Need help with buying a supra

Hello guys im ready to buy a supra now and im pretty new to japanese cars. Ive always wanted a supra but they are pretty hard to find in the UK (6 speed manual TT). My budget is around 25k can push it a bit more but sticking to that for now.

Would anyone here recommend getting one imported from japan? Also the supras in japan seem to have less milage and be roughly the same price as one here with around 80k+ miles. Is that a good idea, it just seems impossible to get a hold of one in the uk. Also what things should I be looking out for when buying one? I have read the guides but more knowledge never hurts anyone.

Hey mate, where in kent are you from?

We have a few owners around this way feel free to come take a look around mine. Its a TT aero auto. With that budget id be waiting for someones car from here to come up with a detailed service history. Im unsure of current prices in japan. JM imports might be worth a ring jurgen has been importing supras for years

Hey mate, where in kent are you from?

We have a few owners around this way feel free to come take a look around mine. Its a TT aero auto. With that budget id be waiting for someones car from here to come up with a detailed service history. Im unsure of current prices in japan. JM imports might be worth a ring jurgen has been importing supras for years

it's a really tough time to buy unfortunately.

Perfect storm of prices rises, low fresh import levels and people just keeping theirs as selling makes little sense if the appreciation curve is to be trusted. Some owners might cash out but it's few and far between in recent times.

Japanese cars on average will be less rusty than any that have been over here for a long time, but the prices out there have rocketed too so your budget (which 2-3 years ago might have bought you two!) is now looking tight.......it's crazy but that's where we are right now unfortunately.

Re what to look for, well generally they are strong and long lasting, so for me a lot will be about what you can see, lots of parts are becoming rare and/or pricey, so getting one you like the way it looks is important, ie clean interior, panels and underneath. Saying that with a TT6 these days I'd be cautious about the gearbox, these are reaching £4-6K alone for a used one so if you were auctioning one off you might be able to make a few grand beforehand by swapping in box with a notchy syncro and flogging the good one........then you inherit the issue. I've not heard of this happening but the temptation must be there as good used parts become more scarce.

Basically you need to trust the source 100% or try before you buy, I'd take up some offers of viewing owners cars and then try and source one in the uk, whilst keeping an eye on the auctions in Japan, best of luck!

Hi

Might be worth you trying to attend one of the events to view many examples, get some ideas and ask some questions/advice from the owners.

Ace Café meet is this weekend I believe, which I hoped to attend but looks like I'm not going to be able to. There will be lots there to see.

Thanks for the help guys, Im from maidstone kent. What do you guys think of the one on piston heads listed for 26k? I think im going to give a few companies I found online and see what kind of prices they have for a TT 6 speed under 80k miles from japan.

Im in no super rush to buy one but I want to get rid of my A45 within the next few months to get a supra, finding that automatic is pretty boring, plus i need some flames

The one on PH was around for a good while in the beginning of last year when it was first imported so its not really a recent import, like the ad says it is. It came with a poorly fitted veilside front bumper that just looked all wrong and the owner who was the original importer came on here looking to procure a OEM front bumper. He must have found one because it has one now. It was for sale a year ago for £22k from memory, but thats Supra inflation.

It did hang around a long time first time it was for sale so that would suggest all was not perfect with the car, to justify the top of market price. It'd be worthwhile asking if the current owner is the one who brought it in and if they are that would say it didn't actually sell when advertised extensively over a three month period last year. If the current owner bought it last year, you'd be wise to ask why sell so soon after buying. For £26k as advertised or £25k your budget you are at the top of the market and have every right to expect close to perfection so don't entertain anything with a list of bad bits or questionable history for that price.

Thanks alot for your reply that really helped, going to give him a call tomorrow and see if we can negotiate a better price

What do you think about turbocharging a 2JZ-GE with some arp head studs and a new head gasket? Would it be enough or should I do some headwork? What about the stock intake manifold, would it be usable or should I just buy a new better one.

Headgasket and head studs will bag you some decent numbers. You won't need to do any head work or get a new intake either. Obviously head work will make things even better and it's always nice to run a forward facing intake on an NA-T, but they're not essential.

I'm debating slapping a TT headgasket on with some head studs and running more boost/power until I can get the funds together for a forged VVTi GS300 2JZ-GE build