| Author | Message | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 2630 Registered: 12-2000 |
Just heard on R&T website that the Supra will be back in 2004 for $30k. | ||
| Lawrence Coppari (Lawrence)
Member Username: Lawrence Post Number: 366 Registered: 4-2002 |
James, There was an '89 944 turbo for sale at the Road Atlanta event last weekend. Asking price was 13K. It was quite nice and has 61K on its clock. I've seen a couple of fellows get eaten by repair costs on those cars. But it is not bad if you do all the work yourself. The parts can be obtained wholesale or from dismantlers who specialize in the cars. Dealer prices, while not as outlandish as Ferrari prices, are high. | ||
| James Dixon (Omnadren250)
Member Username: Omnadren250 Post Number: 323 Registered: 7-2001 |
Lawrence, 944 turbos are great cars. If you are even on Rennlist.com, my friend on there has one with big hp, his name is RAGE2. But it takes lots of money to make them fast, and costs lots to fix them when they break. Unfortunatly, it's getting tough to find decent 951's in good condition these days, as the newest ones are over 13 years old now. | ||
| Lawrence Coppari (Lawrence)
Member Username: Lawrence Post Number: 363 Registered: 4-2002 |
Since I have one, I am biased to 944 turbos. You can buy a really nice one for about 12G's. My ratty one cost me 7G's. For another 10G's, you can have 500 hp that can be driven on the street as a daily driver just like any other 4 cylinder car. Handling is excellent with its perfect 50/50 balance. I bought my '86 in 1996. It had 89K on the clock. Now it has 138K on its clock and does about 7-10 track events a year. Mine does not have the 500 hp conversion but has about 390 based on my best comparisons with other cars on straight track. I spent 5K on go fast parts for the motor/suspension. It'll accelerate from 70-100(true speed) in about 4 seconds at full boost. Other than pesky oil leaks, maintenance is nil. I run 1.1 bar boost which is no problem for the engine with it's o-ringed head. It is not made for doing burnouts, however. | ||
| James Dixon (Omnadren250)
Member Username: Omnadren250 Post Number: 321 Registered: 7-2001 |
Tim, The mitsu 3000GT's (or Dodge Stealth as they are called in Canada) are waaaaayyyy to heavy!!! The Supra tips the scales at around 3390 lbs, but the 3000GT's are dogs at over 3600lbs. Also, the trannys break very easily as well as the all wheel drive systems. It was reported in many car magazines who were testing 3000GT's vs other cars at the drag strips that the trannys were breaking after a couple of hard runs in the 1/4 mile. You can't go wrong with a 300zx or supra twinner. My friend has a 300zx with some cool mods done to it. I can't remember off hand, but I think at full boost he was making over 500hp. He mentioned that the supra would be a little easier to work on, and perhaps a little more durable, but they are both good cars. Unfortuanly, they are both a bit on the heavy side. I lean more towards the supra, as in Canada, you can only get the 300zx in turbo form with the t-tops, which is a feature I don't like. | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
Intermediate Member Username: Timn88 Post Number: 1556 Registered: 6-2001 |
Dont get me wrong, ferraris are amazing, but supras are great cars for the $ when their prices come back down to where they should be. Im not trying to start a ferrar vs supra debate, im just saying they are appealing. Their eingines are so unbeleievably overbuilt as james said. They can easily take over 600hp, and sometimes over 800. Its amazing that such a strong, overbuilt motor made it get past all the corporate checks. They just seem like decent 1st sports cars becaue you dont have to worr abtou a $10k repait bill unless you really mess things up. I wont even consider buying one, or any car for that matter, till i actually need one which will be in a few years. What about mitsu 3000GT VR-4's? | ||
| Edward Gault (Irfgt)
Intermediate Member Username: Irfgt Post Number: 2208 Registered: 2-2001 |
I could not agree more. Your evaluations are right on. I personally like the 300Z. It is one of the best performing, best shifting, most durable, and easy to work on sports cars ever made. Nissan screwed the car up by continually evolving the car into a class that it would never be accepted in, regardless of it's credentials along with the Supra. They finally became too expensive for the market and sales slumped. Even though their performance numbers were up there with the best, they did not have the "Name" such that Ferrari, BMW, Lotus, Lambo, and Jaguar have. It is all psycological but that is the way it is in any type of retail products. A Timex will keep just as good time and last just as long as a Rolex but it just does not have the name recognition. What would you rather tell your friends, I own a Supra or a Ferrari? Even though the Supra may out perform the Ferrari, I bet almost anyone would say Ferrari. | ||
| James Dixon (Omnadren250)
Member Username: Omnadren250 Post Number: 319 Registered: 7-2001 |
