Buying a Supra in Japan (I'm new to Supras). I found this one. Anything advice?

http://imgur.com/a/aEOr5

Test drove it, everything seems in order. Started it cold, small puff of blue smoke, burned clean after that. Ran smooth. Has about 85k miles. The guy wants the equivalent of about $9k.

What do you think?

Looks tidy, blue smoke will be a sign that valve stem oil seals are in need of replacing, factor in 500-1000 UK pounds to do this

Id say youve got your mileage conversion wrong if that says 138,068 in the dash pic. 85791 miles.

Looks really nice tho

Corrected, thanks! Yeah... still getting used to kilometers.

Looks nice, price is about right (maybe a little high). It would be worth looking into the smoke, it's probably just the Valve Stem Oil Seals (common fault), but it could be something worse. It's a base model TT though, it has the small brakes etc.

I've heard that could be the case if the smoke persists but that a small puff on a cold start up could be normal. Bad info?

I've heard that could be the case if the smoke persists but that a small puff on a cold start up could be normal. Bad info?

its not normal no

Looks quite nice. Fairly rare colour, not many people liked that colour a few years ago but it seems to be getting more popular now.

I did read somewhere that it is rare. I really like it!

I will definitely look into that, in that case.

It's a base model TT though, it has the small brakes etc.

Looks like a GZ to me, so not exactly the "base model". Cruise control, active spoiler & leather were standard on the GZ. An RZ would have to have these spec'd when new. The four pot brakes were always an option on pre-facelift cars.

As mentioned the blue smoke will be VSS.

Looks to be in good condition throughout and has very nice wheels.

looks nice is it auto or 6 speed

looks nice is it auto or 6 speed

Auto.

Looks like a GZ to me, so not exactly the "base model". Cruise control, active spoiler & leather were standard on the GZ. An RZ would have to have these spec'd when new. The four pot brakes were always an option on pre-facelift cars.

 

As mentioned the blue smoke will be VSS.

 

Looks to be in good condition throughout and has very nice wheels.

That is helpful, Thank you.

Well worth that money IMO. 1A1 coloured cars are rare as they come!

Looks a clean example.

I don't recognize the plate, are you in Misawa or Kadena? I wouldn't buy that off another service member for 9K. I'm positive you can find a good clean example on the economy. I don't know why people on base jack the prices up so high. If the seller is military he is probably selling because of a pcs to some place he can't take it which means he has to sell. I'd get him to come down on the price as I'm sure he beat the hell out of it in his short time there. Valve stem seal job is going to cost some coin and that alone should bring down the price. I'm CE too btw, welcome to the forum!

Looks tidy, blue smoke will be a sign that valve stem oil seals are in need of replacing, factor in 500-1000 UK pounds to do this

Why is it so much £££ ? does it take a few days to do or a week?

It's not too badly priced and does look like a clean example. Works out about £5.5k if it's $9k.

Selling the steering wheel and buying a stock one could pay for half the price of getting the VSS sorted.

Mine gives off a puff of blue smoke when first started on a morning and it's never given me any problems so will be a good reason to get the price down and not something that is necessarily a major problem if it's only a small amount.

I spent 2.5 years in Japan, bought my car from the Auction..

It was a stock RZ, had 4pots, lowered Sus, Kakimoto exhaust, Blitz Intake, 110000kms, paid 970000yen for it.

The main thing to watch for if you planning to drive the car in Japan is how much time left on the Shaken (MOT). They can be very expensive to renew, up to 300000yen.

Annual tax was 56000yen per year, I lived in Nagoya.

About the VSS, the shop I dealt with claimed they cannot change the seals, they would just replace the head, so be careful if planning to repair in Japan, make sure the skill of the shop.

(The shop I dealt with did all the maintenance for Toyota Japan, so I trust them).

But the car looks smart.. Nice condition, plus garaged in Japan is hard to find..

Buying from the Auction is the cheapest route..

These cars once purchased by US service members get passed around quite a bit because when we leave the country, most times we can't take them with us to our new destination. Overseas we tend to move every 2-4 years. Once purchased, they tend to stay on base and not make it back onto the economy. People have to sell these vehicles and start with really high prices knowing that someone who is new to the base or the service will buy it at that price. Haggling is a must in these situations.

Why is it so much £££ ? does it take a few days to do or a week?

If a garage took 10 hrs to do the job and charge £50 per hour you have £500 plus parts etc

I think you'd be going some to do it in 10 hrs from start to finish.