Underside shots of the supra im buying. Opinions please

Hi all. As the title says, I'm picking up a supra next weekend. He's sent some pics of the underside. Is there anything I should be worried about? (Lets see if the pics work haha)

Looks OK

Looks like there is a small amount of damage to the sills from improper jacking. Most have it and it’s a relatively easy fix.

Any photos with the OEM skirts and spats off?

No, these are what he sent me today when he had it on a ramp. It's a factory 6 speed TT with 63500kms, basic mods, nothing fancy, I'm paying the best part of 25k. Money well spent?

No, these are what he sent me today when he had it on a ramp. It's a factory 6 speed TT with 63500kms, basic mods, nothing fancy, I'm paying the best part of 25k. Money well spent?

So you didn’t take the photos? If you are buying unseen I would highly recommend getting an independent inspection done by a reliable trustworthy company.

I would want the skirts and spats off to check the body work underneath.

What is the cars history?

Any paperwork on the car?

Any maintenance carried out on the car?

What parts have been used? OEM or cheap copies?

How long has it been in Ireland?

Have a good poke around these areas with a screwdriver then get some high res photos.

E2A

Is the seller a friend?

One guy owned it for years and then moved to Canada leaving it behind. His mother handled the sale with the guy who I'm buying it off of. It's in Ireland so hasn't seen salty roads. The guy im buying it off seems totally upfront about everything. Carbon wrapped dash that's not perfect. Aftermarket gauge cluster that don't have mph. Exhaust, filter, bov, few more gauges. The guy is only selling it to buy am r34 he's seen in Ireland. Their import tax is 36%, so he needed to secure it fast which is why he's selling the supra. I'll post a couple of pics

I expected far cleaner and less corrosion on the suspension etc. for the stated 63500km.

At 25k I would honestly take a look at the one at 27k on eBay as it looks far better.

Judging by the condition & cleanses of the underside expect corrosion but not bad.

Buy with your head not your heart!

It's a little less than 25k. Closer to 23 on the road. Am i right in thinking that the mileage isn't stored actually on the gauge cluster, so I can trust what the mileage says As that's still oem.

No he's not a friend

Can you contact the original owner who now lives in Canada?

Not a bad shout. I can try

Not a bad shout. I can try

If you can’t then take any previous owner history with a pinch of salt unless you have documented proof. 25K is a lot of money and unfortunately it’s a sellers market. I can understand you want to get one ASAP but try not to be so eager to part with your money.

Forum owned car, 12 years one owner. It’s worth a serious look. The 4K saving would easily change the look of the car if it wasn’t to your liking.

http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?334283-1996-Facelift-TT6-Gunmetal-440bhp

Also get a video of the complete underside, photos only tell you what the seller wants to tell you.

Any videos of the car starting from cold?

If you can’t then take any previous owner history with a pinch of salt unless you have documented proof. 25K is a lot of money and unfortunately it’s a sellers market. I can understand you want to get one ASAP but try not to be so eager to part with your money.

 

Have you seen this? Forum owned car, 12 years one owner. It’s worth a serious look over the other yohave posted up. http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?334283-1996-Facelift-TT6-Gunmetal-440bhp

 

Also get a video of the complete underside, photos only tell you what the seller wants to tell you.

 

Any videos of the car starting from cold?

Frank is exactly right about what the pictures show.

You also say never seen salted roads but I have seen far better in the Uk.

Can't get hold of the previous owner as he lives in Canada and his mother handled the sale. The guy says he's spoken to the supra specialist who told him to buy the supra, and that rust will brush off no worries. The mileage has definitely not been fiddled apparently.

It looks in good shape to me. OK the arms, drive shafts and diff are rusty but they do go rusty. I'd whip the tank guard off though seeing it has stones poking out the slats, they go side to side and make the guards rust from the inside out. £23k for a TT6 is where the market is at these days and there aren't too many on offer. The rust on the arms does look to be a bit more than a brush off, angle grinding will do it.

Its a fairly clean car. But for 25k. Your better off importing a rust free one from Japan.

It's closer to 23k on the road. He just took a wire brush to some of the areas in the pics and sent me this.

Said it cleaned up no worries, there a definitely no rot

Which Supra specialist has the car been taken to?

Have you spoken to them to confirm what the seller is saying?

It might just be me but you sound like you have already made up your mind about this car. You seem to be ignoring specific basic questions and realistically how hard can it be to contact the previous owner these days or his “mother”.

If it was me I wouldn’t be paying out 25K on an unseen car end of. If there is no friendship involved this is purely a business transaction.

The skirts and spats haven’t been removed so how do you know the bodywork underneath isn’t rotten?

My advice is to get a through independent inspection carried out on the car. Make sure they include a compression and leakdown test.

On top of the above I would want videos with good lighting done in the dry of the underside of the car, the outside of the car, cold start, engine running, exhaust with someone revving the car.

I assume you have read the PDF here - http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?67644-What-to-check-when-buying-a-Supra

Any noise or excessive wear on the rear suspension components due to the wheel offset and rubber band stretched tyres?

What is the cars history? By this I mean provable documented history on paper, ideally a folder of receipts.

Have you seen any?

Is there any?

Any maintenance been carried out on the car? Going with the above you want recipes showing mileage, service history, fluids and parts used et cetera.

Have you looked at the car I linked to in my other post?

I certainly haven't made up my mind, and am flying to Ireland to look over the car, not buying unseen. Yeah I've read that buying guide, and will be doing all the checks it recommends. I did look at the car you shared, and it does look quite good. I just thought that a nice low miles factory 6 speed would be money well spent

- - - Updated - - -

Hrm. Yeah, I see what youre getting at

If you want a good solid base to start from look for a car with very good documented history. If you want an investment, import one from Japan with as little mileage as possible and don’t drive it.

Where in Ireland is the car.

Frank is pointing out some gotcha's but may be being a bit harsh on it imo.

I think that underside looks as good as you can expect, it's not been tarted up for sale it's been put on a ramp and pics taken.

Take a look at mine here http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?344513-Under-body-cleaning/page2&highlight=acf50

It show pre clean shots ie like your potential car and I know mine is solid, the tank guard looks better than mine, nothing I see would put me off viewing.

I can't get my head around £20k+ prices but that seems to be the way now and I don't think an import can be had any cheaper and you have even less chance to check one of them out.

For me if I was hunting i'd give this car a tick in the general underbody condition and move on to the other aspects of a potential purchase.

I think your too late if you want a perfect underbody, Supra,prices IMO are mental and i'm a big Supra fan.

Frank is pointing out some gotcha's but may be being a bit harsh on it imo

I am known to be a particularly picky tw@t at times, I put it down to the diagnosed OCD

That said I still feel the one I linked to in my other post is worth a look first and is potentially a better buy.

I am known to be a particularly picky tw@t at times, I put it down to the diagnosed OCD

 

That said I still feel the one I linked to I’m my other post is worth a look first and is potentially a better buy.

lol