Price check - soarer

[knate]

Dont know if this is the rite section but i thought id get ur opinion on a car ive been offered.

1993 soarer 2.5 twin turbo
170,000ks auto

pretty much stock as a rock. paint is reflective of age. interior is tidy.

3k? im thinking its pretty good buy considering TM prices. mechanically i havnt checked yet but ill take a toyota mate with me to suss it all out.

[Leon]

I would have thought that depending on condition, it would be worth 5K +

[knate]

yeah the only price checking ive done is trademe, and the prices on that are all over the show normally. someone offered me 6k for my s14 and i nearly spat the dummy! i thought abotu 5 would be fair for a soarer of that age and k's... i jus tdont now much about toyotas or soarers in particular.

[Mr.Phreak]

The things I'd be looking at are
Lower Control Arm bushings
Blinki Dash
Climate control LCD display
Window regulator
Headlamp fogging/yellowing
Heater control valve
Radiator/Top tank leak
Boot Struts weak / failed
Door trim splits
Ignitor pack cracks
Door hinge sagging problems
Looseness in front seat anchors
Centre dash air vent cracking/splitting
Mustiness in aircon system
Noise around sunroof
Steering rack bushes
Air con pipe(s) corrosion & susequent failure
Anti-roll bar bushes

Prices seemed to have taken a noise dive lately, dunno if its because of rising fuel prices, they way they........look or just because they're getting older and everyone wants a 95+ car

[Emperor]

two dollah ninety five

2 minute okey

[summin]

Prices seemed to have taken a noise dive lately, dunno if its because of rising fuel prices,

Thats exactly the reason, anything with a 2.5l or 6 cyl engine or bigger is very hard to sell at the moment, slap a turbo into the equation and it gets very very hard. It seems to ease a bit every now and then, but then fuel goes up another 6c and people stop buying altogether.

Id say at that age/cond etc you looking at an auction price of between $2500-3000...Maybe a little bit more if you can get the right people interested.

So to answer your question, if its in good condition then yes its a reasonable price. Definitely a lot of car for ya money.

[skizzae]

really depending if you want a quck sale dude, like i have a mint 1992 soarer and only 117000 ks on the clock, and aftermarket alloys only asking $6500 firm and i have got people interested hopefully sell tomorrow.so just depends on condition and ks really

[knate]

yeh ive been offered the car not selling it. i was looking at a gt4 celica st185, but people seem to want to much for them IMHO, and then this came along. i only drive in the weekends... so i guess fuel isnt to much of an issue. just wanted toyota peoples opinions...

THANKS for the list of things to look at to. always helps. i take it they would be things to avoid?

[Leon]

From what I've read, they seem to be a nice car for cruising, but seem to be expensive to pay somebody to fix if something goes pear shaped.

That list Phreak typed up seems to be pretty well thought out, maybe he's had more experience with them?

Also, watch for insurance difficulty, as it is a 2.5 turbo.

[Silent Knight]

If you get a good example of a Soarer in good condition they are a brilliant car to drive and to own.

What Darryn listed above is basically a short list of things that can/does go wrong with (known issues). Some have problems and others don't.

The things you should be checking on the 1J mainly is the coil-packs as they do tend to crack. Radiator top tank is also a known weakness in the Soarers and Blinky Dash syndrome is also a big problem.

In saying that there is so much well documented information on Soarers and the fixes for the problems that they are not really that much of a concern anymore. They are getting a bit more common in NZ so parts are also becoming more and more readily availble.

Insurance is a pig with the TT model. If you are under 25 don't bother ringing around. Go straight to NAC and go through them as they are the only place that will touch you.

[postfach]

If you get a good example of a Soarer in good condition they are a brilliant car to drive and to own.

Owners bias Nah its true they're great, i love mine, even though its the old shape its still a good drive, i can imagine the z30 would be even better. the 1jz is nice and smooth in stock form and you can make good power gains from simple mods (I've got 223rwkw from just a 3" exhaust).

[Mr.Phreak]

It's just a pity we didn't get the later model V8s

As for the list, most of them aren't too bad if you don't mind getting your hands dirty. The only reason I've come across with them being expensive to fix is finding a mechanic that knows them, as opposed to John Q Greasemonkey who starts hitting things with hammers til it's fixed.

As SK said, they're only known faults, not every Soarer has them, or will suffer from them. I bought mine with a few of them, but I like buying projects

i have got people interested hopefully sell tomorrow.so just depends on condition and ks really

His name's not Mike is it??