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Buying a Supra MK III
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.
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. Front side skirts are not a very good design, their 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.
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.
Wheels
Check condition of the wheel itself aswell as the tyres. Are the tyres
shot ? If so they can cost anything from £50 - £120 a tyre. The wheels if they are
scuffed it 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.
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.)
Interior
Leather seats look great, but check the driver seat side support, this is
known to wear, can cost upto £100 to refurbish. Check the pedals for wear, if the
pedals are worn and the clocks less than 70,000, then you probably looking at a clocked
Supra. My had 80, 000 miles on when I put some Aluminium racing pedals on, the
old ones 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/grey 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 Turbos 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.
Before you BUY
Please check that 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 tell you!. Check the Chassis number /
Engine Number check out okay
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