Need some advice on buying a supra mk3 91

[Dan_Gyoba]

I thought the supras were reliable cars

Mine was. I put a half million kilometers on it with regular maintenance. Until it was over 400,000 km, the most expensive thing that I had to fix was buying a new A/C compressor. (Well, I spent more on the timing belts, clutches, and even brakes, but those were all what I consider to be regular maintenance.)

I also bought mine when it was only a few years old. It was a one owner car, and very well maintained.

For the time being, my '90 is my daily driver. I'm not having any reliability issue with it at all, but I know that it was in excellent mechanical condition when I got it, though the clutch was apparently at it's end of life. I also own other vehicles, so if the Supra needs work, I can take it off the road and get it done.

Supras were Toyota's flagship car. As such, they were built well. No matter how well built, they still don't take abuse well, and frankly most have been neglected or abused a lot in the last 20 something years. This is going to be a universal truth for any aging sports car, or even GT car. If you buy one, expect to need to set aside a repair budget.

 

[dlgsus]

Alright thanks a lot guys you've all been a big help I'm going to look at the car Sunday and look for anything suspicious like you said above and go from there.

 

[dlgsus]

Well turns out it that this http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/d...884534931.html was a piece of you know what wires were hanging out the yin yang... There's another supra 91 na for 5k the clutch slips sometimes but overall runs and looks new but are supra na worth that much

 

[Zrain25]

There's no way ur gunna get a good running supra with no rust for 2 grand.

If the car has no rust and is sum what all there get it. I bought mine for 1500 and it was like the second one u posted interior was junk. Paint faded. Was a turbo but it ran like shit. electrical problems. Fixing 25 years of ever owners home made repairs/hacks that were done to the motor wiring. Had a rust on the right rear fender so now that's all bondo. I had to redo the interior.

I have a bout 3,000 into it including the car but not the paint job.

Guy wanted 2200 for the car I got it for 1500 cane with Fmic and hard pipes./bov/3 in exhaust. The usually so I bought it to restore over the winter... It's done know after 9 months. I still haven't done the engine that's this winter.

Only thing I regret was buying it without making a big deal about rust... It was a big deal rust sucks.. Period if u see rust run

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

What you can get depends a lot on where you get it.

Around here, rust free cars are spendy, because we get nasty winters with salty roads for 7 months out of the year, so unless it's only a summer driven car, rust-free just doesn't happen. Summer only driven cars tend to be owned by people who are attached to them, and the price reflects that attachment.

Occasionally, one pops up like my '90, which was from somewhere that only seldom sees snow, and is very low rust. I spent $3k on that, and thought that it was cheap at the price. It needed a clutch shortly after I got it (Didn't know, but still would have bought it if I did) the engine runs okay, but could use work. I don't know all of the work it needs, but it uses oil. A/C nonfunctional (One of the lines has a hole) I'm not really concerned about the engine, since I have one that I plan on installing.

 

[Suprapowaz!(2)]

I can see you're going to spend all of your money to get a supra no matter what people on this forum tells you. With the budget you're working with you're not going to get a reliable one. I hope you have another way to get around when your Supra quits on you. I also hope you have enough money to get it back on the road when it does happen. I'd hate to see you get one, have too many problems with it, not able to maintain it, and part it out. That would be a waste of time and money. Good luck in whatever you do.

 

[theGOODWIN2012]

I mean I got away with a steal. 92 n/a for $2500. Only needed to do rear brake lines, all the rotors, and the 2 power steering hoses. Other then that my rocker panels are rusted out but everything else is working perfectly (Knock on wood). 112k 5 speed, sunroof, leather, all the options (except for the turbo and targa roof)

 

[Another MkIII]

Everything was fine fine as of my last post. I have owned it for over 4 years, and I just got through my first 1000 miles over the weekend. Also, my steering wheel fell off while driving on Sunday. Days since Supra has broken: 2
-AM3

 

[dlgsus]

Yeh your right I'm probably going to get it no matter what lol I had my eye on it for a while but it's no prob anything that goes wrong with it my friend(mechanic) will help a brother out only the clutch is messed up hopefully I'm going to test drive it one of these days.any advice on what I should look for when on the road(never drove a supra)I plan on having this car for a long time I'll post pictures of it whenever it gets sunny over here.

 

[Another MkIII]

Yeh your right I'm probably going to get it no matter what lol I had my eye on it for a while but it's no prob anything that goes wrong with it my friend(mechanic) will help a brother out only the clutch is messed up hopefully I'm going to test drive it one of these days.any advice on what I should look for when on the road(never drove a supra)I plan on having this car for a long time I'll post pictures of it whenever it gets sunny over here.

The cost of parts alone will kill you. You will need the skills to fix it yourself, your friend will get sick of working on it. Even then though the car is still a money pit. Also, the brakes went out on it this morning when my dad went to take it to the interior shop. It made it to 5 days without breaking this time!
-AM3

 

[Suprapowaz!(2)]

It made it to 5 days without breaking this time!
-AM3

Hey, that sounds promising. At the rate you're going it'll work fine for over a week pretty soon.

