Wednesday 22nd November 2017

The half-price Toyota GT86: Spotted

PH's perennial favourite is now out of warranty and getting closer to £10K...

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Despite its popularity on PistonHeads, even the GT86's most loyal fans will admit a few flaws in Toyota's little rear-wheel drive coupe. There's that well documented torque hole in the mid-range, the infamous 'Prius tyres' and the sneaking suspicion that its deft chassis can handle a smidge more power.

How much better would this look on some TE37s?

Now these problems could - and have - been addressed by the aftermarket, an assortment of owners tweaking their Toyotas to create the car of their dreams. Or the GT86 of their dreams, at least. Screaming superchargers, suspension upgrades, stickier tyres, wide body kits, Ferrari 458 engines... If you want it, chances are that part is available to improve your GT86.

Trouble is the modifications will invalidate your warranty and, with Toyota being the conscientious manufacturer that it is, every new GT86 comes with a five-year guarantee. So any Toyota tinkerers unwilling to forego manufacturer back up have had to wait half a decade to get their hands on a liberated car. Now's that time...

Yes, the GT86 did skid onto the sports car scene in 2012. The year of the London Olympics, Skyfall and the Diamond Jubilee of our dear old Queen. All far less significant than that 200hp Toyota. It's not perfect, sure, but credit is still due to Toyota for persisting with the idea of (reasonably) affordable rear-wheel drive and offering prospective hot hatch buyers something different for their £25K.

Now they're less than half that, this black, manual GT86 available for precisely £12,142 and looking prime for some choice modifications. Registered in 2012, it will already be out of warranty or very close to it; and nobody is thinking about car modifications a month from Christmas, are they? The mileage is a fraction under average and there's nothing from the available photos that would cause concern. Well, apart from the iffy Photoshop work and the fuel reserve light being illuminated...

Arguably nothing you need to change in here

You can go below this money for GT86s already, though sadly the only ones of those we've seen so far have been damaged or automatic. Hard to know which is worse. And while they will continue to depreciate, it's difficult to imagine the GT86 really troubling the bargain basement bin given their relative scarcity. Obviously we're happy to be proven wrong on this point.

Given modifying is always budget dependent, and £12,000 is hardly an insignificant amount of money, pitching a definitive list of mods seems redundant. Should it be our money, the wheels and tyres would be switched first and then the focus turned to making that engine breathe a little more freely. And less gruffly. Call it £15K if we don't actually switch the wheels and just paint them one colour.

Of course there's a whole host of alternatives for the money, various M cars, Japanese rally nutters and perhaps something lightweight if you're more committed. Personally the GT86's virtues continue to shine through however, offering something modern, reliable and fun for a fairly modest outlay. That the sky really is the limit for modifications only makes it more tempting. Dangerously so, you might say!

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SPECIFICATION - TOYOTA GT86

Engine: 1,998cc, flat-four
Transmission: 6-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 200@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 151@6,400-6,600rpm
MPG: 36.2 (NEDC combined)
CO2: 181g/km
First registered: 2012
Recorded mileage: 54,869
Price new: £24,995
Yours for: £12,142

See the original advert here.

[Gandahar]

Feck all that "slightly bigger wheels" and grippier tyres.

Just bung it down Fensport for turbocharging or Abbey motorsport for supercharging.

The whole ethos behind Japanese tuning is big numbers

Pftt to your suggestion of some 225 Michelin D cup 2's

I hope my granny is not working for PH nowadays .........

[Jag_NE]

Residuals seem strong at that vintage, 50% of RRP at 5 years old and doing a good 10k per annum of (likely) spirited driving. Delivery miles 2017 cars can be had for 20k.

[the_hood]

"Despite its popularity on PistonHeads...."

Needs a "not sure if serious" meme.

[Composite Guru]

Nearly bought one of these but the depreciation worried me slightly.

Bought an Elise instead.

[spreadsheet monkey]

Jag_NE said:

Residuals seem strong at that vintage, 50% of RRP at 5 years old and doing a good 10k per annum of (likely) spirited driving. Delivery miles 2017 cars can be had for 20k.

Indeed. I'm surprised these early cars are not cheaper.

