Buying my first Supra - advice please

[Supralad]

Now ive never looked at a supra before let alone considering buying one, so im a right noob when it comes to buying. Tomorrow im going to look at an auto 3.0 supra 73k miles.

 

Apparently has been serviced every 5k miles by toyota and he has all the docs to prove it. Cambelt has just been changed (obviously ill look at the latest service for proof of this). 4 brand new tyres on the standard good condition alloys.

 

mods are:

HKS exhaust system

HKS intake - i assume this means air filter?

approx 420 bhp - so this means he must of had the basic uprgrade right?

bodywork is in fantastic condition

 

I offered £6,500 cash in hand to see what he said and he came back and said you can have it for £6,600.

 

http://pistonheads.com/sales/1833170.htm

 

Now i dont know if this is priced too high, if this is a bargin and a good buy, or is there anything that sounds funny about this?! 6.6 is quiet a drop from 7.2 advert price.

 

Ill scan through the 'what the look at when buying a supra' document when i have a look tomorrow but i just asking if anyone else can add anything or does this seem a fair deal for the money.

[Dnk]

HPI the car at the least.

 

Does he have all its previous mot's, the mileage for a UK car is very low so worth checking but could very well be correct.

 

How much mot is on the car now ?

 

The only bad thing i see on the ad is the hks induction kit because the filters are rubbish. it doesnt say what the big intercooler is which is worth finding out.

Edited July 2, 2010 by Dnk (see edit history)

[Snooze]

£6.5k ish sounds about right.

£7.2k was probably overpriced.

 

btw. is there a dyno sheet with 420hp on it? Don't get too carried away with that figure if not - for a basic BPU, it would be more likely around the 400 or maybe even down towards the 380 mark.

[Supralad]

Thanks for the replys.

 

Well apparently he has a full service history, obviously need to check this out.

 

Ill ask about the mot and intercooler, anything i should be aware about inregards to intercoolers? anything i should check on them? (dodge makes/faulty IC's?)

 

I wasnt buying for the 420bhp so its a bonus, the air filter will probably come off and be replaced after a few weeks anyway. Buying due to it simply because its in good nick, not too bad milage and at a fair price (in my eyes)

[imi]

mine was pushing 385 when it was BPU. UK cars can do a bit more due to them having steel turbos - you can crank them up to 1.4bar for more power.

 

mileage is fairly irrelevant provided the car has been regularly driven and serviced.

 

I wouldnt personally want a car that been locked away for months and see the occasional use.

[Dnk]

I just called him and he doesnt really seem to know whats on the car exactly, he thinks it has an FMIC but doesn't know what it is, the HKS electronics he thinks is a boost controller, he didn't know which HKS exhaust it is but its brand new, its not decatted.

 

He didnt know what make the brand new tyres are so check their not cheep budget rubbish. He has all the service history and previous mots and spare keys inc original wallet/folder that came with the car from Toyota.

MOT'd till April 2011, no tax.

 

Also said he'd take £6600 - £6700 for it

 

You should be able to easily cross check the mileage in the service history to the mots so take your time viewing the car and sit down and read through the mots and service book, dont do like most people do and quickly scan over it all on the bonnet of the car !!

Edited July 2, 2010 by Dnk (see edit history)

[imi]

HKS exhaust it is but its brand new, its not decatted.

 

Also said he'd take £6600 - £6700 for it

 

def not 420bhp then....

[Dnk]

I think the trader selling it has done like most do and pluck a number out the air lol, its not a biggy and even better if the cars not been maxed out:)

 

It could well be decatted and i dont think the guy would know, he was either playing dumb or genuinely didnt know.

Edited July 2, 2010 by Dnk (see edit history)

[Dnk]

Forgetting the mileage there will be plenty of parts unless theyve been changed that will due to age be at the end of their lifespan. You really do need to be very carefull or you could in the very near future be into quite a lot of ££'s replacing o/e items.

 

Have a very close look at everything you can

[Supralad]

Forgetting the mileage there will be plenty of parts unless theyve been changed that will due to age be at the end of their lifespan. You really do need to be very carefull or you could in the very near future be into quite a lot of ££'s replacing o/e items.

 

Have a very close look at everything you can

 

Well cambelt has just been changed that a few hundred quid. do parts need to start being replaced around 70k miles then? such as what parts, anything major?

 

i wont buy this weekend, ill just go and have a look around the car and check it out. he sounded a bit desperate to sell.

[Dnk]

Bar the few items listed in the ad everything else is 16 yrs old and the mileage doesnt make a huge differance.

 

The list is endless and if youve no idea it would pay you to take someone with you.

 

I personally would want the car on a ramp before i handed any cash over

[Supralad]

Does milage not matter to much on Supras then? What kind of milage do these cars go up to?

 

Ill go see the car tomorrow but before i buy one ill ask someone local off the forums if they could tag along and/or my mechanic mate.

 

You would want to get any Supra on the ramp before buying or are you talking about this one in particular?

[Scooter]

Does milage not matter to much on Supras then? What kind of milage do these cars go up to?

 

Ill go see the car tomorrow but before i buy one ill ask someone local off the forums if they could tag along and/or my mechanic mate.

 

You would want to get any Supra on the ramp before buying or are you talking about this one in particular?

 

What Dunk is getting at is that there are a fair few 'potential' costly areas and they are not that mileage dependant ie you could easily spend more on this car over the next year than Chrisrigpigs 160K miler where he has replaced a fair few of the things that wear out but the mileage puts people off........

 

Saying all this on the face of it, it looks a good car/price to me and the seller possibly someone who has bagged a dealer p/x (parkers guide p/x price is very low) and wants to make a coupld of grand quickly.

 

If a UK is not an insurance neccessity then I'd at least see an import as well to compare.

[Supralad]

unfortunately i do need to stick to a UK model as im only 22.

 

Cheers for info though, will be careful when buying.