mkIII - a good 1st car?

[Nick M]

While it is certainly reliable, you never know what dickhead kid before you conned his parents into buying it and ruined it. Like some of the ones here. You should not be concerned with owning a luxury GT at this point in life.

 

[bigaaron]

After reading all the responses so far in this thread I must say that SM has got to have some of the best members on any car forum. Everybody made great points and gave excellent advice. I really don't have anything to add other then kudos to all of you.

 

[SupraMario]

Owning a supra is like being married, give here your paycheck and she will love you.
Be able to make sacrifices, Don't go out and eat often, don't travel to the bar once a week, don't go party and spend $50 on alcohol, ect. How you treat this car is how it will treat you.

 

[The Reaper]

i said yes

i had no problems with my turbo 7M i mean yea i had two popped HG's but they both cost me a MAXIMUM of 300 bucks cause i dont drop my car off at a shop thats gay.

 

[bountykilla0118]

Damn i was just like you at 17 i had 4500 and i brought home an NA for $2000. I learned the hard way about maintaining a car. You have money saved? When you spend that money will you have some good income? I doubt it so I vote NO. The best choice i have made about cars in a while was buying a little civic hatch for $1500. I take great care of my car and guess what its down right now and wont be up for another week and a half. My civic which is unmodified has not given me one issue yet!

To give you an idea I make way more than all of my friends because I started my career at 16 coaching soccer. I am 22 taking 12hrs in school just enough to be considered a full time student. I make $3600 a month coaching soccer and working as a Valet. After paying my bills i am down to about $2400 for food, gas, going out, and then supra. That leaves me with about $1000 to put in the supra if I want to spend my last dime. So you do your own math of what you can afford.

Buy a honda for DD and an older sports car for a project

 

[starscream5000]

^rub it in .

 

[bountykilla0118]

Just sharing with my fellow youngsters that this game is a costly one. I worked under mechanic for 3 years when he opened his own shop soooo i was lucky not to have to any pay labor on anything execpt getting my gte rebuilt at the machine shop. Who knows what i would have spent on the labor for all the stuff i had to do in the last 6 years with a "Supra" hence i am on my second one.

 

[Big Wang Bandit]

Yes it is. Just don't buy a jank ass one.

Don't jump on the first one you find. Find the perfect car. Not the first one you like. My first 2 cars were Supras. Di I have setbacks with them? Yes, but nothing major. Brakes went dead, Brake master cylinder...


But, I made the mistake I am trying to deter you from. Don't get the first one you find.

 

[SupraMario]

Yes it is. Just don't buy a jank ass one.

Don't jump on the first one you find. Find the perfect car. Not the first one you like. My first 2 cars were Supras. Di I have setbacks with them? Yes, but nothing major. Brakes went dead, Brake master cylinder...


But, I made the mistake I am trying to deter you from. Don't get the first one you find.

Amen to that, took me like a year to find mine. Went threw a bunch of supras before I found a strong taken care of one.

 

[Big Wang Bandit]

Yup, I saw it at a car show, White NA / Auto.

Wow, Stupidest thing I ever did. You've done research, Now just LOOK for a pristine example.

 

[eman2289]

Mine is my first car. I got my 88 turbo from my uncle. My dumbass decided i wanted to spend money on performance parts. I ordered them and then didnt even have them yet and the supra went down (Rod Knock AND BHG) I am now stuck driving my sisters 01 vw bug drop top. Just take me as an example. If you are goin to get a supra, make sure you do the essentials first. MHG with ARP head studs, and change the oil as soon as the car gets home (once its cooled down). I figured my uncle kept up on it, I was wrong...dead wrong. Thats why i hav'nt driven my car in about 2 months. If you do get a supra. Do the basic work yourself, even if you dont think you can. Get your hands on a TSRM and enjoy.
P.S.- one more thing. Read the forums! Most of these guys know what they are talking about and have helped me out with alot.

 

[Setheroo]

My MKIII wasn't my first sports car at all.. I had already been through a Porsche before I came across the Supra... and lets just say it would have been CHEAPER to get my Porsche fixed, than the Supra that I am fixing now. I even did the proper maintenance required when I first bought the car as well.... that is the saddest part. I bought the car for just over 3 grand, and took it into my local mechanic the day after to have the timing belt replaced, transmission fluid flushed, trans mount replaced, and all the smaller things that you could do to it. Its a real shame that I never noticed the fact that the valve stem seals were shot... because the engine ran in perfect harmony... until it died on me on the highway.

