GR86 GR86 durability/robustness/build quality (etc.)

Silver Fox

Silver Fox

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I've posted about my stone chip angst elsewhere, but I'm going to have a general grumble about the GR86 and quality.

I'm generally quite careful with my cars, and as such they have tended to look pretty much as they did when I bought them even after a year or three.

I've had my GR86 for c.20 months and it's done a bit less than 6,000 miles. Maybe I'm being a touch picky and overcritical, but there's a few areas where it's starting to look scruffy and sub-par. This includes:

1. The aforementioned stone chips (one big, and small ones getting too numerous to count).
2. A scuffed alloy which I cannot remember doing - if I did touch a curb it would have been the merest of glances.
3. Door interior - despite climbing in and out very carefully, there's numerous scuff marks.
4. General interior - little scuffs and scratches from day-to-day use.

This morning I spotted some bird sh!t on the bonnet (probably from overnight). I removed it pretty much as soon as I saw it when I got out of bed (after I put some clothes on of course) and it seems to have etched into the paintwork. It's not polishing out.

It seems you only have to look at it to mark it somehow. Never have I owned a car which responds to careful, light, sympathetic use with such disdain.

Is it just me? I'm sure every other car I've owned has stood up to "life" much better.
 
Agreed. I keep cars for 10 years/100,000 miles and the 10yr old A3 seems to be bomb-proof and looks like new inside and out. The GR86 won't. But that's OK. It's a cheap (by current standards) thing and I note modern A3s scratch up like nothing as well as they seem to have cheapened out the interior. Enjoy the car. Trust the up to 10y warranty to sort out at least the major bits and bobs and save the worry for a classic porsche and your pennies for a chips away/wheel refurb booking every 5 years.
 
I do sympathise. Externally, I don't have PPF, just ceramic coating which was applied at the same time the car was professionally polished not long after delivery. Even so, despite barely touching the paint - only time I make contact when washing is when using a soft mitt - I noticed the other day under direct sunlight that there are still some swirls starting to appear. Possible that I could have done it myself, but it crossed my mind that if the paint is that soft then maybe it's just inevitable.

Internally, it's not doing too bad...but I am very careful, knowing how delicate Japanese interiors can be. That said, when I sold my GT86, the interior was pretty much pristine after 93k/9 years, apart from the worn drivers side bolster which I'm trying to mitigate this time.

I guess it's the cost for having such a great car for such a low price
 
Vistalite said:
And yet, can this all be overlooked given it is such a unique driver focused peach of a car in a sea of crappy SUV bricks?

I think you know the answer to that one.
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Oh absolutely.

But as my (and @Conscript 's) experiences with the GT86 show, it's possible to have both...
 
Yep and it gets depressing thinking about it. You can protect it from entropy all you want but it's inevitable. I barely touch the car, always use an air dryer after a clean and yet I still get new marks all the time. Even PPF marks and doesn't heal like I expected. Needs a heat gun to start it off as I have a bit where bird shit etched into the PPF and it didn't heal fully.
 
From my experience with the GT86 the paint is very vulnerable, so I went ceramic coating and PPF. Hondas are the same if not worse, German cars do appear hard as nails in comparison.
 
Not really had this on mine. I use it every day think it’s on 27k. Has a couple of stone chips on the front nothing at all on the sides and the ineterior looks like new one light scratch near the track mode button. Seat Fabric all perfect. Gave someone a lift at work. Last week and they said it was the cleanest car they had ever seen. I never eat or drink in it and always put any bags in the boot. No wheel damage at all either
I have had a new windscreen and can see these are very vulnerable to stone damage. It not as robust as my MK2 MR2 paint hardly marked but it worlds better than say my old pug 307 that had really bad paint quality.
Mine is ceramic coated but no PPF not a fan of it as it cost a lot to remove and I know people who have had extensive damage from removing it on Porsches
 
GRpirate said:
Not really had this on mine. I use it every day think it’s on 27k. Has a couple of stone chips on the front nothing at all on the sides and the ineterior looks like new one light scratch near the track mode button. Seat Fabric all perfect. Gave someone a lift at work. Last week and they said it was the cleanest car they had ever seen. I never eat or drink in it and always put any bags in the boot. No wheel damage at all either
I have had a new windscreen and can see these are very vulnerable to stone damage. It not as robust as my MK2 MR2 paint hardly marked but it worlds better than say my old pug 307 that had really bad paint quality.
Mine is ceramic coated but no PPF not a fan of it as it cost a lot to remove and I know people who have had extensive damage from removing it on Porsches
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Generally PPF only causes paint damage if the panel has been repainted.
I’ve had a section of mine replaced and if removed in the correct way then no problems. You don’t just rip it off.
 
I've just hit 13500 miles in less than a year.

My detailer Gary works his magic every month to keep it looking great. BUT. I agree with stone chips. I have lots. All on the nose cone and bonnet. Which annoyingly has a black base coat on a silver car! Doah.

I also have a 68 plate GTi now on 72000 miles. Also from new. I DRIVE both. Hard. The GTi has been bomb proof. Although the windscreen is the worst stone magnet I have ever known. It needs replacing.

I've come to accept stone chips as reminders of the fun and enjoyment I get every time I go out. A necessary price we have to pay. It is after all a drivers car, not a piece of art 🤷🏼
 
The paint is very thin like most Japanese cars.

I've got front PPF on mine, so no noticeable damage yet. I know it's expensive but so is a decent respray these days.
 
Gordo_Dave said:
I agree, it feels like a 90’s Japanese car in pretty much every way. It’s why I love it so much. But it definitely has its downsides!
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90s Japanese cars were tough though! MR2s, Supras even the Hilux interiors I have had still look great. I think my sub 5000 mile GR86 has more interior scuffs than my 150k+ 28 year old Hilux, that’s been used almost daily all its life.

The paint is so weak and thin, I scratched it with my watch opening the door awkwardly left-handed the other day and its thoroughly took the jam out of my proverbial doughnut for the rest of the day. which was annoying as I was uncharacteristically cheery after an entire day of uninterrupted fettling with Westfield carburettors.
 
Spending most of my time looking at the inside the car and driving it daily, I focused on protecting the interior plastics from scratches from me and passenger - cheap and easy to attach black suede (which matches the door trim) to protect the lower door panels, kick plates, B pillars (seat belt buckle scratches), back of seats (passenger feet scratches), centre console. And easy to replace when that gets marked.
 
MorrisM said:
Spending most of my time looking at the inside the car and driving it daily, I focused on protecting the interior plastics from scratches from me and passenger - cheap and easy to attach black suede (which matches the door trim) to protect the lower door panels, kick plates, B pillars (seat belt buckle scratches), back of seats (passenger feet scratches), centre console. And easy to replace when that gets marked.
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Interested to know your source of suede that matches the top of door cards. Cheers
 
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