Should I buy a Supra?

[lexsum]

.... Maybe 17-18.

 

... I am 18 ....

 

 

score!!!

[supra dan]

these cars are usually very reliable and parts are not a problem. however if you get one thats been abused or you abuse it yourself it will break like any other car. get a good one tho and drive it reasonably ( everyone thrashes them sometimes ) and you will love it for years

[AndyT]

My god, that’s a lot of replies far more than I was expecting. Thank you all.

 

Yes this post genuine, I see your point that £3750 is a lot of money and I am 18 (19 In April), driving since November 2007 with 1 years no claims.

 

Granted I did want a Civic but as a step from a 1.2 to something bigger later on but when I saw that the insurance was so low (in comparison to the civic.) I thought I might skip that step.

 

Again I understand this car is going to be FAR FAR FAR more powerful than the Punto I drive at the moment and expected that I would have to drive like an old woman for a few months so I don’t park it up a tree on the first bend.

 

As for my money situation I’m on £15,000 a year and with only rent to my mum to pay I get about £1000 per month so its not a real issue for me.

 

Providing I get a well looked after one (and I do the same) it shouldn't break down any more than any other car?

 

One more thing. Parts. Should something break how easy is it to get parts for them?

 

Thanks again

 

Just a thought, would you guys recomend going on a track day and or something in a RWD car before I jump in one and ruin someones front lawn?

 

For the experiance maily, but I'd damn well enjoy it too!

 

Nice posting young man.

 

Some of the reasons the insurance is so different is mainly down to a lot more civics have been nicked and it's classed "hot hatch". I get the same on my 'blade. Costs more to insure than a 30 grand MV Agusta.

 

Parts are not difficult for the Supra. Lots of traders here.

 

Get some instruction. It's a great idea.

 

Good luck buddy.

[Guest longsh07]

Thanks for all your posts, please keep them coming, the more the better.

 

I'm glad you've all accepted I'm not buying this to impress my mates or anything but purely because I love cars and the Supra looks like an incredible one at that.

 

No doubt I might thrash it once in a while too (I'm not actually an old woman)

[Ark]

Just a thought, would you guys recomend going on a track day and or something in a RWD car before I jump in one and ruin someones front lawn?

 

For the experiance maily, but I'd damn well enjoy it too!

 

In your last two posts my opinion of you has changed a little. Get one you will love it and yes a track day with an instructor would be a good move, I have done it and loved it. Good luck.

 

Training is always a good way to spend your money. Much better than spending nearly 4 grand per year on insuring a car that's probably worth only 6 grand.

 

Reliability - yes they're fine generally. But then again, maintenance can be done OK, or it can done properly, and the cars are reaching an age where things like suspension arms and wheel bearings want changing and can be seriously expensive.

 

Last 18 year old I heard of buying a Supra made the idiot mistake of buying an ex-Fast Car feature car - fancy paint, big turbos blah blah, under the assumption that it would be reliable. Next day it was down at Toyoda Tech, running like a bag of spanners with all the tappets out, hoses split and melted all over the place and generally held together with gaffer tape.

[Guest longsh07]

Nice posting young man.

 

Good luck buddy.

 

Thanks Andy, I appreciate it.

 

Matt

[Guest longsh07]

Training is always a good way to spend your money. Much better than spending nearly 4 grand per year on insuring a car that's probably worth only 6 grand.

 

Reliability - yes they're fine generally. But then again, maintenance can be done OK, or it can done properly, and the cars are reaching an age where things like suspension arms and wheel bearings want changing and can be seriously expensive.

 

Last 18 year old I heard of buying a Supra made the idiot mistake of buying an ex-Fast Car feature car - fancy paint, big turbos blah blah, under the assumption that it would be reliable. Next day it was down at Toyoda Tech, running like a bag of spanners with all the tappets out, hoses split and melted all over the place and generally held together with gaffer tape.

 

Ouch that must have cost an arm and a leg.

 

See now this is the sort of thing I hope to avoid.

[ilicos]

As for my money situation I’m on £15,000 a year and with only rent to my mum to pay I get about £1000 per month so its not a real issue for me.

Mate....on £15k a year(i.e £1014 pm) you will not even be able to afford to fill the car up let alone drive it.

 

By the time you spend £350 pm on insurance (Inc interest) and £200-£300 pm on fuel and another £100 contingency, you will end up with nothing at the end of the month.

 

Think realistically!!! Do you have £700 pm spare???

 

Get yourself a nice Mk2 MR2 and half that outgoing.

[tbourner]

I had mine the back end of my apprenticeship, on a bit more money (£20.5k IIRC), and found it was costing on average £350 per month. My insurance was £1200 as well!!