I am in college.. and thankfully I could afford another vehicle once the Supra went... I am putting a new engine into the Supra... and its killing me. All the time and money I have put into the Supra is just unbelievable... don't get me wrong, I love the car, but its been a huge moneypit.

There are several other cars that you could get for 5 grand. In fact - I bought an 88 Blazer for only $600 - and it has gotten me everywhere I have needed to go - without any maintenance other than fluids. Now I realize its not a desireable vehicle - but the point of the matter is that you could get something that gets the job done, for a lot less money.

If you want to find a really nice vehicle for 5 grand that is still fun, and rwd or awd - your best bet is to ask around, and look online - and be willing to travel to go find yourself the best deal. I had to travel a little ways to get the Porsche that I had bought - and it was only $1800 - and trust me, it could handle all the hell I put her through - the only reason that car went out on me is because I let it go with a problem that I knew about, and didn't have the money to fix. I simply let it go too far...

So the final answer is - you can get a Supra if you can find one for 5 grand that has already had all the proper maintenance - go for it. Otherwise, find something else.

 

[Burntz]

If you want a semi cheap, hella fun AWD car

Get a DSM. Parts are a dime a dozen, they arnt that hard to work on, and they come turbo and AWD if you find the right models (tsi awd, GSX, laser rs awd)

You could easily find one in pretty good shape. A clean 2nd gen will run you 4-5 grand, while a real nice clean 1st gen will be around 2-3. And upgrades are easy.

 

[KeithH]

My 89T has left me stuck exactly twice since the Spring of 1996. The first time was due to the clutch (had to be replaced two days after I purchased the car) and the second was due to a split hose (that I could have fixed with a roll of duct tape and limped home).

I've put nearly 140,000 miles on my Supra (now sitting at nearly 190,000 miles) and have had very few problems. I am still on that second clutch (and it was a reman'd one installed at 51,000 miles) and am still sporting the original CT26 and the engine has never been rebuilt (I did do a retorque at 74,000 miles).

The Supra "CAN" be VERY reliable. The biggest problems are how it was treated before you got it and how you treat it.

I fully intend to hit at least 200,000 miles before I crack anything open.

 

[Nick M]

My 89T has left me stuck exactly twice since the Spring of 1996. The first time was due to the clutch (had to be replaced two days after I purchased the car) and the second was due to a split hose (that I could have fixed with a roll of duct tape and limped home).

I've put nearly 140,000 miles on my Supra (now sitting at nearly 190,000 miles) and have had very few problems. I am still on that second clutch (and it was a reman'd one installed at 51,000 miles) and am still sporting the original CT26 and the engine has never been rebuilt (I did do a retorque at 74,000 miles).

The Supra "CAN" be VERY reliable. The biggest problems are how it was treated before you got it and how you treat it.

I fully intend to hit at least 200,000 miles before I crack anything open.

Unfortunately, you are in the minority on this. But this is how it should be.

 

[EvoLuTioN]

my mk3 was my first car, and i was in high school too

within the first hour, i blew the HG. Well it was probably blown already but either way, the car blew up on me, and I had to get that fixed, and had to take care of alot of minor annoyances and maintance*

besides that, it's a damn fun car, I'm on my second supra (third if you count my parts car)

but, I wouldn't recommend it for a high schooler even though I did it. Without the supra, I think my last year of HS would've went alot smoother.

 

[Sawbladz]

My Mk3 was my second car...I was 17 when I bought it. I was lucky to have people to point me in the right direction with the car. I did all the maintenace before I bought a single performance part.

Doing this made the car very reliable for the last 3 years. It never leaves me stranded and it helps teach me how to work on cars. I feel very fortunate to have a car that is reliable compared to some others on this forum. I think that constant maintenance is the key. Fix/replace things before they leave you stranded.

However, my car is still a Mk3 Supra...and mine now needs a rebuild. I didn't blow it up or fall victim to the dreaded BHG...my rings have finally worn out after 230 000 km's. I have since bought the most important Mk3 tool of all...the daily driver. I am now 20 years old...living away from home and going to University, with 3 cars. My life is made possible due to good summer jobs since I was 13.

If you make good choices when it comes to cars as well as life...there is no reason that you con't have what you want. Just be smart and deceide if you can afford this car...at this time in your life. Cool cars will still be around in the future...at least we hope. lol