 

[Suprapowaz!(2)]

This thread reminds me of when I was in highschool I had it bad for a Fiat Bertone X19. There was no one stopping me from spending my last dime to get one. I was told by everybody (older men) that it was a money pit, expensive to maintain, and it would leave me stranded everywhere I went. I wasn't going to listen to them I was going to learn the hard way. I test drove a few of them that I found and was dead set on one of them. It needed some interior pieces, and a "tune up". Otherwise it looked ok, and moved under it's own anemic power. Right before I made the transaction I found the only one local Fiat X19 specialty shop to see about the availability of parts and upgrades. Now mind you this was before internet (1990). When I walked into the specialty shop the owner/operator of it stared at me like I was an idiot. I told him I was looking into buying one and he quickly interrupted me and said, "turn around and walk away... never come back. Run as fast and far from the idea of owning one... especially at your age. Don't do this to yourself." Of course I wanted to know why and he went on to tell me about his unhappy customers. He showed me the cars that his customers were trying to sell, and I test drove three of those that he showed me. He went into detail about what they needed to run correctly and how much it would cost. The one I was set on that needed a "tune up" really needed a rebuild. The others were just as bad.
Also said that of all his customers that he had only two were happy with their X19. One guy had bottomless pockets and was already 20k into his car, and it still needed more. The other guy was going through a divorce because of it, spends all of his time and money on it, and it still runs like shit. The rest of his customers weren't really happy with it, and most were trying to pawn them off on some other "sucker". He said enough. I decided not to buy one and was happy I talked to that shop owner. I think a lot of young men go through that. You're not the only one.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

Also said that of all his customers that he had only two were happy with their X19. One guy had bottomless pockets and was already 20k into his car, and it still needed more. The other guy was going through a divorce because of it, spends all of his time and money on it, and it still runs like shit.

I'd like to think that the Mk3 Supra isn't nearly this bad, but on the budget that the OP has, it might as well be.

You're looking for a car that's already low dollar. That means that it has issues. The ones that you can just get in and drive aren't cheap. The ones that are cheap need work. Not just stuff that it'd be nice to have, but stuff that will cause other stuff to break if you don't attend to it really soon. Even if everything is perfect, this is not a car that survives neglect long.

 

[GrimJack]

The X19? Wasn't that the little monster with the fuel tank on top of the trunk? Those were hot looking little pieces of art. Never ran to save your life, but really nice to look at.

 

[Grandavi]

Yeh your right I'm probably going to get it no matter what lol I had my eye on it for a while but it's no prob anything that goes wrong with it my friend(mechanic) will help a brother out only the clutch is messed up hopefully I'm going to test drive it one of these days.any advice on what I should look for when on the road(never drove a supra)I plan on having this car for a long time I'll post pictures of it whenever it gets sunny over here.

I love Supras... owned many over the past 5-7 years. Bought 'em, sold 'em... have a 87 and a 88 right now.

However... I recommend you avoid them if you only have a couple thousand to throw at it.

1. you wont get one you will be happy with.
2. It will need work...
3. It will need maintenance.

The only people who can pick up a cheap Supra and make a go of it have a lot of time... a lot of money and/or a lot of mechanical or body skill. My son has a friend who is a mechanic... he came here to help him work on the 87 I own. I kicked him off the car.. lol. The car is very straight forward mechanically, however... if you don't know the engine and go fiddling around.. you cause more damage mostly. Its finicky. When done right.. its bullet proof. When done slightly wrong.. its a huge headache.

Best advice I can give you... buy a 500.00 BIC lighter car or truck. Drive it while saving money for a "finished" Supra (one that is already done.. body is good, paint is good and engine has been dealt with). Pick up a car with about 25,000 into it for 6-9k and maintain the hell out of it.

If you can't do that.. don't enter the game. You wont be happy.

 

[dlgsus]

I am now a proud owner of a supra and loving it.The mechanics at my work were surprised how clean it was.....I still need to replace the clutch though it's not too bad over revs a lil and I got the guy to lower the price to 3000 grand.He was literally about to cry when I drove away......so I let him drive it one more time lol put a smile on his face.I would show pictures but I don't think the site will let me do it on my phone but thanks for all the info guys but it's time for me to ride some MORE!!!!!!

 

[LunaVyohr]

I am now a proud owner of a supra and loving it.The mechanics at my work were surprised how clean it was.....I still need to replace the clutch though it's not too bad over revs a lil and I got the guy to lower the price to 3000 grand.He was literally about to cry when I drove away......so I let him drive it one more time lol put a smile on his face.I would show pictures but I don't think the site will let me do it on my phone but thanks for all the info guys but it's time for me to ride some MORE!!!!!!

Until it breaks down.

Supras are fun until you spend all of your money getting one and then it breaks down. Ask me how I know.

 

[Grandavi]

hmm.. my Supra never broke down. I wanted more power.. and in building for more power found problems that would have reared their ugly heads at a later date.
Don't forget that most older Toyotas can be driven hard and driven long. My 88 Cressida lasted me 14 years with 2 oil changes in all that time. (was still running when I sold it).
(having said that.. the only real problem you have to watch out for (in comparison to a regular car) is the notorious head gasket issue. Other than that.. if you don't try to build the crap out of it followed by driving the crap out of it, its a hearty vehicle.

 

[Dan_Gyoba]

Just don't cheap out on basic maintenance. At the very least, regular oil changes, 2 year coolant flushes, and a seasonal inspection of the cooling system (Debris likes to collect between the A/C condenser and the radiator. Make sure you check.) Change belts and cooling hoses before they fail, instead of after. This is true for ANY car, but for an aging sports/GT car, it's even more so.

 

[Another MkIII]

This is gonna get good.
-AM3