hi, any tips on buying a second hand supra?

[spongybeanz]

Hi, i am looking at buying a new car in about 3-4 months and i was looking at the supra i was just wondering if there are any major things i should really look for? im in the UK and im 22 with 5 years no claims and was thinking of spending around 3-5 thousand maximum. I want one thats not going to cost me an arm and a leg to insure.

I am mainly wondering what model/year should i be looking at with roughly how many miles and what points i should make sure i check before buying, is my budget too low to get a car in decent shape?

my current car is an old mazda mx5 mk1 i like it because its fun to drive, very cheap and extremely reliable. Im not someone who has extensive knowledge of the workings of cars but i can do the things like oil change spark plugs ect, does an old supra take a lot to take care of? or can i treat it like i treat my old mx5?

Thanks for any input you can give me

[kamikazemkiii]

Originally Posted by spongybeanz

Hi, i am looking at buying a new car in about 3-4 months and i was looking at the supra i was just wondering if there are any major things i should really look for? im in the UK and im 22 with 5 years no claims and was thinking of spending around 3-5 thousand maximum. I want one thats not going to cost me an arm and a leg to insure.

I am mainly wondering what model/year should i be looking at with roughly how many miles and what points i should make sure i check before buying, is my budget too low to get a car in decent shape?

my current car is an old mazda mx5 mk1 i like it because its fun to drive, very cheap and extremely reliable. Im not someone who has extensive knowledge of the workings of cars but i can do the things like oil change spark plugs ect, does an old supra take a lot to take care of? or can i treat it like i treat my old mx5?

Thanks for any input you can give me

Personally the 89+ look better to me. Get one that hasnt been melested, retorque the head bolts to around 75lbs and you should be good. Or you could tear it apart and do the MHG route.

[Green7mgte]

Originally Posted by spongybeanz

does an old supra take a lot to take care of? or can i treat it like i treat my old mx5?
Thanks for any input you can give me

yes it takes looking after and no you cannot beat on it unless you do the before hand looking after.

let me tell you a little about me and my supra.
the previous owner of my 1992 7mgte supra had intimate knowledge of pretty much all mechanical parts in the car. I myself am coming quite familiar with more and more of the parts of the car every day. I even recently been starting it and just opening the hood to check if i need to replace anything. (hah) I hate to say it but if your just looking for something to jump in and beat on till it dies your supra won't last you very long.
but if your looking for a platform that will give you first hand mechanical knowledge that your looking to build on. then yes very few other cars have this much upgrade capability

[Bill UK]

Link or pdf download

[Bill UK]

Sorry just read your post again “3-5 thousand maximum ”. That’s a MKIV you’re looking at. A MK III 3.0 Litre Turbo in really good condition would be 3 thousand GB Pounds max, if you could find one that is. Personally if I had the choice again I would go for a MKIII 2.5 1990- 1992 twin turbo with targa roof, which where only available as an import. No problems with BHG`s put the parts are more difficult to obtain and again not something that you see advertised on Autotrader every day.

[spongybeanz]

wow thanks for the inout there, i think i really need to do a bit more research on this :S

and yes i was looking at the newer ones (are they not more reliable?)

i am someone who would love to tinker with cars and replace stuff (if its cheap that is) but i wouldnt know where to begin, but i am also looking for a car that is fantastic fun to drive around but has that reliability so that i dont have to think "will it start today?"

thats one of the reasons that i love my mx5 so much, i dont really drive it that fast because its not a fast car but i love to get the tail out every one in a while, and the next day i dont even think about if something is going to break

[Bill UK]

I don’t know much about the MK IV apart from they don’t suffer from blown head gasket as do the MK III. Plenty of MK IV forums around the world where you could obtain more info, there's a section on this forum for the MK IV. Have a look on autotrader etc for prices, as for the different models; I think the MK IV was only available as a non-turbo in the UK but you may find some turbo imports if you decide to go for turbo.

[Bill UK]

This is a good staring point see post 1.

[kamikazemkiii]

ive seen mk4's with BHG's aswell, just less rare than the mk3

[Green7mgte]

whats this about a TT mk3.. tight