Decent buy?
 

I'm looking for a reliable, cheap to maintain, fun to drive car that I could be caught driving (in other words, good looking). I know that the turbo's are quite unreliable, and I don't need a turbo so that's not a huge issue. But are the non-turbo's reliable? Are parts cheap, and are they easy to work on?

Second question...what do you guys think of this supra?
http://portland.craigslist.org/wsc/cto/2411529506.html

He is not sure of the mileage on the chassis. He unfortunately has not replaced the headgasket yet. There is an exhaust leak and the a/c doesn't work. A tierod end and wheel bearing need replaced, but he has the parts.

Tbh, the only thing that concerns me is the fact that the headgasket hasn't been done. Is it easy to retorque the head bolts to 80 lb ft? I heard that that was the reason why they blow, they were torqued too low from the factory.

Thanks for any help!

if you want a cheap car to maintain, buy a Honda Civic. My guy is a hole in the ground in which I shovel money! Would be very surprised if the rack and high pressure line do not need to be replaced. Almost everything about these cars is expensive. The good thing unlike my fire chicken the parts are available.

I would rather rip all the hairs out of my scrotum than drive a civic :fyi:

Sorry, but they are just too plain and boring. Every single person in my town who drives a civic is either a boring shmuck or a douchebag. Sad truth :(

Is yours a turbo or non-turbo? If you are having reliability and maintenance issues with a non-turbo, then I will definitely shy away from it!

Ouch! I'm not a fan of civics either but damn... scrote hair ripping? I think she may have meant to be prepared to spend money. Be prepared to spend hours researching and troubleshooting annoying problems. These cars are old and too many of them have been poorly maintained or worse, suffered "mods" at the hands of a some under achieving hack. The chance of you buying any 20+ year old car and driving it for years without any issues or having to dump money into it is slim at best. If you do not like to troubleshoot and repair things kinda regularly then you might not have a great experience with the mk3 supra. On the other hand, if you don't mind the extra "love" these cars require from their owners you will be amazed and pleased at what they have to offer.
The one in the ad looks nice and as you can see the owner has already begun the never ending list of "new parts". They are great cars, just be aware almost all of them will need work. Good luck in your decision.

Thanks Supracabra!

I just test drove it, and unfortunately it was a real piece :( Lots of things wrong with it.

Regardless, I guess it turns out that it's not the kind of car I need. If I could afford to tinker around with my car, I would just keep my 94 Audi S4 :)

I think I'll focus on MKii's instead. Thanks guys for all the help!

Just a general understanding of the supra, yes parts are rather expensive. But no more so than any other robustly designed touring car. If you maintain complete maint. on these cars they will last as long as you take care of them. I have honestly spent more keeping my honda civic running then my supra. Though I care less when the civic sounds like shit ^^

I had a 7MGTE make it to 365k miles on the original motor, and it only died because I was drifting it with low oil... yeah I know im a fucking idiot but the dipstick on the 89's is really deceiving ;;

If you want it to last that long though prepare for some rebuilds.

I only feel like the supra is a money heap when I want to upgrade something... Eh no it is just a money heap, but so is the damn civic and it not nearly as fun.

The 2009 Civil EXL is not bad on long trips and is comfortable enough. In town it is about as dull as it gets but he is cheap to maintain and gets decent fuel millage. My Supra was abused at the hands of a juvenile drifter. He managed to damage or destroy the entire drive train and the steering. The little *deleted* had put in a single piece drive shaft for his perversion. My guy is mechanically sound now and needs just cosmetic work like painting and inside. My guy is non turbo and since the maintenance was finished has been trouble free. He has plenty of power to get me in trouble and any more would mean tickets for sure!
I suggested a Honda Civic to the youngster since it is mostly trouble free. Boring perhaps but you can not get both!

Oooo that sucks, usually the younger ones who drift it but don't know how to take care of it that ruin it. I figured mine at 365k was bound to break anyway ;p

But I have dealt with almost just as much on my civic ex: blown head gasket, had to change the exhaust manifold gasket 4 times in it 115k life, several radiators, oil pan crack, and my electrical is just crazy in that thing. Although I can't say that stuff was expensive when comparing to the same stuff on a supra, I guess it will all just come down to what are you willing to sacrifice? The civic you can run with just about anything broken on it and it will keep going for hundreds of thousands of miles, or you can go a lot faster and generally have more excitement but know when something breaks you can't use it till it works again or you just cost yourself tons. Reliable, that word is totally based upon circumstance.

I think I'll focus on MKii's instead.

That's even older! Although if you are looking for less power, more reliability and cheaper (though harder to find) parts it is a good choice but check it thoroughly underneath for rust and expect to rebuild the suspension and rear end if its been whooped. Otherwise its a great car.
I think civics are one of the best daily driver cars on earth. I don't think they even register on any coolness scale but both are only my opinion.
@916mk3x2, Your experience with the civic is very unusual on an unmolested one. Damn 360k miles is pretty impressive for a gasoline engine. Lol, you were drifting a tired elderly supra.... that couldn't have been too much fun.

Speed isn't an issue to me, just reliability. I have already posted a thread in the mkii section :)

Civics are out of the question, not even worth mentioning. I can get everything I want from a Celica Supra, Fox Mustang, Acura Legend, etc. I don't need THE MOST RELIABLE vehicle, just something decently reliable and cheap to work on.