How much mileage is too much?

[insomnia]

Hi guys, looking to get a turbo mk3 soon. All the ads I've seen have high mileage. I'm in canada, so here are some canadian listings on AutoTrader for examples:

1989 TOYOTA SUPRA TURBO
$2,500.00
210,000 km
Comment: Blue on blue leather, 5 spd., CD/tape, spoiler, 230 HP, needs shocks, pw, pl, powerful sports car, rear wheel drive. 210 km. $2500. Robin (613)262-7442. Kanata. (CPSCJG)

1988 TOYOTA SUPRA
$2,800.00
220,000 km
Comment: Turbo, targa top, 5 spd, pearl white, leather, a/c, all power options, strong 3.0L engine and turbo, new shocks, $2800. 220,000 km. Anytime: (905)328-8055. (CPVNQL)

1990 TOYOTA SUPRA TURBO
$6,500.00
237,000 km
Comment: Black with grey leather, fully loaded! 5 spd, orig. paint no rust, new brakes, exhaust, batt.,r ad, HG, clutch, etc, etc...Possible trades on small car +$ or sport bike. 237,000 km, $6500. (705)792-1620 or cell705)627-2460. (CPWYHY)

What do you guys think of these cars? Should I be looking to spend more than $3-4k CDN for a Supra?

 

[supra90turbo]

well, rule out the last one if you're not looking to spend more than $4k.
what color interior on the 2nd one?
i, personally, am not crazy about pre-89's, so if these were the only choices i'd be in quite a jam... granted that the interior of the white one isnt ugly... like maybe if it's blue cloth in EXCELLENT condition....
i'd truly be stuck. blue/blue leather doesnt sound too appealing, but pearl white does... so i'd talk the 88 down enough so its worthit to me.

but thats me.
check the car over thoroughly whichever one it is. good luck. it doesnt have to be right away. dont pressure yourself into buying it NOW! buy it when you find the right one. by then youll probably have like 5 or 6k to spend. the most important thing to do when shopping for a supra is to take your time. scour the car. it's very important to point out any potential/ occuring problems when you're about to buy it. not after you've given him money. because after he has your money... he usually couldn't give a shit.

sorry for typing so much.

 

[insomnia]

Hehe, thanks for the info, although I'm still wondering how much mileage is too much before the car begins to breakdown badly.

 

[IJ.]

Depends on how it's been maintained

I got mine with 160000 KM's on it but the veggie that owned it hadn't been using coolant for sometime and this cost a bit to put right!

 

[americanjebus]

dont hunt auto trader, autotrader=well people who just wanna get rid of their junk. and i dont know gernearlly speaking hitting that website i just see old cars that people have a hard time selling.
do this instead.
on a bi-weekly basis go to your public library to whre they have the newspapers. assuming you have a decent library they will have the newspaper to every town city or place within 300 miles of where you live.
go through all of the classifieds in those papers and note down the ones your interested in.
this takes a while but think of it this way. the people on auto trader dont usualy put it in the paper, they are older, drove shit out of it, want it gone.
newspaper, typacily that old person that is affraid of technology, doesnt know much about cars. "sometimes" and typically if you want to find that car that has been sitting in the garage w/ 20k miles only because the owner died and his wife wants to get rid of that "old crappy chevey chevelle" you will find it in the newspaper.

where you look is a huge factor. besides library is free you just have to put in the effort. thats how i found my car
white package 92 turbo targa w/ 65k miles.
the owner was old he bought it new at dealer left it in garage drove it weekends and soon developed cancer and needed to sell it so he put it in the paper. i was first caller and next owner.

 

[Loki]

Those cars are all in Ontario, so I'm guessing that's where you are. The last one sounds the best, no rust on an Ontario car. I would pay more just for that, plus it looks like it's got qutie a bit of recent work done to it.

It does have the most KM on it, but I think it sounds like the best out of them.

 

[insomnia]

So you guys are okay with buying cars over 200 000km in usage?

 

[Loki]

I really think it depends on how well the person looked after the car.

 

[Shawndude]

Rust, and condition of the car will be more important criteria than mileage alone, with cars this old.

With good care these cars take mileage in stride. With poor care and hack job owners, even a low mileage cars will be a total piece of crap not worth wasting your time on.

Anything around 200K is basically considered "low mileage" with these cars though.

 

[supra90turbo]

dont hunt for mileage. these cars will go forever with good maintenance.
hunt for body cleanliness.
and if it runs good, too
just look for rust. look hard. it hides, but it'll make itself known after not too long.

shawndude, i'm surprised you didnt divulge how many kms you had on your car...

 

[insomnia]

Good advice guys! Now for my next question: Turbo or N/A?

 

[Loki]

shawndude, i'm surprised you didnt divulge how many kms you had on your car...

his car's been around the block a few times :eek3dance

 

[MisterTurbineTwister]

If it isn't boosted with 5 gears and a clutch, don't touch it with a ten foot pole. Find one that is or go spend your money on a pool table, a hot tub or go on vacation. N/A cars are slow (sorry guys, but it's true), but generally less neglected (depending on the owner) and people who Turbo an N/A engine can't run as high of boost level due to the higher compression ratio of the N/A pistons.

A lot of people just do the Turbo engine/harness/brain swap that do an N/A-T swap, so you might as well start with something that you want first. It will save you lots of money and headaches. The only way that I would go for an N/A car is if I was planning on stuffing a Turbo'd engine (7M-GTE) and 5 speed (R154) into an N/A (7M-GE) car without an engine and transmission that was super clean.

Milage does not matter. Maintinance does. Expect to put a head gasket in the car at some point in time after 100,000+ miles (not sure of the km translation). It's an f-up from the guys at Toyota with the stock torque down of the head bolts that causes the blown head gaskets at about this milage. They were torqued down to 52ft lbs factory and realy should be at about 70-72ft lbs. You shouldn't retorque the factory installed gasket though, because it can distort it and create problems. Just plan on replacing it if it hasn't had one done yet.