UK Supra buying advice

Hi there,

I'm just about ready to buy my first Supra. From an insurance point of view it has to be a UK model, and I'd prefer to get the manual obviously and preferably standard spec. I was wondering if there are any buying guides out there? What things should I be looking for besides the obvious? Also are there any differences between the earlier 94 models compared to the N reg 96 ones? Colour wise I'm not really that bothered, but probably prefer blue, black or red - are any of the colours more preferable and do any command a greater/lesser resale value?

I'm particlarly worried about having engine problems and having to shell out lots in the future, are there any tests I should do? Looks like I'll end up getting one with about 100k on the clock or there abouts - I was going to see one with about this many on the clock (full toyota SH), very genuine guy, told me I could come and view it after it had gone in for it's service but later called me back to say the garage had found it blowing out blue smoke and the valve seals were shot, is this to be expected of other cars?

I guess that pretty much covers it for now, any advice greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Francis

Hi Francis, dont be put off by a JDM car, you can get some decent quotes for those models too if you look about, helps if you're older I think though.

There are plenty of threads like this that have been covered before. Do a search m8

Just warning you now, a UKTT6 will be tough to find in low miles/ good condition engine wise, but dont let that put you off... good luck with your search.

Any kid of smoke, white/blue isnt a good sign, and these are usually signs of turbo probs as you say. Can be fixed of course

Hi Bobbeh,

Thanks for your reply, will do a search! Haven't been able to get any quotes on JDM's and UKs are surprisingly resonable, I guess being 21 with no NCB doesn't help.. looks like you found yourself a nice one

Cheers,

Francis

Yeah I was lucky with mine. Took me 5 months of searching before I picked it up and had to drive to wales for it. The ride home in it made up for it

Whilst the threads on here are very informative, I would seriously reccomend that you take someone along who is knowledgable about the marque. If for no other reason that to be the "voice of reason" should you find your heart ruling your head when it comes to the buying decision.

As Bobbeh said, finding a "good" UK 6 speed is going to be diffficult but, if you are patient, isnt an impossible task.

Good luck

I've found the at FAQ http://www.mkivsupra.net/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=23259 - very helpful. Is there any way of checking whether the car's been modified to run at high boost in the past, as this will probably have some effect on the life of the engine parts?

Haven't been able to find anything on the differences between early and late UK TTs, are there any?

Thanks once again!

Francis

There was no change in spec in any of the UK cars, the first change to any Supra came after '96 which is when they stopped selling them here.

the only differences in speck in UK cars apart from the drivetrain (manual/auto) is the config of the stock stero setup. thats it as far as I know.

Francis, I've been looking for Supes for a couple months and I've only seen one UK TT6 so far. Even though it was on the register it still fetched £10k. Did have some nice bits though.

In regards to colour I'd say black is the most sought after colour closely followed by silver. Some people on here deslike red but I don't mind it so much if it's 'gleaming' red. I'm not a fan of the Storm Blue but surprisingly white looks good on a Supe. Not many cars can claim to look good in white!

No doubt you'll set off wanting a UK car but price and availability will push you to a JDM model. I know it did with me and probably nearly all newbies in the past.

Definitly give Sky Insurance a ring and tell them you're a member on this board. Their number is in the insurance section. It makes no difference whthere the car is UK or JDM to them and they're the cheapest I've had so far.