 

You could of course just own it for a year or so like I did, enjoy the hell out of it and then regret selling it.

[colsoop]

If you have the disposable income for the car and associated running costs then go for it.

 

As a rough idea the perishable items are approx:

 

tyres £100 a corner

brakes disks £120 a set

oil filter £60 per change every 4k miles.

 

If you are sensible and can get someone who knows RWD well to sit in with you and give you some pointers you will be fine, get silly and it will end in tears, even experienced drivers get caught out.

 

My first years insurance was £2500 and i don't regeret spending that much

 

Good luck with it

[Vicky]

It is affordable on £15k, i dont earn too much more and own my own house ect. Get one and enjoy it but like others have said - be very careful!

[AndyT]

Thanks Andy, I appreciate it.

 

Matt

 

Following Ark's post Matt. Be sure to get an unmolested example ie standard engine maybe light body kitting, for your first excursion. Low milers are available.

If you're not mechanically minded, find someone who knows these cars before you buy. Read the guides on the forum page.

Have a look in the Supra Classified forum here. At least the car will be member owned.

[danhicks22]

On the subject of insurance, how much have you shopped around? When I first started looking I was getting quotes for £4k+, which almost put me off completely, but with enough digging and waiting a bit, I was getting quotes from more friendly companies for around £1k. In the end I paid about £1250 for a 10 month bonus accelerator scheme for my first year. I'm about to renew to a better policy. I was 22 when I first started looking, and 23 when I took out the policy with 2 years driving and ncb.

 

If you are happy to give a large proportion of your money to the car, you won't regret it. They're awesome.

 

I learned to drive in a 1.25 Fiesta, then drove a 1.6 8v Astra for a year and then got a stock Supra TT with a body kit. Best thing I ever did. As long as you're careful and you don't drive like a dick, you'll be fine.

[Guest longsh07]

I can't thank you guys enough for your help.

 

Ill take everything into consideration and do what I think best, even if that means waiting a couple of years before I buy one. No question ill be back when I do!

 

Thanks again everyone, keep any advice coming, its all very welcome.

[Guest longsh07]

On the subject of insurance, how much have you shopped around? When I first started looking I was getting quotes for £4k+, which almost put me off completely, but with enough digging and waiting a bit, I was getting quotes from more friendly companies for around £1k. In the end I paid about £1250 for a 10 month bonus accelerator scheme for my first year. I'm about to renew to a better policy. I was 22 when I first started looking, and 23 when I took out the policy with 2 years driving and ncb.

 

If you are happy to give a large proportion of your money to the car, you won't regret it. They're awesome.

 

I learned to drive in a 1.25 Fiesta, then drove a 1.6 8v Astra for a year and then got a stock Supra TT with a body kit. Best thing I ever did. As long as you're careful and you don't drive like a dick, you'll be fine.

 

Honestly? Not at all I used confused.com but that was it so I could probably get a much better deal if i keep looking.

[supra-lover]

Stick with a model one mate

[AlexM]

I went from a 1.2 Punto to an NA Supra myself, after racking up just over three years no claims with the Punto. I had (and still have) no wish to kill myself, and jumping straight into a TT with no high powered/RWD/Turbo experience did not seem a good idea to me. I'm glad of this for a few reasons -

 

When I bought my first Supra I had absolutely no idea about anything car related (this was ~ a year ago), and while I took someone with me who 'knew' cars there were many things he did not pick up on.

The car I bought, turned out to be near enough a death trap (aka a 'dog'). It had three semi-seized calipers (one piston seized on each front caliper, and rear right seemed seized also), aftermarket wheels with unevenly worn tyres, a failing water pump and rad cap, and a fair bit of rust with a small amount of damage (hidden under the body kit). It's also had a poor 'spray over', with the paint flaking at the edges. It's cost me several thousand to put 'right' and I'm very lucky I didn't end up in a tree (or similar) while I was driving it in that condition (I believe an extra 100bhp with a turbo kick would have made this far more likely).

 

Ironically I only found out there was something wrong with the car due to buying another one () and finding it drove a lot better. I also took it straight to Chris Wilson for a full service, let him give it a once over, and did any preliminary maintenance he suggested (I will now do this with any car I buy).

 

I suggest you get to some club meets, get some passenger rides (on the road and track days), and if possible get some drives (even if gentle) of cars you know are set up correctly, so you know how a good one should feel. I would also get another year of no claims under your belt, because £3750 is insane no matter how you look at it (but it is up to you).

 

Good luck.

[Guigsy]

Its nice to see someone with at least a nice attitude posting on here and not flying off the handle and resorting to calling people silly names or useing txt speak. Congrats on that.

