Buying A Turbo

[dawolf]

Hi all. I'm seriously considering buying a freshly imported turbo. It's a standard rev 2 in turquoise, no mods. The import documents are all present and they state the car was A1 all round. Has done 70k miles and seems to drive okay from the 15 minute test drive. I posted about it on IMOC and people seemed to be putting me off by saying that you have to be very careful as turbo's can get costly down the line and you can't always tell if there are underlying issues. I feel that I've done everything I can to reduce the risks, probably going to get it inspected too. I'm under the impression that turbo's are not as reliable as N/A's and I'm not sure whether to buy one now. My N/A has cost me about £1700 in repairs over the last 6 months which is partly why I want to change.

Any comments or opinions are appreciated.

[Fizz]

Had my rev 3 tubby for just short of 2 years and all it cost me just service bills.. i.e oil/filter/coolant cambelt and alternator belt. (wear and tear)

If you get a car that has no mods, less likely to have engine issues mate.

What is your budget for a tubby? Rash has a black rev 3 going cheap..

[JappyBeast]

Hi all. I'm seriously considering buying a freshly imported turbo. It's a standard rev 2 in turquoise, no mods. The import documents are all present and they state the car was A1 all round. Has done 70k miles and seems to drive okay from the 15 minute test drive. I posted about it on IMOC and people seemed to be putting me off by saying that you have to be very careful as turbo's can get costly down the line and you can't always tell if there are underlying issues. I feel that I've done everything I can to reduce the risks, probably going to get it inspected too. I'm under the impression that turbo's are not as reliable as N/A's and I'm not sure whether to buy one now. My N/A has cost me about £1700 in repairs over the last 6 months which is partly why I want to change.

Any comments or opinions are appreciated.

I used to think this also hence I bought an n/a but the truth is that any car can be costly down the line.

I wish now that I had actually bought a turbo.

Take the plunge and do it!

[Rash@R.A.Motors]

tbh mate, regardless whether its a turbo or an n/a at the end of the day you must consider the age of the car... yes things can go wrong but there are no guarantees as its all mechanical..

You could go buy a turbo and it will be fine and you can have it a few years no probs - alternatively you can buy another that gives you nothing but trouble...! its just one of those things.

No doubt you've read the buying guides etc.. providing it drives fine goes well no smoke and has had a service / cambelt change you should be ok...

Dont forget if you get one in fresh from Japan it doesn't necessarily mean its better than one already in the UK..

With frsh imports you need to defo get a full service/cambelt unless you can be 100% its been done.. not to mention cat-1 alarm, any body imperfections and then there is the mechanical side of things....!

Buy one already in the uk for a couple of years and most of the above items will have been addressed..! saving you money..! IMO of course

Rash.

[Fizz]

IMO of course

Rash.

Yeah but what do you know?

[Jesus]

I used to think this also hence I bought an n/a but the truth is that any car can be costly down the line.

I wish now that I had actually bought a turbo.

Take the plunge and do it!

Good advice. Wise head on young shoulders there Jappy.

I was doubting getting mine when I bought it 7 years ago. My boss at the time, ~50 year old woman not into cars at all, very business conscious, said "do it"... she had cancer and said you never know what's round the corner.

I haven't regretted it once. I would have been if I didn't commit.

Do your checks etc, but like Rash says, bear in mind it's an old motor now.

It's old... however, I'm yet to come across a car that has seen me off... including a friend's tuned R33 GTR VSpec.

My biggest outlay due to wear and tear was a replacement clutch... but that's because it pretty much ate the stock one. Everything else has been servicing... every 2500 miles. On the dot.

No-one can make your mind up for you... and no-one can take responsibility for your decision except you... but if you're sensible you'll do alright.

Good luck.

[dawolf]

Thanks for the comments guys. I've decided against this car as I've found out the turbo is kicking in too late, gave Rogue a quick buzz and they put me right. I'll make sure I check everything as best I can. The thing is I don't have that much spare money at the moment, that's partly why I'm a bit apprehensive about buying but I just love the power of turbo's and I don't think I can hold out much longer. Lol.

[Jimlad]

It's old... however, I'm yet to come across a car that has seen me off... including a friend's tuned R33 GTR VSpec.

I'll take you on mate.... :)

Get a turbo!! You won't regret it. As for modified engines will give you more trouble.. not true as long as it's been done well and been well looked after.

[Jesus]

I'll take you on mate.... :)

Hahaha... you want to be another one on the chalk board?... ;)

would love to have a run with you... :D

...off the queen's highway of course...

As for modified engines will give you more trouble.. not true as long as it's been done well and been well looked after.

Very true. They'll only give you trouble if they're not done right and not maintained. I do oil and filter every 2500 miles without fail. HKS air filter gets changed at the same time. People slate the HKS filter, but that's because they don't follow the guidance and change them frequently. They're not a cheap filter to run. Have always checked fuelling is sufficient at every point of 'tuning', no matter how minimal a tweek it would appear to be. Do it all right and you won't have a problem.

[tricky_celica_gt4]

I'll take you on mate.... :)

Hahaha... you want to be another one on the chalk board?... ;)

would love to have a run with you... :D

...off the queen's highway of course...

As for modified engines will give you more trouble.. not true as long as it's been done well and been well looked after.

Very true. They'll only give you trouble if they're not done right and not maintained. I do oil and filter every 2500 miles without fail. HKS air filter gets changed at the same time. People slate the HKS filter, but that's because they don't follow the guidance and change them frequently. They're not a cheap filter to run. Have always checked fuelling is sufficient at every point of 'tuning', no matter how minimal a tweek it would appear to be. Do it all right and you won't have a problem.

Alright guys, just been reading your comments and im finding it good reading. as my nickname suggest i own a celica gt4 st185. what a car, had it 3 years almost, but its causin me serious issues now. only in the past 6mnths though.

as you were sayin jesus, maintence is crucial, and sadly i think this has been my celicas problems, but the lack of maintence is only startin to show now. im not a mechanic, so i have someone doin the work for me, but he aint as into cars as he is used to, so always makes a rush job of it.

im probably goin to have to buy a new car and a mr2 turbo would be an option for me....where do you guys recomend shopping for one???

P.S. hope you dont mind the intrusion

[Jesus]

Hi tricky_celica_gt4. Don't really know where to suggest now for an MR2. I got mine imported 7 years ago with 26k miles on the clock, and completely standard. It was a grade 4.5.

You could always try Pistonheads: .: Clicky :.

[Fizz]

or give Rash a call... he always has some coming and going...

http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showforum=101

Infact he has a nice rev 2 GTS in at the moment which looks mint. :)