my 1st Supra! Prices, Mods, and underseal?

[Stephen88]

So I have pulled the trigger on this car!

 

https://www.torque-gt.co.uk/supra-vvti-230519.html

 

I paid 38K....Did I pay too much? Yes most likely BUT the car is very very clean.[sHOCK][/sHOCK]

 

So I just thought I stretch myself for it. Not sure if I have made a mistake but I am happy with the purchase. Similar to a member I read recently who paid 36k I believe?

 

I'm sure some of you will definately think I am mad.... but given the prices of Supras in US and the prices of JDM Surpas it doesn't seem unreasonable.

 

A clean JDM TT6 unmodded to buy in japan will be at least 30k and then 5k to import the car and margin for Torque GT.... is probably what the maths look like.. I don't know tell me if I am wrong.

 

but this car with 151K miles https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/223601942189 is asking north of 34K.

 

Yes again I know it will probably would sit there for a while....but who knows Supras especially TT6 will become on par with R34 GTR prices.....and most JDMs seems to be on the up in general.. But with no deal brexit....etc... yes too much speculation but I can't help myself.

 

My current car is a accord type r (daily driver) one I had for 15 yrs and my last "fun" car was a 997.2 911 manual...great car but boring and not really me. As much as I tried to get into the whole Porsche Cult thing...

 

Mods..

 

The supra comes with some TE 37s and I would like a set of BBS LM later down the line but the jap fitment is rare so will just keep the TEs.

 

Not sure what power this car makes 280 to somewhere in the region of 300? to be honest given what I driven before anything over 300 is really plenty.. I would like to take it to just under 400 maybe. Over the weekend I also managed to pick up a mint condition set of Recaro Lemans Confetti which was something I really wanted as my car is a RZ-S not a RZ. I was thinking of getting UK brakes on it too and I also managed to get a TRD strut brace. I did thought about trying to get hold of a TRD diff but the rarity and the fact I am not putting down huge power is properly pointless.

 

So here is the thing shall I even mod the car? After speaking to the chap I picked up the seat from I heard underseal with dinitrol is not a good idea and I should just just get the car waxed underneath and only use it in the summer. I do understand that thinking as I spent close to 40k on this thing...And the odometer shall I even get that changed from KM to MPH or just leave it? Will that devalue the car once again?

 

I was thinking underseal and getting the odometer converted is a fairly normal thing to do! And I was just going to enjoy the car! But another part of me is saying no and preserve.

 

Sorry for the long post thoughts appreciated!!

[ManwithSupra]

If you are thinking about keeping/increasing its value then i would suggest you keep it as stock as possible.

Its a clean looking car though, very nice.

 

Things like UK brakes etc I dont think would affect the value... but anything that isn't "stock" will effect resale price to the purist...

Edited August 5, 2019 by ManwithSupra (see edit history)

[Dnk]

Looks good, its amazing where these have got to price wise, nearly as much as a new UK spec back in the 90's

[Noz]

Gorgeous looking car.

 

I really do think it's worth keeping it as stock as possible, or at least easy stuff you can change; wheels, exhaust, etc.

 

I'd buy a second set of clocks with different fronts on for the MPH. Then you can swap over the KPH to make it stock. As converters can fail or break, cause you issues (mine even stopped my odometer working). I'd advise getting a gauge cluster face that matches MPH. Metal Monkey sell different facia to go on the clocks. TRD style.

[tayr]

100% worth it. I bought my TT6 from Torque in May this year, and so happy with it.

 

I watch the japanese auction and prices daily, a car like this would and has cost 40-42k to land in the UK now, so 38k (although alot) is reasonable.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

Can i ask how much you paid for confetti recaros? I really want some but seen some advertised at 2k!!

 

In regards to underseal and speedo conversion. Torque should be able to do this for you.

 

I got plenty of photos underneath first, and although i'll be using the car in the summer only i decided to go for the underseal as UK roads are terrible last thing i want is rust. So as long as it's clean first it's a good idea.

 

Speedo wise - i personally would change it. The good thing about the VVTi is that the Odo is analogue so can be put into the correct mileage. Also MOT stations might list the car as 'x' miles, instead of x kilometers. Thats a bugger to change afterwards

 

It does depend what you want out of the car though - did you buy it for an investment, or did you buy it to drive and enjoy as a dream car?

 

If investment, i'd just leave everything as is, change the wheels to STOCK 17's and just garage it, its whole life.

 

I purchased the car with the idea that, i never want to sell it. But, on the offchance that one day i will, just make sure that everything can be put back to stock

Edited August 5, 2019 by tayr (see edit history)

[j_jza80]

Probably a good buy. Doubt you'll actually make any money on it, tax, insurance and servicing will likely eat any appreciation in value, but you've probably bought the most desirable spec of car outside of a lhd hardtop tt6.

