You think $4,500 is cheap?! I think thats pricey. How many miles on it? And if you talk to the owner ask him when the head gasket was replaced and ask him if he used ARP hardware. If he doesn't know what you are talking about then its a safe bet that it is leaking. All 7M factory torqued head gaskets leak, it just depends how hard the car was driven that determines how bad it does leak. It's not a question of IF its going to finally go, its WHEN.
I paid $2,500 for my rust-free hard top 87 turbo 5spd with new paint that needed nothing. Head gasket lasted 1,500 miles with me behind the wheel. But the overflow never worked since the day I bought it until I replaced the head gasket, so I knew it was on its way. I also did a block test the week I got it and the blue fluid turned green (yellow is a definite combustion leak) but green is halfway to yellow so, again, it was on its way.
Unless you want the "luxury" of replacing the head gasket, I'd look for a supra that has a new head gasket with ARP bolts and all the receipts and paperwork from the machine shop the head was machined at. Pictures of the rebuild wouldn't hurt either. Thats why I fully documented my head gasket replacement, when I do sell it there won't be a shadow of a doubt that I'm not bullshitting when I say its been replaced. Because anybody can just say "Yep! Head gasket was replaced!"...... I'd say, Prove it.
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