Ya o I went through a lot of back and forth and mixed emotions. In the end a couple of things pushed the decision. The first and large motivator was the fact that my new GRC was actually $400 a year less for Insurance than the FIST and that it was not an out of the norm . I discovered all FiST owners are getting raped by Insurance I actually reposted a former industry insiders post from the Corolla forum here.
Next was discovering that in 30/70 the Corolla indeed felt and drove a lot like the FiST with no real TQ steer. Then it was getting in the FiST after not driving it for a week and a half and realizing that until around 3-4k It felt and was slow in comparison to the GRC which has absolutely amazing bottom end grunt and. pulls all the way to redline stock the G16E is an amazing engine compared to the FiST engine.
Plus for a daily the Corolla is so much nicer ride wise and comfort wise. About the only thing the FiST wins on for interior is maybe a little more room in the back and the Recaros hold you in . Yet they feel like rocks compared to the GRC seats .😂So ya there is a lot to like about the GRC.
On the FiST it was like given all this and the fact that for all intents and purposes I would be paying 2k a year for 6 year old salvage title vehicle . It will become salvage the second the next owner pink slips it . Which I am not hiding , really made me scratch my head. While I can afford it the amount I am tossing out each year for all 3 cars was going to be steep. If I lived in a different area with lower rates it might be different. My buddy Patrick owns a condo in San Pedro and only pays $600 a year. Ya Insurance rating is wack.
I was actually surprised that the minute I listed there was someone with major interest. I guess that speaks to my build and documentation.
That makes selling it a bit easier because it brings the total of collected cash from the car up about $28k ( Yes it getting T boned and rebuilding it actually was a blessing in disguise 🤣 That pretty much translates to 3k for 6 years of driving and owning a brand new car with 10k of mods. .🤪🤣 that kind of does ease the transition away.Though ya the GRC is pretty dope .
My buddy Danny also bought one and has come to the conclusion it replaces his FiST and he was another owner who swore he was not going to buy another car and that his FiST was ultimate. After seeing mine and test driving one he bought . Then he ran the cars back to back on the Crest and came to the conclusion that The GRC could go faster on the crest than the the FiST. In 30/70 with all nannie’s off it drove completely like his FiST, but at much higher levels. He also noticed the lack of bottom end power( in the FiST) and came to the conclusion his FiST was not going to see as much use.
Am I a bit sad sure but at the same time it does not make economic sense to keep the FiST they are plummeting in value while being more expensive to own , shades of European cars trajectory.I also am quite happy to be back in a JDM car It feels like coming home.🤣
I can say the GRC is quite the chameleon car more so than a FiST. FiST is like the crazy puppy always wants to play. GRC flexes it can be that crazy puppy but then it can drive and ride like a much more expensive car, solid , quiet compared to a FiST very comfortable as well. No regrets buying one it’s a bad ass machine and the next logical step from the FiST in the hot hatch world.
So ya she just rolled away on a trailer off tto AZ with her new owner who is going to be a good owner, another forum member here. I can only hope he loves her as much as I did. I will stick around the forum . It’s been a fun place I have made new friends here. The local meets and drives were great.
So ya it made sense to let her go.
Next was discovering that in 30/70 the Corolla indeed felt and drove a lot like the FiST with no real TQ steer. Then it was getting in the FiST after not driving it for a week and a half and realizing that until around 3-4k It felt and was slow in comparison to the GRC which has absolutely amazing bottom end grunt and. pulls all the way to redline stock the G16E is an amazing engine compared to the FiST engine.
Plus for a daily the Corolla is so much nicer ride wise and comfort wise. About the only thing the FiST wins on for interior is maybe a little more room in the back and the Recaros hold you in . Yet they feel like rocks compared to the GRC seats .😂So ya there is a lot to like about the GRC.
On the FiST it was like given all this and the fact that for all intents and purposes I would be paying 2k a year for 6 year old salvage title vehicle . It will become salvage the second the next owner pink slips it . Which I am not hiding , really made me scratch my head. While I can afford it the amount I am tossing out each year for all 3 cars was going to be steep. If I lived in a different area with lower rates it might be different. My buddy Patrick owns a condo in San Pedro and only pays $600 a year. Ya Insurance rating is wack.
I was actually surprised that the minute I listed there was someone with major interest. I guess that speaks to my build and documentation.
That makes selling it a bit easier because it brings the total of collected cash from the car up about $28k ( Yes it getting T boned and rebuilding it actually was a blessing in disguise 🤣 That pretty much translates to 3k for 6 years of driving and owning a brand new car with 10k of mods. .🤪🤣 that kind of does ease the transition away.Though ya the GRC is pretty dope .
My buddy Danny also bought one and has come to the conclusion it replaces his FiST and he was another owner who swore he was not going to buy another car and that his FiST was ultimate. After seeing mine and test driving one he bought . Then he ran the cars back to back on the Crest and came to the conclusion that The GRC could go faster on the crest than the the FiST. In 30/70 with all nannie’s off it drove completely like his FiST, but at much higher levels. He also noticed the lack of bottom end power( in the FiST) and came to the conclusion his FiST was not going to see as much use.
Am I a bit sad sure but at the same time it does not make economic sense to keep the FiST they are plummeting in value while being more expensive to own , shades of European cars trajectory.I also am quite happy to be back in a JDM car It feels like coming home.🤣
I can say the GRC is quite the chameleon car more so than a FiST. FiST is like the crazy puppy always wants to play. GRC flexes it can be that crazy puppy but then it can drive and ride like a much more expensive car, solid , quiet compared to a FiST very comfortable as well. No regrets buying one it’s a bad ass machine and the next logical step from the FiST in the hot hatch world.
So ya she just rolled away on a trailer off tto AZ with her new owner who is going to be a good owner, another forum member here. I can only hope he loves her as much as I did. I will stick around the forum . It’s been a fun place I have made new friends here. The local meets and drives were great.
So ya it made sense to let her go.
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