Does buying an 86 even make sense?

Posted by Sylens360@reddit | projectcar | View on Reddit | 21 comments

So, I’ve been in love with the GR/GT86 ever since I discovered it. I really love the philosophy behind the car: an affordable, lightweight, manual, RWD sports car that looks good and feels amazing in the corners.

I haven’t actually driven one yet, but the closest experience I’ve had is putting 100+ hours into driving it in Assetto Corsa, and honestly I love everything about it. My main plan would be to daily drive it while also doing some track days and touge here and there.

The problem is that in my country, nobody sells them. My only option would be importing one brand new, since we can only import new cars or cars that are 35+ years old. A new GR86 is usually around $34k USD MSRP, which honestly isn’t that crazy for what it is.

But because the car isn’t officially sold here, I contacted a few import companies and they’re quoting me close to $90k USD, some even over $100k after taxes and fees, which is just insane.

The issue is that here in Colombia there are VERY few actual sports cars available. The only realistic alternatives I can find are BMWs, but I’m not really into them. Most of the ones in my budget aren’t lightweight, aren’t manual, and overall don’t feel like the kind of experience I’m looking for.

The closest thing I’ve found is the 2nd gen Hyundai Genesis Coupe. They go for around $15k USD here, so I guess my real question is:

Would it actually be worth trying to get the GR86 somehow, or should I just settle for something more reasonable for the price range, like the Genesis Coupe?

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Sylens360@reddit (OP)

Wish i could

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Sylens360@reddit (OP)

Yes, but are really rare so any gen go for about 25k usd or more, plus i am 6´4 so i am worried i would fit comfortably in one.

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Sylens360@reddit (OP)

thanks for the comment, as a normal person i believe its illegal to import it, you need certain credentials in order to do it. My all time favorite car is the FD and i have been looking for 1992 models for over a year and i am yet to find one, they are pretty scarce, actually there is only one in my country but that guy is not selling it in a million years, so i´ll keep looking. btw cool car, keep up the work.

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Sylens360@reddit (OP)

is it like that even if its not an m3?, like 325i or so?

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MacabreMobius@reddit

If you're only looking for fun in the corners a 325 is plenty fun. I own 2 325xi sedans, one of them i had on coilovers and sticky tires last summer. It was an absolute blast for canyon carving type driving. Super balanced vehicles but they only make like 190 horsepower.

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Sylens360@reddit (OP)

Ty for the answer, i will research more about them, the kinda seem what i might want

pooo_pourri@reddit

This might be a retarded question. But what’s stopping you from buying one in the US and just driving it down to Columbia?

tpnewsk@reddit

There are no roads thru the Darien Gap, you couldn't get past Panama.

GrinderMonkey@reddit

Build a sweet ramp and jump it

The more ya know…..

johnwalkr@reddit

You can’t. Even if you could ship it by yourself that only accounts for a few thousand dollars of the total cost. On top of that there’s like 70% of taxes and tariffs, plus homologation and similar things, plus brokerage. I think that you’re not allowed to do a lot of this stuff as an individual so $90k is the cost and there’s not much way to lower it.

Yes it’s crazy but keep in mind importing a car to the US that was never sold there is basically impossible at any cost until it’s 25 years old.

thymewaster25@reddit

It looks like the government has decided to put huge amounts of tax on cars imported to Columbia, and they have to be either new or 30+ years old. I assume that also means any used cars are also quite expensive, compared to the US market.

Your best alternative might be to find an older lightwieght manual car and make is as fun as possible. Do you get Miata's in Columbia?

BWFTW@reddit

Could you just import it yourself? The cost of shipping should be like 5 grand Max. Is there just a bunch of import taxes or are the import companies adding on a giant charge for their services?

Otherwise look at getting a BMW like others suggested.

Lots of other cool stuff at 35 years old you can import too, fc rx-7, porsche 944. Hell an air cooled 911 would be cheaper than 100k for a gr86 haha. You could even get an og ae86. The first years of rx-7 fds are 34 right now (1992) so that is also an option in a year or 2.

I'm sorry the import laws for your country are ass but seriously do more research into other platforms, I bet you'll be able to find something you love.

Imo I'm on team e30 / e36 / e46. Hang around this subreddit a little bit there is tonnes of awesome builds. One was even updated a few days ago I'll link it.

RiftHunter4@reddit

Looking at car listings down there, you could look at a BMW Z3 or Z4.

heyheyitsmetho@reddit

Genesis and 86 aren’t in the same category. If what you’re after is a specific chassis balance, then the 86 is leagues different. Not better, just different. Genesis was Hyundais first foray into sports cars, and this was before Albert biermann. The 86 had completely focused development, benchmarked against cayman and dc2r. Different animal, different compromises. Don’t get into a Genesis thinking it’s an 86 competitor. It’s larger, has more power, and drives more like a pony car than a traditional sports car. Very good in its own right, but not comparible