 

Running one on 15k is affordable, Ive done it for the past few years, The months when it needs tyres and a big service can be tight though. But then i have no other outgoings apart from bills. i own my own house but have no mortgage. I also paid my insurance upfront. but it only cost me 1200 or so.

Im not sure where your getting the 7k quote for insurance from for a civic (ignore confused.com) try sky or adrian flux, they tend to give the best prices. Try them again on a civic (the older ones look very cool lowered on some nice wheels) and a supra, you might be surprised.

 

I went from a 1.2 clio to a NA, and it a was a HUGE jump. i drove it like a granny for months. And then when i didn't after a month or so of being confident i pushed it to far, lost the back end and luckily only popped a tyre on a curb. I narrowly missed swiping to kids on bikes when my rear end came around though.

Scared me to death. I was fortunate and i consider myself a very sensible individual. Others on here haven't been and people have died. Search the forums im sure the posts wont be hard to find.

I then moved onto a TT and while i was already used to the RWD the power jump from the clio to the NA was similar to the jump from the NA to the 400bhp of the TT and it was still a surprise.

 

I definately wouldnt recomend going from a punto to a TT. NA maybe if your very carefull. But i definately wouldnt be paying 3k for the pleasure!

As others have said. try some of the nissans. good motors and good fun

[stevie_b]

I went straight from an 8-valve 1.1 Metro to an NA Supra. I didn't find it a problem, I just took time to learn how the car behaves.

 

Toyota are known for their good build quality and mechanicals, and the supra is no exception. The main worry for you will be previous owners who have performed modifications on the cheap, hence why a standard car *can* (not always!) be a good idea.

 

If you do buy an imported supra and you're given a very competitive quote, make absolutely sure the insurance company have quoted you for a J-Spec supra and not a UK one.

[stevie_b]

I went straight from an 8-valve 1.1 Metro to an NA Supra. I didn't find it a problem, I just took time to learn how the car behaves.

 

Toyota are known for their good build quality and mechanicals, and the supra is no exception. The main worry for you will be previous owners who have performed modifications on the cheap, hence why a standard car *can* (not always!) be a good idea.

 

If you do buy an imported supra and you're given a very competitive quote, make absolutely sure the insurance company have quoted you for a J-Spec supra and not a UK one.

[DODGYDODDS]

some good advice, Just have to ask yourself how much you really want one and what sacrifices your prepared to make.

 

i bought one, was on 18k a yr, and it was fine when it was running ok, but tbh, think i hgot a friday car, started to go wrong, first the clutch, then a turbo, fixed that, then boom end of plug came off, and it was goodnight irene, 1yr of saving and 5k later it is getting fixed.

 

What im trying to say is, they are great cars, make sure you get a good one, and be prepared to pay if things go a stray.

[Tom]

I thought you were going to be 18,

 

seriously you sound like I did when I first joined here at that age, I waited till I was 21 to get a TT purely because no insurance company would quote me, I'm suprised you've been quoted but I bet it was for a UK Supra as that was the only model available to me at the time and only the manual form for some reason

 

if I was to go back I'd say for you to forget the Supra for a couple of years and buy a 200sx, it'll still be expensive to insure(though not as much as the supra) but it'll be cheaper to fill up,maintain and is a very nice way into RWD.

 

Seriously do not fork out over 3k for insurance, it's such a big waste of money and the Supra really isnt worth it for that

Edited March 18, 2009 by Tom (see edit history)

[Ark]

Ouch that must have cost an arm and a leg.

 

See now this is the sort of thing I hope to avoid.

 

It did cost, but when rich Daddy showed up at the workshop to see, driving a new AMG Merc, saying "just fix it"...

 

My point was that no matter how good the car is, or what checks you do on it, it WILL bite you on the arse sooner or later, and this being a high-end Toyota, WILL cost lots.

[Tom]

looking at 15k a year bit I was on the same when I had my TT6, and tbh other than filling it up with fuel and having it serviced I would say that I couldn't really afford to run it how I wanted, ie buying nice things for it, but I think I was lucky as I got a good one that didnt need that much maitanence, just oil changes,pads but if it wasnt for that I would have had to sell it almost immediately, my insurance was £1100 per year at the time and I was doing £60 per week which was around 100-200 miles depending how I drove

Edited March 18, 2009 by Tom (see edit history)

[Guest longsh07]

It did cost, but when rich Daddy showed up at the workshop to see, driving a new AMG Merc, saying "just fix it"...

 

My point was that no matter how good the car is, or what checks you do on it, it WILL bite you on the arse sooner or later, and this being a high-end Toyota, WILL cost lots.

 

Aaah I see, OK well its looking like I really need to consider the costs of keeping it on the road, should something go wrong then before I buy one.

 

Can't say I'm supprised really.

 

Thanks.