Selling at 50% of new price at 5 years old is pretty decent for a car that never really captured the buying public's imagination.

[havoc]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Jag_NE said:

Residuals seem strong at that vintage, 50% of RRP at 5 years old and doing a good 10k per annum of (likely) spirited driving. Delivery miles 2017 cars can be had for 20k.

Indeed. I'm surprised these early cars are not cheaper.

Selling at 50% of new price at 5 years old is pretty decent for a car that never really captured the buying public's imagination.

At a dealer, with a few options ticked from new by the look of things.

i.e. the p/ex value may well have been <<50% of the invoice price.

[McFarnsworth]

spreadsheet monkey said:

Indeed. I'm surprised these early cars are not cheaper.

Selling at 50% of new price at 5 years old is pretty decent for a car that never really captured the buying public's imagination.

It captured the used buyer's imagination from the start though.

[unsprung]

There's something of a Greek tragedy about this car.

[golfer19]

I have been looking at these recently.
Haven't driven one yet though.

[Plate spinner]

McFarnsworth said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

Indeed. I'm surprised these early cars are not cheaper.

Selling at 50% of new price at 5 years old is pretty decent for a car that never really captured the buying public's imagination.

It captured the used buyer's imagination from the start though.

Exactly. I'd expect the initial depreciate curve to flatten off quite well for these.

[TooMany2cvs]

"I don't care how hard it's pissing it down - WE MUST HAVE A PHOTO OF A WHEEL FOR THE AD. You know it's the law. Now get out there..."

[Black S2K]

golfer19 said:

I have been looking at these recently.
Haven't driven one yet though.

Do - you'll either adore it or detest it.

(Wait for better weather though - they can be a bit twitchy until you're used to it)

[Ahbefive]

It's such a shame that they never made a serious version of this.

Crap wheels and sod all power is a poor combination. Could have been so good.

[spreadsheet monkey]

McFarnsworth said:

spreadsheet monkey said:

Indeed. I'm surprised these early cars are not cheaper.

Selling at 50% of new price at 5 years old is pretty decent for a car that never really captured the buying public's imagination.

It captured the used buyer's imagination from the start though.

All those people who said "its too expensive for me but I'll buy a used one in 5 years time" when the first reviews came out are clearly putting their money where their mouth is!

With such strong residuals, perhaps Toyota could have offered some tasty PCP deals and shifted a few more new GT86s...

[M1C]

I've driven a BRZ and thoroughly enjoyed it. I took it for a dealer display at Croft recently and drove back in a WRX. The WRX was obviously much quicker and more hardcore but I honestly preferred the BRZ. It had a real sense of playfulness and I personally liked the rorty induction, piped in or not. The ride was also very good indeed, driving position etc was very low slung and stuff.

Anyway...erm...Yeah! That was a nice story wasn't it.

[Jag_NE]

i really want to try one of these. its easy to say they arent highly powered but for our congested roads it might just be the thing for me. id buy a delivery miles one for 20k and keep it indefinitely.

[soad]

Still quite expensive. That kind of budget nets you a (modded) turbocharged rally monster from the days gone by...running costs aside.

[kambites]

Remarkably strong residuals. I guess they're probably not going to get much lower simply because used supply is so low.

[bozzy.]

That one will have been circa £28,000 new.

£24,995 basic
£495 metallic
£750 sat nav
£1500 heated alacantara and leather seats
£300 parking sensors

It looks good value at that price from a franchises dealer.

[samoht]

Sounds good. A newish, n/a Toyota should be pretty reliable & low-maintenance, especially compared to an M-car or a turbocharged rally-nutter.

"it's difficult to imagine the GT86 really troubling the bargain basement bin given their relative scarcity."
- true, however in a further five years the early JDM and Aus/NZ cars will become available for private import. The GT86 may have been a slow-seller here, but there are plenty of RHD cars out there waiting to be shipped in to satisfy used demand in the future. I'd expect to lose about a grand a year for the next few years, personally, following a roughly 350Z-shaped curve - maybe bottoming out around £5-7 k in today's money ?

I'd probably want a supercharger, to get the 'right amount' of power & torque while keeping n/a-like throttle response and exhaust note; then wheels and tyres would probably cover the rest.