Supra Advice

[paul.]

Hello all,

I am very interested in buying a Supra but I`d like to learn a little more about them first of course. I was hoping some of you may be able to answer some of my questions please, if you have some time!?

I`m wanting a twin turbo UK spec car, preferably manual although auto is most likely in terms of whats available.

Firstly, are servicing costs within reason? How would they compare with more standard Toyota cars etc? How often are services?

Is there a problem getting parts(as it would be a 93-96 car)? Is it necessary to use a specialist or is a Toyota dealer usually ok?

When buying what are the main things to look out for? (Unfortunately i am not that mechanically minded so would probably need to use the RAC to check it over anyway but still)

As a rough guide how much cash do you lot spend a year on maintenance costs etc? (reliability)

What would be an ideal mileage to buy at? Is 65k or 75k as good as anything?

I imagine a manual in a sports car would be better but are autos as much fun?

Finally (at last - sorry, I mentioned I didnt know too much about them!) obviously Supras arent here for fuel economy but in reality how many miles generally do you get from an 80L tank?

I hope some of you may be able to answer the odd one or two questions anyway - it would help a lot,

Thanks

Paul

[supragal]

OOoooo, right up my street! lol

Ok, when I was looking UK spec cars were like rocking horse p00, so I went for an import. This normally provokes insurance questions but there are a lot of companies now that insure imports no worries- tesco & direct line are just 2.

You're right about the manual/auto thing- only 1 in 25 cars in Japan were manual so they're rarer. I test drove both and apparently most people go for the auto in the end- not sure why though as the manual gives you a lot more g's :D Also that makes the manuals command a higher price.

I got mine from a dealer - JIC - they're a bit pricey but have a great reputation and do servicing etc themselves- costs are around £200 for a minor and a bit more £350 ish I guess for a major (I think)

They also offer a 3 year warranty so no need for the RAC inspection as all they do is check basic stuff that you could do yourself- I made the mistake of getting a car AA inspected once- waste of time, I ended up claiming off them for over £1000 for things they missed- there was lots of other stuff too that "wasn't covered" like clutch etc etc.

Mark 4s are known for their reliability- mines not been on them road long enough to be an example though.

Apparently Toyota are becoming mroe awaer that they need to supply parts for non-UK cars and will do so- although I've not personally come across this yet.

Personally wouldn't buy over 50k ish and theres plenty around on that mileage

Fuel- Mines been modded but I get around 13mpg so it's not great, but then you're driving a 3.0 straight 6 twin turbo so you gotta expect that...

[nws25]

Dont worry about the manual/ auto thing, the auto is only .2 sec slower on the 0-60, which is nothing in the real world.

SG --13 mpg?? seems a little low.

[toomanypoints]

I get between 10mpg and about 24mpg ('93 Import Twin T)

10mpg when I'm having some fun!

24mpg when using the full tank driving constantly at 70mph on the motorway using cruise control (so I rarely get this).

On average I probably get about 18mpg

[supragal]

Dont worry about the manual/ auto thing, the auto is only .2 sec slower on the 0-60, which is nothing in the real world.

SG --13 mpg?? seems a little low.

lets put it this way, most people opt for the auto, i drove both and knew within 300 yards that it had to be a manual for me. the guy actually said "Yeah...you need a manual" lol. The auto feels fast but kinda comfortably fast rather than causing your passengers pain like the manual ;)

13mpg combined, it's running a fair few horses so why does that sound low?

[adi]

13 mpg if youre putting your foot down permanently maybe? Other than that they should easily do 20-25.

[supragal]

Thats only an estimate as I've not used it enough to be sure. I worked it out on how much it cost to fill it up, the size of tank and the distance it went on that then converted it into gallons rather than litres blah blah and it averaged 13mpg, I imagine on the motorway in 6th it'd be different but I'll have to see if I *ever* drive it again.

[nws25]

If your running 350-400 bhp then its only bpu'd i guess, so you should be getting better economy.

And if your manual is causing people pain, it must be your gear changes ;) :D

[supragal]

Ha ha, actually, have you ever driven a manual one of these? They're evil! Well at least mine is. Let my mate drive it after weeks of :censor: taking and he got in it and actually appologised afterwards for winding me up. My car is Satan. lol

Like I say I can't confirm mods apart from the visible ones (induction, exhaust, adjustable boost controller, but think it's been chipped/uprated turbos) until I get it back, and can't rolling road it till then either, or test the fuel ecomony- but thats not why I bought the car so can't see the problem. If I'd wanted economy I'd have bought a LPG car :P

[nws25]

Nope havent driven one, i dont actually like the look of the mkiv, but we wont go into that.

We know MPG shouldnt come into the equation when we talk supras, we were just saying 13mpg just sounds a little low.

I love it when someone says what does it do to the gallon, amd you watch their face when you say 'well it can do 27mpg but if im really good i can get it to 10mpg' :D

[supragal]

Not saying it doesn't sound low!! I'm hoping once it's back on the road doing longer journeys it's economy improves!!