john-w Posted November 29, 2002 Share Posted November 29, 2002 Hello Everyone:) Just a few typical newbie questions,im sure they have been asked many times before so i apoligise in advance. Really like mkiv supra`s and im basicly wondering about maintainence costs etc,looking to buy a n/a 3.0 supra (hopefully)but unsure if i can afford one. How often do you need to service them and how much does it cost roughly? Are parts expensive?how much would starter motor s brake discs pads and standard (or uprated)exhausts Heard the engines are very reliable but anything ishould look out for?? Alocal garage has a 94L with 42 k miles (3.0 n/a)whats a fair price think it is an import? is your local toyota dealer happy to work on an imported car? Would be grateful for any help thanks in advance John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted November 29, 2002 Share Posted November 29, 2002 John Welcome! Hope you find the car you want - If I may offer one word of advice - choose your make and model carefully - are you sure you want a n/a over a TT? The servicing costs are OK - it's the modifications to make them go faster that stack up the £££'s- and you can do little with an n/a to improve on the basic well designed engine Have a look at all the Supra related sites and take your time - you will find an A1 car! 94L - n/a - what you reckon guys - £8.5/9? If you certain you want n/a - why not get a targa top? Good luck Paul:cool: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 29, 2002 Share Posted November 29, 2002 There's a few NA's for around £7,000 - £8,000 on Autotrader at the moment. Servicing costs are going to be cheaper on the NA as they don't require oil changes as often. Don't know how much though.. NA owner, please step in... I agree with Paul above though, The NA's are quick cars, but if you want a 'very' quick car, you'll always be wiching you had bought a TT to start with. - If it's the looks you like, get the NA, there's no difference externally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted November 29, 2002 Share Posted November 29, 2002 If you want an NA you might want to look out for the rare but very quick lightened and highly tuned race version of the NA, cant remember the model, but Supra Pilot has one, very nice car and quick not far off stock turbo performance AFAIK. Members experience with main dealers servicing is very variable, you may be lucky and have a good one who has some experience of the MKIV near by but be careful, some know little about the car. If you have not done so you should get a ride in a variety of cars, JIC are very good for test drives, real drives, not just once round the block in second. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam_SG Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Supra SZ-R is the version ur thinking about, about 8k depending on condition i reckon. But from 1996 they get a 6 speed gearbox. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 That's the one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Welcome! SZ owner here. Paul is right - if you are even remotely a speed freak then wait until you can get a TT - they are completely different animals (I can't speak for the SZ-R though). Again, as Paul suggested, once I realised that an SZ was the car for me, I decided to make it a bit more special by getting an Aerotop (targa). It cost me £13000 for a mint 26000mile L plater from JIC, but that was in the good old days before the prices dropped a bit. Servicing: have a look around here using the search function, but to summarise: Intervals are 9000miles or 1 year. Schedule is AABAAB 27000 miles: £240 B 36000 miles: £220 A 45000 miles: £140 A 54000 miles: £370 B 63000 miles: £140 A 72000 miles: £220 A Prices are from East Anglia main dealers, and include parts, labour, VAT and all the "extras" you might hear talked about. Prices will vary from area to area. TT owners usually add at least one extra oil change in between services. Cambelt change every 60000 miles (book figure) but good advice is to get it done when you buy the car so you know where you stand. Price will be about £160. Standard brake pads for standard J-spec brakes (sliding calipers frona and rear) = £110 for a full set (not fitted). The NA exhaust is different from the TT or UK one in all apart from the back box. The whole system (not including cats) costs about £500 to get shipped in m Japan so its about the same as getting an aftermarket one in this country, I think. Tyre costs will vary with how you drive the car and what size wheels you have. Goodyear F1s on standard UK sized 17" wheels cost about £250 for fronts and £320 for rears. A well looked after engine should run and run. Watch out for PAS pump noise and oil indicating either worn valve stem seals or (on a TT) leaky turbo oil seals. 94L with 42K miles. I'd say £8K to £9K (boo-hoo). Check your garage out before you buy. Try asking about service prices and standard parts. Their degree of helpfulness should tell you how happy they are to work on an import. They may spin you loads of BS about how difficult it is to get the right parts, but I am yet to have a routine service item not available off the shelf. All franchised dealers will have the Japanese versions of the Toyota parts CDs. They do usually need your model and frame numbers from the VIN plate, though. Happy hunting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScottPawsey Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Welcome john I've had my SZ for about six month's completly trouble free its a great car but i would shop about and definatly test drive a TT there are time's i wish i had one. Good luck:thumbs: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Originally posted by Terminator If you want an NA you might want to look out for the rare but very quick lightened and highly tuned race version of the NA, cant remember the model, but Supra Pilot has one, very nice car and quick not far off stock turbo performance AFAIK. Members experience with main dealers servicing is very variable, you may be lucky and have a good one who has some experience of the MKIV near by but be careful, some know little about the car. If you have not done so you should get a ride in a variety of cars, JIC are very good for test drives, real drives, not just once round the block in second. Intriguing! So what are the differences with this lightweight one then? Never heard of this before. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragonball Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Originally posted by Chris Wilson Intriguing! So what are the differences with this lightweight one then? Never heard of this before. Thanks. It's called a Tuscan - made by someone called TVR? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gaz Walker Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 By the way, I've made a post in the wrong thread about this (see removal of ecu cover, oops) with a couple of these for sale. Apparently the only differences are they have big brakes and big wheels and thats really it over an SZ... Gaz. