What's the value of a 1989 Toyota Supra?
 

I've happily owned a Supra for 15 years. I purchased a 1989 Toyota Supra when it was only 2 years old and I still own it today.

2 weeks ago, I decided it was time to buy a new car so I purchased the Lexus IS 250. Unfortunately, that means it's time to sell the Supra. The problem is, I've had a hard time figuring out how much the Supra is worth.

The paint is original and it's in good condition all things considered. The interior doesn't have any major flaws and the engine runs great. The shocks don't keep the hood up, there's a very slow water leak and the heater doesn't work, but that's about it.

Here are a few photos...

http://www.billelgin.com/private/whe...upra_front.jpg

http://www.billelgin.com/private/whe...supra_back.jpg

http://www.billelgin.com/private/whe...pra_inside.jpg

Here's a side-by-side photo with my new car...

http://www.billelgin.com/private/whe...upra_is250.jpg

With all that said, does anyone have any advice about what it's worth?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Best regards,

Bill

looks pretty i would say $2000-$3000 if its stock n/a automatic

I think in your So. Cal. area you should be able to get 3k to 4k if your willing and able to take your time selling. I hear these Supra's are getting popular with tuner/drifter kids too. Go to any auto part store and order the hood pistons. Easy to replace and wont give a bad impression when potential buyers are looking under the hood being held up with a 2x4.

I'll give you 2K CASH TODAY! I live in Big Bear Lake. Seriously. I have same color 1988 turbo, I'm original owner. Have a 16 year old boy I could give yours for x-mas. I would need to fix the heater right away for big bear and that is expensive.

How many miles on it?

Ask 2700, except any offer over 2000.

Go to NADA.com or KBB.com. They'll tell you what the car is worth. I use KBB.com. That's Kelly Blue Book, for those of you that don't know. I don't remember What NADA stands for.

I'd never use NADA or KBB as a rule only a very loose guide. Better advise is to do a search on ebay, your local newspaper and autotrader and see what other cars are selling for in your own area. Good luck with your sale.

Thanks for the help everyone. It sold the first week that I put it online at AutoTrader. I ended up selling it for $2,000. I think I could have sold it for more if I waited, but I didn't have anywhere to keep it.

Catch ya later, Bill

Kelly Blue Book on your car estimated 100k miles in fair condition, (yours may be better), is about US $2,700.00.

I think we would all agree it is worth more and we should ask more for our cars if we are dumb enough to sell them. (no offence Bill)

These cars are becoming collectable as is apparrent through the very positive comments I get from strangers when they see mine. Not to mention they were way ahead of the times in the late '80's and still a competitive car now.

I think 4k on the car you just sold would have been fair. (even though I would have stole it from you unfairly for 2k given the chance...everybody would)

Let's help each other and start asking more if we must sell.

No offense taken at all. When I decided to sell, I told my wife I should just put it in a garage somewhere and forget about it. Unfortunately, I just didn't have anywhere to put it.

I even through around the idea of putting 2 or 3 thousand into it and fixing it up instead of buying a new car, but I just don't have the time for that.

Catch ya later, Bill

I had a similar dilemma. Moved to Big Bear in summer of 2000 and blew head gasket the day we moved. Rented house while building new house and left Supra outside for 2 years just sitting. It wasn't worth any money but I decided for about 5k I could resurrect it. Since I am original owner, had only 65k miles with NO problems until BHG, and I couldn't get anything nearly as nice for 5k (plus I now have a garage for it) I fixed BHG, all new rubber belts/hose, and quality paint...5k later it was like new. Now it's my hobby car/daily driver/semi-race car. I have put about another 3k so far into TEIN Flex coilovers and wheel/tires. Next will be more HP with intake and exhaust. Then who knows. I will try and resist doing any serious engine mods as to not ruin the car or go too far from it's original state. I use the track mainly as a 'test' track to try out suspension set-ups and refine my driving skills. The fun really comes in surprising newer cars who try and stay with me up or down the mountain.

Maybe someday you will have a garage and hopefully another Supra or similar 'Toy'.

Good luck and remember..."If you have NO FEAR...you're not going fast enough"

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l1...AfterTEIN2.jpg

NADA and KBB are much more nationally known and much more highly credited than egay, your local newspaper, and autotrader. I don't trust ebay for accurate resale figures, because it's a bidding site. Your local paper doesn't have accurate resale info because it's used for advertising, not quoting accurate prices, and autotrader is just that. It's for advertising a massive listing of autos for sale or trade. It's not accurate. Again, i reiterate. NADA and KBB are the nation standard for accurate care resale values. Apparantely you've never really used an Nada or KBB book or been to either of their sites, before. Thank you, drive through.

The problem with NADA and KBB when dealing with cars almost 20 years old like some of ours, is their prices are being established using formulas and statisitics based on questions asked by stiffs at insurance companies and banks. We are getting into a grey area when pricing 'classic' and 'collectable' cars like these MKIII"S are (hopefully) becoming. I feel we are at that threshold and pricing our MKIII's is no longer as cut and dry as NADA or KBB.

We, as owners, have the potential NOW to start establishing the true values. It seems like a buyers market for sure if MysticKnight let his pretty clean ride go for only 2k. The fact is, we all know they're worth more so ignore NADA and KBB and let us current owners decide what they're worth.

MONKEY:I understand what you may be thinking, however take it from an insurance adjuster, who appraises cars on a daily bases, that NADA and KBB are only guides of averages, originally designed for dealership purposes, thus they can not reflect any real car prices. As an insurance car appraiser, or a privately hired car appraiser, they use ACTUAL REAL cars that are currently for sale in a given geographical area. The comps that are compared are found using dealer stock cars and private party cars, which are only found in sources such as newspapers, autotrader and even ebay. The problem found with NADA and KBB is that the price that is given is nearly always very low for cars that are approaching 20 years old. There's also the issue of supply and demand. Certain geographic locations have a much higher demand for certain cars thus the value is higher than say a Supra in Alaska as compared to California. NADA and KBB are only truely effective for newer cars, say within about five years of the manufacture date since these are the cars that have the largest supply at car dealerships for obtaining the data to compile the data for the prices in the NADA and KBB. Lastly, you might also think more carefully next time about making accusations about ones lack of knowledge on a subject before you make such statements without any objective information. No offense taken here, just a recommendation to you in the future. Best Regards.

i got $5k when a repair shop whose name will not be mentioned *cough* FIRESTONE *cough* wrecked my 87 n/a that was completely stock. 108k miles. but, i am in san diego, so it would have been much less elsewhere. firestone's insurance company is based in chicago and they offered me $2200 because they claimed thats what they sold for in the chicago area. i sent them ads where they ranged from $4.5k-$6.5k (in conditions similar to mine) and even KBB was higher than what they offered (and the supra has been going up lately). i told them if they found a similar one to mine (manual tranny, low miles, excellent condition), shipped it to me and paid for my CA registration, i'd call it even. the assholes paid up.

if you are in So Cal, you can get a decent amount if yours is in good shape. i sold my 86.5 n/a 5 speed for $2.5k, and it did have a few issues. i could have probably gotten $3k but i had to sell it quick. and remember, an n/a automatic will always have a lesser value than one with a manual tranny and/or turbo(given that theyre in similar condition). although KBB gives a higher value for automatics, sports car enthusiasts will not pay up.

If you have owned it and its paid for keep it man! slap some historic tags on it to lower insurence. its nice