 

Looks like a very nice car

[Axl]

Stunning looking machine

[Hammer]

That's a lovely looking Supra, congratulations on a nice buy. I would think as long as you can put things back to stock easily a few changes/upgrades would not effect the value.

[Stephen88]

Thanks for all the repsonses all!

 

I think not doing the underseal is a bit extreme and even if you drive it during summer who is to say is not goign to pick up a grain of salt!! Yes Torque GT does do it but wondered if I should opt not to do it for the originality and just use some wax but I think I will just do it.

 

The Odometer wise torque gt will chnage the dials and use a convertor.... hopefully it will have no issues. If any problems I will just go back to them..

 

Hopefully I be able to meet some of you in future meets!

[Stephen88]

100% worth it. I bought my TT6 from Torque in May this year, and so happy with it.

 

I watch the japanese auction and prices daily, a car like this would and has cost 40-42k to land in the UK now, so 38k (although alot) is reasonable.

 

Looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

 

Can i ask how much you paid for confetti recaros? I really want some but seen some advertised at 2k!!

 

In regards to underseal and speedo conversion. Torque should be able to do this for you.

 

I got plenty of photos underneath first, and although i'll be using the car in the summer only i decided to go for the underseal as UK roads are terrible last thing i want is rust. So as long as it's clean first it's a good idea.

 

Speedo wise - i personally would change it. The good thing about the VVTi is that the Odo is analogue so can be put into the correct mileage. Also MOT stations might list the car as 'x' miles, instead of x kilometers. Thats a bugger to change afterwards

 

It does depend what you want out of the car though - did you buy it for an investment, or did you buy it to drive and enjoy as a dream car?

 

If investment, i'd just leave everything as is, change the wheels to STOCK 17's and just garage it, its whole life.

 

I purchased the car with the idea that, i never want to sell it. But, on the offchance that one day i will, just make sure that everything can be put back to stock

 

Thanks Torque GT would do it was debating not to do it to leave it even more stock and standard but the car is in UK soil so I think is a must!!!! The seats I paid 1200.... I thought I over paid!!! They are so mint and looks new no rips nothing!!

[Scooter]

In these crazy times, I think buying one that is this tidy is sensible (or as sensible as it can be buying a car this age for that much!). It just needs tlc re cleaning and proper storage to keep it looking pristine. A manual TT seems to be £20K absolute minimum and those could be starting to need treatment in various areas which could quickly eat into the purchase price saving.

 

What I'm surprised by is where were you when these cars were £10-£15K!? Too young or just they never hit your radar back then?

 

Underseal type treatments split people......I think summer usage, ACF50 spray and cleaning might be better for yours than full underseal. Have a good long think about it, don't rush into doing it.

[Johnm400]

Lovely car. Is that an RSR exhaust? If so, they sound terrible and you should replace it with another and sell it to me

 

Keep as close to stock as possible. If you do mod it, make sure the mods can be easily reversed and keep the original parts.

 

Regarding the underseal. Look at Bilt Hamber products, they are the experts in corrosion protection. If you email them, the head chemist Pete will advise you as to the best approach, he is really helpful.

Edited August 5, 2019 by Johnm400 (see edit history)

[Swampy442]

Great looking car. Personally, if you're not going to drive in winter why even bother undersealing? I had a Crown that was just painted underneath and I loved the way it looked. Just give it a wash underneath once a month. KM/MPH conversion, if you can cope with KMs (some cant) then dont introduce another electronic weak point

[wile e coyote]

Very nice

Very envious

Look forward to seeing it at a meet

[tintinmt]

[quote

 

Underseal type treatments split people......I think summer usage, ACF50 spray and cleaning might be better for yours than full underseal. Have a good long think about it, don't rush into doing it.

 

as above - If dry stored over winter, I don't think rust will be an issue.

[TheTurtleshead]

In terms of body protection, I personally prefer the following strategy:

 

-Full cavity wax treatment(Do not confuse with undersealing). This involves filling the body cavities with a thin oily product, it will penetrate the seams of the car and prevent moisture from entering and remaining where it can begin to corrode the metal. This is best undertaken with a quality product, some of my favourites these days are from the likes of rustbuster, dinitrol, bilt hamber(even waxoil is a half decent if old school product) This process should be repeated every 3-5 years as the product will drip/dry/run out, frequency depends on your driving habits/mileage.

