Thinking about buying an 89 Supra, looking for info.

[MiketC077]

Hello supra mania. I am looking into buying my first car and stumbled across an 89 supra in my price range. Now the thing is I don't know how practical this car is going to be for a 16 year old kid. Any basic info on the car would be greatly appreciated, and if you could tell me what you think about the car that would be great too. Thanks in advanced! :icon_bigg



89 Supra

 

[Who]

Try this link and this one. It takes you out of the SM sight but it has some good info. Personally I would start small (not with a Supra) and get yourself a inexpensive daily driver. By daily driver I mean a car that is light on your wallet. A gas saver, cheap insurance and low in maintenance. Save your money and don't rush into a project or go fast car. When you've got yourself a nice wad of cash you can be more selective and buy a jewel and not a lump of coal or hurt. Parts and labor are expensive and if your not a wrench the repairs will cost you an arm, a leg and a whole lot of pain in your wallet. Finding a competent mechanic or shop for a 20yr old toyota is a hell of a lot harder and damn near impossible than finding a mechanic for a 20yr old chevy or ford. They end up doing more harm than good and still give you the bill and a load of baloney.

 

[MiketC077]

I have been looking for quite some time now for a car, never really had a supra in mind until I saw that one and it got me thinking. I read about the gas kit problems that the 7m engines have, but the supra I was looking has a 1jz. I guess if this is too much of a handful for someone of my age, I'll just keep looking for a car. Thanks for the help.

 

[Poodles]

Don't take this the wrong way, but if iIhad my car when I was your age, I doubt I'd be here today. (I'm 27)

That car looks to be a bit of a beast as well (if there isn't anything wrong with it, which I bet there is given the price), so it would make it worse.

My first vehicle was an '82 Toyota Hilux 4x4. Not horribly great on gas milage or insurance (Supra is HALF what the truck was for some reason), but it was reliable and a true beater. Also made a profit on it when I sold it.

In this day and age, I'd get a FWD car like a Honda. It will be good on gas, safe, cheap on insurance, and you'll learn to work on it yourself (just stay away from the rice), and that will set you up for a better car later.

My truck may have been RWD, but it was so underpowered it was nearly impossible to spin the tires, and having 4WD in bad weather rocked (though it lacked ABS and I had the rear brakes lock up during a winter emergency stop and went sideways).

 

[Zumtizzle]

i had my supra at 16 and had it taken away in a week...........

i had a 94 pickup until i was 18. (then i was back at the supra)

 

[GrimJack]

It's a rare kid that's going to pull both himself and the car through owning a 500+ rwhp Supra as his first vehicle. It's certainly not impossible, however winning the lottery is possible, too. So is getting hit by lightning and surviving.

 

[johnathan1]

Supra was my first car...I'm 20 now, and I still own it. Then again, I guess I'm not "average" lol. It has been a lot of work, and a huge amount of money to get it where it is today. If you don't love the car, and aren't totally devoted to realizing yours dreams for it....then you will be miserable every time it breaks down, especially after just completing a bunch of work... It WILL break down.

 

[Fozbo]

With that turbo on there, the 1jz wont really be a gas saver anyways.

I started out with a 91 nissan pickup, then a 90 NA supra, then an 89 turbo supra. I'm glad I did it that way. The pickup got me up to safe driving ability, the NA supra got me into working in the engine bay (nothing actually went wrong, just general maintenance), and then the turbo supra became my baby that I could both drive and work on properly (and work on it I did, I have encountered almost every single major problem there is with it ).

Honestly, I have always fully believed that every new driver should have a beater car to begin with. Once you go through all the real world lessons and mishaps with that, then move onto the car you really want. It may sound boring now, but you will thank yourself in the long run.

 

[DonS1mpson]

If practicality is important to you, stop right now and buy something else - You never buy a supra because it is going to be an economical runabout, you buy it because it is a supra, that is the car you want and you're going to damned if anyone ever is going to tell you not to do it (even your sub conscious which deep down tells you that a 16 year old + High powered sports car does not mix).

As one young guy to another all I can tell you is that if you want it, do it. So what if you lose a bunch of money running the thing, or end up wrapping it around a tree, if you truly wanted one those things quite simply not matter as you'd have gotten what you wanted, you'd have gotten a Supra...

 

[IJ.]

I wouldn't

 

[Jaychen]

Dude, to be completely honest, I would try and advise not to buy one for your first car unless:
1: You have enough money for fuel
2: Are willing and able to learn about it and have the money to fix it WHEN it breaks.
3: Have driven for longer than atleast 6 months
4: Be mature enough to not want to put your foot down every chance you get.
5: You know how to control a mildly powerful sportscar.

EVERY K OVER IS A KILLER! (or miles in your case)

I may get flamed for this post but I truly believe that driving a pos car for a while is the way to go if you are only just new driving on your own.

This is just my personal opinion mate, but I am looking out for your safety, I hear way too often of kids becoming statistics in cars like ours, granted any one can die in any car but. Powerful cars and young testosterone are a bad combination.

 

[black89t]

3: Have driven for longer than atleast 6 months

:rofl: shit i would hope so.

dude just get your self a 4x4 pick-up that you can mob. you will learn how to counter steer and just get used to rwd. thats what i did. i got a truck and quad. i learned how to work on them then went onto the supra. if you have experience driving a fast anything. quad, dirtbike, or better yet car i would have a different opinion because you will KNOW how you can't just go WOT everywhere.

 

[GrimJack]

5: You know how to control a mildly powerful sportscar.

Dude, did you look at the ad he posted? This is not a stock car by any stretch... it's a Mk3 with a 1j, single t67 turbo, etc, etc.

 

[Poodles]

Yeah, that car isn't slow by any means...

 

[MiketC077]

Well I understand everything you guys are saying. I have been driving on my own for about a year now, so I do have some experience behind the wheel. I know you can't go WOT everything, and all of that. I am not quiet sure if I want to take on this car anymore just because I found out how fast it is, and I really don't know if im ready for that type of power just yet. When I first looked at it I thought it was gonna be a tiny bit faster then the 07 Accord v6 that I am currently driving, but after some research I realized it wasn't..lol. I really would love to have a Supra and I would put the time and money into it, like it deserves. But right now I don't think I can afford such a commitment to a car, I have to pay for school and a few bills, so I need a car thats not going to have much problems, at least for now. If you guys have any suggestions for a car thats easy to maintain for around $5k I would greatly appreciate that. Thanks guys for all your help.

 

[RiyadYar]

i agree with johnathon1 and jaychen im 19 had the car for a little over a year and if you dont have that supra love and arent completely devoted to it youll hate it everytime it breaks down. also thats a powerful car with that turbo especially for a first car .

 

[kabanimk3supra]

get a nissan 240sx. they're cheap, dependable, and are a blast to drive.

they don't require much maintenance, get great gas mileage, and handle really well.

 

[Poodles]

Still RWD, expensive to maintain, and their prices are over-inflated because of the drift scene.

Get a Honda...

 

[Clip]

i got my first supra at 16, but that's miles different than yours. 89 NA with 175k, and i've touched almost every part in the car fixing it .

 

[GrimJack]

Still RWD, expensive to maintain, and their prices are over-inflated because of the drift scene.

Get a Honda...

Agreed. FWD Honda is the way to go. Parts are plentiful - not because they need to be, but simply because there are LOADS of these cars sold.

Easy to drive, dependable, cheap on gas and maintenance... My wife drives a Honda for a reason.