Faults:

Aircon inop.

Head gasket went (uneconomical to repair)

General Comments:

I'd always wanted a Supra. I think they look great, and being a Toyota should be reliable.

I saw this one advertised for £1,000, it was in a light met blue, had lowered suspension, different alloys, came with a raft of service bills and except the a/c (needed a re-gas), everything worked.

So I bought it for £850 after some haggling. The first thing I regretted was buying an auto, the performance was O.K, but not exactly quick, and its the last time I buy a modified car, you only had to half push it round a bend, and the tyres started chirping, the ride was knock your fillings out hard, and the camber on the rear wheels made it look a bit stupid. I can't understand why people do cars up in the first place, just buy something better that's designed to be quick/handle really well etc and be done with it!

If I did buy another it would be a Supra Turbo, unmodified and spoilt by some pillock who dosn't know what he's doing, and have less miles on the clock as the head gasket went on mine and it was too expensive to repair.

Faults:

At about 190000 miles I had to replace the exhaust.

At about the same time I did a 4 wheel brake job, and replaced the rotors since the originals were getting thin (from previous re-surfacing).

At 206000 the dreaded BHG (blown head gasket) symptoms started showing, and I ended up replacing the engine with a used/low-mile Japanese replacement.

The sport roof (targa top) has always leaked to an extent or another, but I learned to live with it.

There is a little bit of rust on the roof at the windshield line.

And now, my ECU decided to go sideways. The car works great, but the ECU no longer outputs diagnostic codes, so it will be impossible to smog the car without replacing it. The dealer wants $1400, and some places on line want 200-300 to repair the existing one.

I like the car, and if it wasn't for the fact that I'm getting tired of driving stick in commute traffic, I would consider fixing it, but as it stands, I may look for something else.

General Comments:

The car is fast indeed and will give any would be "rocketeer" a run for their money. The Turbo is very smooth and gives the car a definite push when you press the gas.

Where the car really shines though, is the handling. It takes turns flat as a pancake. Even whe the TEMS (Toyota Electronically Modulated Suspension) is set for "normal" soft ride, the TEMS kicks in and stiffens up the ride in turns or heavy breaking.

I once saw a review of this car in Motor trend right next to a review of the Porche 928, and the final paragraph red: "If you like performance and comfort, buy this car instead of the Porche 928 and save yourself $50000."

If I could find another, with AT for a bargain in great shape I'd buy it.