 

-If the car is extremely good fettle underneath, I would recommend it is cleaned carefully, then inspected with a bright LED lamp for any small areas which have the beginnings of surface corrosion. If there are any, you can then treat these small areas with a wire wheel and rust killing solution, use some zinc based primer/red oxide to seal. Then a 'thin' top coat of quality underseal of your choice. I like to use a product which stays slightly tacky/oily for life, and again -goes on thin! Don't plaster everything in thick horrible goo, it can hide the beginnings of rust for years and make it worse.

 

At the end of the day nothing will stop a car rusting forever, you can only delay it by taking sensible steps.

 

Just my 2 pence! Everyone has got a different opinion. A lot of the true 'survivor' classics I have seen(Which have not been stored in a shed or come from a desert climate), have remained in such condition because they were cavity waxed from new by the dealer. A common treatment was 'ziebart' back in the day, look for that on classic car adverts kids!

[Annabella]

That's a lovely looking car, keep it stock if you're wondering about future value. Worth the money.

[blythmrk]

Great looking car. Personally, if you're not going to drive in winter why even bother undersealing? I had a Crown that was just painted underneath and I loved the way it looked. Just give it a wash underneath once a month.

 

Craig has hit it on the head just keep it clean as that’s all I do

[Alex G]

i saw it on their web site, it looks super nice. i saw it listed to 40000£, but did you negotiate the price if you gave 38000£?

as for mods, dont do too much, just whatever looks clean. Supras dont need body kits and 600hp to be a Supra.

[Mr2kyle]

That's a cracker you have there! Like the gram lights too! As said already, stay stockish or atleast keep the parts so it can be easily converted back if you were to sell at a later date.

[Stephen88]

i saw it on their web site, it looks super nice. i saw it listed to 40000£, but did you negotiate the price if you gave 38000£?

as for mods, dont do too much, just whatever looks clean. Supras dont need body kits and 600hp to be a Supra.

 

yes it was negotiated...it was 38000 providing they keep the set of TE37s and change over to the OEM 17 inch wheels. After some thought and looking I gave up trying to find the BBS LMs and have decided to keep the TE 37 as well. As is also a pretty nice looking set of wheels. So is 39000 with a set of OEM 17 inch wheels.

 

I stil think I have over paid...but it was either now or never I feel.

[Stephen88]

That's a cracker you have there! Like the gram lights too! As said already, stay stockish or atleast keep the parts so it can be easily converted back if you were to sell at a later date.

 

Yea that's the plan I bought a strut brace which I won't really call it modding and the recaro confetti seats which is minimal... I would like a little more power 400 I am thinking.. But yes the plan is no mods and certainly no body kits... If I can find an original TRD lip then.... but I don't think is possible to get hold of one.

 

With Toyota doing OEM parts on MK4 it should be easier to keep it standard going forwards as well. But I think is a fairly limited range going by what nissan is doing for r32s.... Still no news from Toyota when these bits are available again.

[Stephen88]

That's a lovely looking car, keep it stock if you're wondering about future value. Worth the money.

 

yea that's was what was going through my head ! When I bought it WORTH THE MONEY !!!

[Stephen88]

That's a cracker you have there! Like the gram lights too! As said already, stay stockish or atleast keep the parts so it can be easily converted back if you were to sell at a later date.

 

They are pretty nice the wheels ... but I really wanted the BBS LMs

[Stephen88]

In terms of body protection, I personally prefer the following strategy:

 

-Full cavity wax treatment(Do not confuse with undersealing). This involves filling the body cavities with a thin oily product, it will penetrate the seams of the car and prevent moisture from entering and remaining where it can begin to corrode the metal. This is best undertaken with a quality product, some of my favourites these days are from the likes of rustbuster, dinitrol, bilt hamber(even waxoil is a half decent if old school product) This process should be repeated every 3-5 years as the product will drip/dry/run out, frequency depends on your driving habits/mileage.

 

-If the car is extremely good fettle underneath, I would recommend it is cleaned carefully, then inspected with a bright LED lamp for any small areas which have the beginnings of surface corrosion. If there are any, you can then treat these small areas with a wire wheel and rust killing solution, use some zinc based primer/red oxide to seal. Then a 'thin' top coat of quality underseal of your choice. I like to use a product which stays slightly tacky/oily for life, and again -goes on thin! Don't plaster everything in thick horrible goo, it can hide the beginnings of rust for years and make it worse.

 

At the end of the day nothing will stop a car rusting forever, you can only delay it by taking sensible steps.

 

Just my 2 pence! Everyone has got a different opinion. A lot of the true 'survivor' classics I have seen(Which have not been stored in a shed or come from a desert climate), have remained in such condition because they were cavity waxed from new by the dealer. A common treatment was 'ziebart' back in the day, look for that on classic car adverts kids!

 

I think that is an excellent option... and it will be what I want to go with... just the body cavities...and light coat of something just to keep the bottom clean.