n00b. Should i buy?

[pwpanas]

Originally Posted by 530transam

ok, im 25 now. Since i was 8 i have wanted a red twin turbo Supra. I kind of gave up on owning one because people want too much money for them...

Compared with what? A used Honda Civic? A used Mazda Miata? An old Mustang? An old and busted 'smokey and the bandit' trans am? ...compared with a brand-new Bugatti Veyron-16.4, a used Toyota Supra Turbo is much, much cheaper. ...and upgraded, it can be even faster. Please don't say the Mkiv Supra Turbo is "too much money". Personally, I believe the market for this car has them undervalued, not overvalued.

Originally Posted by 530transam

...and i am always busy with school and work etc etc. Well recently i found one at a Toyota dealership, a red 1993 twin turbo targa with NO spoiler!!!! My dream car!!! whats even better is they are only asking $17k. They sold the car new, and maintained it all its life. It was owned by a doctor and received impeccable care. I commute so much that i started thinking wow i would just garage this car and still have to have a daily driver-probably not worth it. Then things get interesting. I find out it has 191,000 miles!!! This is great but bad. Bad because of all the questions of a 200k miles car, but great because i would never be afraid of driving it. Should i buy it? Why or why not?...

It depends on your goals. If you want something you will be able to drive and upgrade with very little other maintenance for several years, then I'd say no. However, if you're willing to take on a project car that may need some maintenance to get it into shape, then maybe yes.

Originally Posted by 530transam

...Will it be reliable with that many miles given the service history and ownership of the car?...

It depends - what is its service history, how hard was it driven, and was it ever upgraded? All of these questions play into its reliability.

Originally Posted by 530transam

...Should i just shell out the cash and buy it and have the engine rebuilt (i plan on making a 600-800hp beast anyway)?...

You must not read this forum very much. Why in the hell would you want to rebuild the engine? I'm getting soooooo tired of telling people this!!! If the engine was well maintained, and the car was never modified, the engine is probably just fine...and the mighty 2jz-gte will make 600rwhp and much more, bone-stock with no modifications or rebuilding - that's one of the things that makes the Mkiv Supra Turbo so special!!! PLEASE don't even waste one more millisecond thinking the engine needs to be rebuilt UNTIL YOU KNOW FOR SURE ITS BROKEN!!!

Originally Posted by 530transam

...Should i buy it and drive it till it breaks? Only thing is work is 84 miles one way and school is 125 miles one way, i don't want to get stranded. Thoughts?

If you're depending on this to be a reliable daily driver, why are you also thinking of upgrading it to 800hp? Unless you have a huge bankroll, that sounds like a pretty bad plan. However, if you want to keep it bone-stock and you can afford a few thousand and a few weeks to do all of the maintenance on it (even if it was perfectly maintained and baby'd, 18 year old plastic and rubber components typically start needing some attention), then you could likely make it all come together (if the car is verifiably ship-shape). Well-maintained, a '93 Mkiv Supra Turbo with 191K miles is very reliable...it truly does have Toyota/Lexus quality in the design. However, there are still a LOT of variables in the decision. Among many other things, be sure to get the Supra checked out by an INDEPENDENT mechanic that has proven expertise in dealing with the Mkiv Supra Turbo specifically. Note: Toyota mechanics don't understand this car (they're mainly good at Camrys and 4-Runners)...and anyone the seller suggests may be a biased source of information. You'll need to do some work to find an independent Supra mechanic or an independent Supra owner in the area.