I think the reason they have maintained their value so well is that it's tough to beat the bang for buck that a supra delivers AS FAR AS PERFORMANCE IS CONCERNED. This is not to start another _______ vs supra debate. The following are my personal opinions as to the value and pros/cons of various cars in the mentioned price ranges in Canada. In Canada, a nice clean low mileage twinner supra costs around $38,000 - $48,000 Candaian dollars, depending on the year of the car and extra items such as wheels etc. If you are willing to spend that type of money (or perhaps a little bit less), your options are...a nice E36 M3, new mustang cobra, used C5 vette, twinner 300zx, a naturally aspirated 911 , Ferrari 308, 1979-1985 930 porsche, mazda twinner rx7..there are other cars that fit the category, but I can't think of all of them. Some just don't want the muscle cars (although the C5 is much more refined now than the older vettes, just ask Ed Gault), so that wipes out the american offerings. Plus, a clean C5 vette starts off in the 48k to 54k in this part of the country. The Porsches are expensive to maintain, and even more expensive to make really fast. The Ferrari 308/328 just doesn't have the stock power, is really, really expensive to maintain and prohibitive to modify to high hp numbers. Can't be used as a daily driver. The M3's are great cars, reliable and can be made to be fast, but you have to start doing major engine mods to make the big power which can be expensive. THe twin turbo rx-7 just never seem to run right. There is always a flat spot in the powerband, and you need to have a good mechanic to fix them when you start blowing apex seals. That leaves the supra and the 300zx for a relativly inexpensive car that has high hp potential, reliable to be used as a daily driver. The 300zx engine is cramped for space and very difficult to work on. Also, since it's a v engine configuration, it's not practical to convert it to a single turbo application for high hp numbers. That leaves the supra. Toyota reliablity, inline engine configuration which makes it easy to convert to a single turbo for big power, the stock engine internals are good for over 600hp (this has been proven time and time again). It's very easy to modify to make more than the stock 320hp. A few simply mods costing a few thousand bucks will have you making 450hp. Spend a bit more and you get 600hp and daily driver reliablity. Unfortunatly, they are a little on the heavy side, as they really are a GT car, so they could stand to lose a few pounds. You also have to do some good suspension work to make them work in the twisties at the racetrack. So, if you want something rare, reliable, cool looking, and potential for major power the supra, 300zx are a good way to go. The supra is bit easier to work on than the 300zx, a little more rare so there is a bit of a premium for the toyota. If you want something to race seriously on the track, the supra probably isnt the best car for it. But it's hard to beat the value it offers in all the other performance categories. Unfortuanly, as Tim mentioned, that stupid movie raised the value of the supras in the last year or so. | ||
| Rob Lay (Rob328gts)
Board Administrator Username: Rob328gts Post Number: 2617 Registered: 12-2000 |
Edmunds says the value of a 1996 tubro is $19k. | ||
| Racer 001 (Mr_0011)
Member Username: Mr_0011 Post Number: 308 Registered: 3-2002 |
I was going to buy a MKIV Turbo, but the prices are just insane for what it is...  | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
Intermediate Member Username: Timn88 Post Number: 1550 Registered: 6-2001 |
oh wait...fast and the furious is probably why | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
Intermediate Member Username: Timn88 Post Number: 1549 Registered: 6-2001 |
How did they retain their vaule so well? Few ferraris held vaule as well as them! | ||
| Tino (Bboxer)
Junior Member Username: Bboxer Post Number: 176 Registered: 8-2001 |
Yes it's the color you mention. I should have kept this thing... | ||
| James Dixon (Omnadren250)
Member Username: Omnadren250 Post Number: 314 Registered: 7-2001 |
Tino, that is a nice looking supra. Is that the rare "Royal Sapphire Blue" color that everybody in the supra community goes 'gaga' about when they see it??? | ||
| Tino (Bboxer)
Junior Member Username: Bboxer Post Number: 173 Registered: 8-2001 |
The more I hear about Supras, the more I miss mine. Should have never sold it. Had Rod Millen turn it into a monster that could only go straight despite heavily modified suspension and lots of rubber. didn't suit my personality I guess (to say nothing of my age). Here's a picture of the beast.  | ||
| Anthony Griffin (Redjeeper)
New member Username: Redjeeper Post Number: 3 Registered: 10-2002 |
The bad thing is that since the Fast and Furious, the price of these things used is just the same as when they were new back in '94. They need to make a movie with a Lexus GS300 so I can trade it for an Fcar. | ||
| Joseph Caretti (Pino)
Junior Member Username: Pino Post Number: 94 Registered: 4-2002 |
www.mkiv.com Lots of information on the last generation Supra. | ||
| James Dixon (Omnadren250)
Member Username: Omnadren250 Post Number: 312 Registered: 7-2001 |
Up here in Canada, a supra was going for around $70,000 for the final model year in 1998. I believe the price slowly starting creeping up towards the end as nobody was buying them and Toyota was almost definatly losing money. | ||
| Ernesto (T88power)
Member Username: T88power Post Number: 835 Registered: 2-2001 |
Mine cost $38,000 in 1993. Ernesto | ||
| Racer 001 (Mr_0011)
Member Username: Mr_0011 Post Number: 300 Registered: 3-2002 |
Near $50k I think... | ||
| Tim N (Timn88)
Intermediate Member Username: Timn88 Post Number: 1532 Registered: 6-2001 |
Just curious? What did they cost before and after the big prive drop in 94(?not sure of year)? |