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Rare mix of performance and reliability Toyota Supra
| | Model | Toyota Supra UK-toyota supra uk spec | | | What things have gone wrong with the car? | Worn clutch replaced.
Damaged wheel.
Some cracked hoses replaced.
Warped rotors replaced. | | | General comments? | I live in Thailand where the taxes are very high on most automobiles, especially luxury cars. There is also the issue of relatively weak dealer networks, especially for cars that are uncommon in the country. So when I decided to look for a sports car, my choices rapidly shrank to a few cars.
Eventually I settled on a Supra that had been imported from the toyota supra uk spec in 1997 and had some cosmetic and minor engine modifications done. The car was in fairly bad shape when I bought it last year (for, brace yourself, US$42,000) in terms of maintenance. Clutch was gone, rotors badly warped, alignment off, brake balance off, turbo boost adjuster not functional, one speaker blown. The country has a well-run TRD garage where I had all work done. Not cheap and not fast, but dependable- a relative rarity here.
I wound up selling the car recently after owning it for a year. Problem was that the traffic is so bad in Bangkok, and my work takes up so much of my time, that I rarely had a chance to drive it. The battery would go flat and not have much of a chance to charge up with all of my short driving trips around the city. It was also not a very comfortable car to drive with the sometimes very poor condition of the roads. Even the TRD owner admitted to having broken two wheels on two separate occasions when driving over large metal sheets in the road used to cover holes or roadworks.
When out and about, especially outside of the city, the car certainly got a lot of looks. There are approximately 80-120 Supras in Thailand right now so one can expect a lot of attention. With the modifications made (larger intercooler, exhaust, intake, a few things) I was able to keep up with and pass Ferrari F355s, much to the chagrin of their owners. The engines, if not massaged too heavily, are virtually bulletproof and Toyota reliability is intact.
All in all a great car. I just didn't have the time or the playing space to give it. | | | Engine and transmission | 3.0 liter twin turbo Manual | | | Performance | 9/10 | | | Reliability | 8/10 | | | Comfort | 5/10 | | | Dealer | 7/10 | | | Running costs (higher is cheaper) | 4/10 | | | Distance when acquired | 40000 kilometres | | | Most recent distance | 42000 kilometres | | | Previous car | Honda Prelude | | | First year of ownership | 2001 | | | Most recent year of ownership | 2002 | | | Date of Entry | 20th December, 2002 |
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