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john-w Posted November 30, 2002 Author Share Posted November 30, 2002 Wow thanks for all the replys and advice,only reason i would like a n/a car is because it may be a bit more insurance friendly,are they both as reliable as each other?mmmn targa top is something to consider:) are there many uk t/t s about? Spoke to toyota main dealer,he made it clear they wont touch import cars but would welcome a uk supra,he went on about parts being sometimes three times more expensive and hard to get hold of etc will check with other garages though.the garage that is selling the n/a car imports the cars but dont know if they are reliable or trustworthy,the supra does look good though.will i just make sure they show me the certificate that gives the car its grade(1-5)?cant remember what its called.to be fair they do seem to sell lots of cars Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dil Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 I've got an ZS-R too, the only differences that i've been able to figure out between an SZ and mine is big brakes, with 17's, bilstein suspension, no air bags , no electric seat & 6 speed gear box. It incedently will be going up for sale soon/early next year, as the girl friend has told me we need to buy a house:( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Most Toyota dealers are very thick skinned. Ignore what they say about imports. I've never come across a part thats 3 times as expensive yet! I could be wrong but I didn't think they were allowed to refuse imports these days. My local Toyota dealer has a letter from Toyota UK on their wall saying they would give equal service to UK or imported cars. The guy behind the counter said "as long as it's got the Toyota badge, we can help". I have 2 local Toyota dealerships. Ones really helpful, the others are a bunch of W**k**s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Branners Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Harpers in St Albans will service an import, but charged an extra £15 an hour to do so, which means probably about £65 per hour. Personally I would say if your Toyota dealer has said that then tell them to bugger off and use one of the recognised supra servicing people recommended by others on this BBS. No matter where you are in the country, there should be somebody close that can work on a supra. JB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terminator Posted November 30, 2002 Share Posted November 30, 2002 Originally posted by Chris Wilson Intriguing! So what are the differences with this lightweight one then? Never heard of this before. Thanks. I am not familiar with the spec but I was talking to another member of this BBS who spent ages trying to hunt one down. I am sure he said somthing about them being raced in Japan. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john-w Posted December 1, 2002 Author Share Posted December 1, 2002 Spoke to a few garages in the aberdeen area today,a few of them said they would be happy to work on an import but would charge an extra £18 p/h.I had another t*at in a garage saying not to buy an import apparently he bought a imported mr2 a few years ago and said many uk parts were different and had to pay £150 for a handbrake cable instead of £56 that he would of been for a uk one,he also said the car was a bugger to work on,but maybe different models are better than others?? whats the best way of finding out if i can trust the garage thats selling the supra?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digsy Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 Originally posted by john-w Spoke to toyota main dealer,he made it clear they wont touch import cars but would welcome a uk supra,he went on about parts being sometimes three times more expensive and hard to get hold of etc will check with other garages though. That's the standard "unhelpful" Toyota line, and apart from the word "sometimes" it is BS. Yes, some parts are hard to get hold of but usually that's only because they have to be shipped from Japan and you have to pay extra for shipping, so its a time and money "hard" rather than a tracking the right part down hard. A J-spec Supra is a car like any other, and all you need to find the right part is the VIN details and the parts CDs, which your local Toyota dealer should have anyway. After that the get the part number on the screen just like any other UK car and send off for it. Toyota UK keep a parts store in Belgium (I think) that carries most routine parts for imports these days. Given that, sometimes a prt throws them a curve ball. Like I saidm the NA exhaust is Japan only and (at least when I checked last) not routinely held within European stores. Another BBS member has waited for most of his adult life for some facelift indicator wiring looms to arrive. Another trick that unhelpful Toyota dealers sometimes try is to say that all J-spec parts are non-refundable if they turn out to be wrong. This may or may not be tru of stuff which is shipped on special order from Japan, but if they hold it in stock then to my mind it shouldn't apply. The extra charge per hour is fairly routine, though. A compete rip-off, but routine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Wilson Posted December 1, 2002 Share Posted December 1, 2002 Originally posted by john-w Spoke to a few garages in the aberdeen area today,a few of them said they would be happy to work on an import but would charge an extra £18 p/h.I had another t*at in a garage saying not to buy an import apparently he bought a imported mr2 a few years ago and said many uk parts were different and had to pay £150 for a handbrake cable instead of £56 that he would of been for a uk one,he also said the car was a bugger to work on,but maybe different models are better than others?? whats the best way of finding out if i can trust the garage thats selling the supra?? Well he was talking utter rubbish, all years and markets of MKII MR2 shared the same rear calipers, pads and handbrake cables. And even 56 quid is OTT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john-w Posted December 2, 2002 Author Share Posted December 2, 2002 Where do you go to get parts that need to be shipped from japan?are there places on the net??,a Chris- possible he was talking rubbish,he is apparently well known for that:) so wont pay much attention to him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon F Posted December 2, 2002 Share Posted December 2, 2002 Originally posted by john-w Where do you go to get parts that need to be shipped from japan?are there places on the net??,a Your local friendly(?) Toyota Dealer. Toyota allegedly operate a Global Policy in which they will supply any Toyota part to any country, regardless of whether that model of car was ever sold in that country. However you may have to pay a deposit, or indeed pay up front for Jap parts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Harwood Posted December 4, 2002 Share Posted December 4, 2002 Originally posted by john-w Where do you go to get parts that need to be shipped from japan?are there places on the net?? Don't worry too much about getting J-spec parts, most are the same as UK parts and it's only the occasional part you'll need to get and there are plenty of specialists around now. In just over a year of owning a J-spec car, I've never had a problem yet Touch wood! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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