| Buying Guide
1986.5 - 1993 Mk3 model |
| This is to help people who are
looking to buy a MKIII Supra. Toyota cars are
expensive to fix when things go terribly wrong. But as
you browse the web you will be able to get information on
fixing them cheaper or by yourself. |
|
| Service History |
No Service
History - Bad, No record of mileage. Car Should be cheap.
Ask for any receipts and old MOT's.
Part Service History - Better than
none, but above still applies.
Full Service History (But not by
Toyota) - Very Good.
Full Service History (Toyota) -
Excellent. When Toyota have your car, they make sure
anything slightly worn, is changed, if not its noted on
the report.
Always try and obtain as much
information as possible.
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| Exterior |
|
Rust Spots - Supras are not known for rusting. I
Have only ever seen one Supra with bad Rust. But
I've seen a couple that are just starting. Luckily
for me, my car has been very well looked after regarding
the outside. Check rear spoiler, the middle mount
appears to attract rust. Look around the door locks and
seals. Check the inside of the rear wheel arches, and rear wheel arch
outer edges. Check around the front wheel arch outer edges. Front side skirts are not a very good design, they
are attached by plastic plugs that push into the sill, BUT
the plugs seat on a steel strip and this is constantly
getting wet. The result is that the steel strip
seems to rust quite a lot. (Pushes front side skirt away
from sill). To fix this use clear silicon sealant on the
top of the side skirt, this will stop any water
from above running down.
Wheels - Check condition of the wheel itself as well
as the tyres. Are the tyres shot ? If so they can
cost anything from £50 - £120 a tyre. The wheels,
if they are scuffed can spoil the overall look of the car. If
the tyres and wheels are in a bad condition, that says to
me that the last owner was not a careful owner. Check the inner edge of
the rear wheels, if they are badly worn, then it suggests that the rear
bushes are worn.
Look at anything that is a different colour from the
car body paint, check for overspray and badly painted
areas. See if the Supra has original paint. NO
ONE and I mean NO ONE can match the quality of the
original painting, unless the car is stripped to the bare
shell and sprayed again from the bare shell up. A
good place look is around the windows on the black strip.
Windows / Lights - Check all the lights and windows
for markings. Are they all the same ? If not,
could be a broken window had to be replaced. (Car theft,
Accident etc.)
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| Interior |
|
Leather seats look great, but check the driver seat side
support, this is known to wear, can cost up to £100 to
refurbish. Check the pedals for wear, if the pedals
are worn and the clocks says less than 70,000, then you
probably looking at a clocked Supra. My had 99,000
miles on when I bought it, and they were not even scuffed. Check
all the electric's and see if they are working correctly. Watch
that oil gauge, I know of a couple of Supras including
mine that had faulty gauges. |
|
| Engine |
|
Unscrew the oil filler cap, examine the oil condition. Is
there any sign of white/gray cream in the top of the cap,
if so probably a Head Gasket leak or a fault with the
valve seals. Pull the Dip Stick out, is the oil clean,
brown or black. Back oil suggests that the oil has not
been changed for some time. On Turbo Supras check
the connections on the Turbo Unit. Check to see that
they are all in good condition, check the heat shields
around the Turbo. If these look like they have been
tampered with, it suggests that the turbo has been
replaced. Generally look for all types of leaks (OIL
/ WATER). Look for scratches around the Suspension
tops, these are caused when the Engine is taken out!. |
|
| Test Drive |
|
Check the General sound of the Engine. When a Supra
ticks over, you should not be able to hear the sound of
the engine inside the car. On Turbo`s the Turbo unit
does make a whistling noise on acceleration, but this
should not be excessive. If the noise is excessive
then it indicates that the Turbo bearings have worn. |
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| Before you BUY |
|
Please check on the Owner Registration document ALL the
details. Check the number of Owners, Address &
Name of Previous owner. If not sure then don't buy. Don't
believe what the seller tells you!. Check that the
Chassis number and Engine Number check out okay and match
those on the car. |
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