing on the Yaris , then you can get 0% on a pcp

In Japan, the GR86 Premium is priced at 3,349,000 yen (£22,600) while the circuit pack GR Yaris is 3,960,000 yen (£26,700). So for Toyota UK to charge GR Yaris prices feels like a rip off. If true.

The choice lies between a 2017-2019 GT86 Pro with leather and some other goodies for £20-23k (compared to a new list price of £29k) and a base GR86 without leather and associated goodies for £30k.

Assuming a good (0%) PCP offer, £30k is my absolute limit. Spousal sign off is also a major issue.

Mrs Eff views cars as a necessary annoyance. For her, spending any more than the barest minimum in order to get from A to B is akin to flushing cash down the toilet.

Thanks. Ha! That would be dangerous! I had reluctantly discounted the Cayman, despite having coveted one for 15 years, on the basis that 2 seats is a compromise too far. Running costs would worry me as well.

But man maths and man logic are powerful forces...

GT86 is £29995 which seems like an extreme bargain. Something like £4700 down, £299 a month on a pcp.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing; I could have tried haggling to get that GT86 down the road and younger daughter could have had it a few weeks later to replace her A1......
She originally wanted a TT but settled on the A1 as she didn't get on with the TT she test-drove, plus it was a bit expensive.

I've been catching up on my reading over the week-end, just going through Autocars from July and August 2020 where there was talk of great manufacturer subsidies to tempt buyers back, and a load of bargain used cars around the £6k mark. How things have changed in just 20 months......

That's a good point about inflation, I hadn't considered that. They've also set the GFV very high - £16,470 - driven by the current used car market no doubt but there must be some risk there.

I was comparing the APR to other Toyota models and to an equivalent bank loan, both of which would be cheaper.

The list price is really very good.