need help from anyone who drives a supra n/a!!

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by kevinhays

my parents (im 17) are probably going to sell one of our cars and let me use the money to buy a car for myself. this would probably be around 11-14 thousand dollars. I've really been considering a dodge SRT-4 because it would be reliable and i could use my own money to make it perform amazingly well for such a cheap car. lately though I've been looking at the supra n/as and have been wondering if that would be a possibility for my situation. i have a few questions i feel can only be answered by those who own one of the cars themselves.

-i've been all over the internet and can't seem to but, can you find supra n/as in good shape for this price without a ridiculously high amount of millage?

-how reliable are these cars? i would need it to be pretty reliable and be my daily driver. (my family has a 3rd gen rx7 and boy thats taught me at this age i need a reliable car)

-like the last question but, how much would it cost on average, say monthly or yearly to keep this car running?

-what kind of gas millage do you receive?

-speed is pretty important to me (hence the srt-4) so how quick are these cars?

-again like the last question, if somewhere down the road i wanted to turbo the car, how much would it cost on top of one of the 5k turbo kits to safely turbo the car and know it won't blow?

-also, regarding the turbo kits, ive heard the car's lack of performance features besides the engine make it so that having alot of power is useless cuz the car just isn't really driveable with that much power. anyone here have personal experience with this?

sorry to ask the simplest questions but it takes an owner to give advice, and answers to a few of these questions could make the decision process much easier. oh and i work at chambers bay golf course in UP, Washington so i've definitely got a steady source of income, just not THAT much money. thanks for all your time guys.

Although I own a TT, I can help with a couple of your questions. I hope others respond as well, to your other questions. I've got other contacts not on this forum if we don't get the answers you need here.

These cars are extremely reliable, but only if well-maintained and properly modified (or not modifed at all). If you get a high mileage mkiv na that has rarely had any maintenance done, irregular oil changes, no regular coolant flushes, old transmission fluid, etc., then (like any car) the poor maintenance will likely lead to problems. Also, if it has been modified/upgraded, the reliability will depend a lot on the quality of the work and the quality of the parts. On the other hand, a well-maintained bone-stock (i.e. never modified) na mkiv is just as reliable as (for example) a Lexus SC300.

Cost: An na mkiv will cost a bit more than a sedan to maintain, just because it's more of a sportscar. Tires will cost more on average, as will the semi-synthetic or full-synthetic oil changes. Although the brakes aren't as beefy as the mkiv tt's, the na's brakes will cost more to change (when necessary) than (for example) a Corolla. Other than that, it's just regular maintenance (fluid changes, alignments, brakes, etc.). Lastly, a lot also depends on how hard you drive it!

If somewhere down the road you want to turbo the car, proper installation of a $5K-ish turbo kit at a shop experienced with the mkiv supra (!!!) will cost you about $1500 or so. Don't take it to a shop that has never worked on the mkiv! After you get the turbo kit on, be sure to run the right amount of octane in your fuel to match the boost level. For anything over about 300rwhp, you'll probably need to start supplimenting 93 octane pump gas with some 100+ octane race fuel, or meth injection (note: 'octane boosters' are crap)

I wouldn't say the na mkiv is useless after a turbo upgrade. I would however say that you shouldn't expect it to perform/handle like an mkiv tt. Some of the key differences are the entire braking system (calipers, abs computer, etc.), rims&tires (i.e. wider tires + z-rated rubber), and suspension. At the very least, be sure to increase the width of the rims&tires after you turbo it. For most guys that truly want the full performance of an mkiv tt will find it's cheaper not to get an na mkiv, and save up for a tt.

You'll find a bit more info here:
MKIV.COM