Well when I turned 16 I wanted to find me an affordable car that was sporty and have some guts to it. So, at the time not knowing much about cars and being a good American boy I first looked at a 1984 Camero Z28. Well this car had a big ol' V8 and about 80,000 miles on it, I drove it and it was fast as hell but it ran like crap, the engine would knock at about 4000rpm and the interior was just torn apart. Besides, the gas milage sucked. So deciding a V8 was out of the question because of the milage and the unreliability of them, I then began looking at early 90's 4 cylinder "ricer" type cars. I didn't like Civics but I did like Integras, the problem was, the price was a bit more than I wanted to pay. I drove a Geo Storm which was first off gutless and second didn't have a single luxury option. So I began looking at 6cylinder cars such as a 1984 Mustang LX, it was also rather gutless because American car companies (besides Buick) do not design powerful engines unless they are V8. Then I discovered that there was a whole other type of sport car... they had power, luxury were economical and were all around fun cars. I really loved the 300zx but those are just so pricey for a 16 year old, then I found the Supra which really didn't become an expensive car until the 4th generation, I drove an 87 turbo which was in bad shape and loved it, even though the condition sucked. Then I found my 85, it had a different body style (which I loved even more) and was just about as peppy with it's 165hp and 170lbs of torque and best of all, it was only $1400. Well a lot of the things were broken on it but it ran perfect and to me it was worth it. Since then and about $800 later I've fixed the air conditioning, muffler, got new tires and installed a performance air filter. Now it's a wonderful car which all my friends love and envy.

If you wanted a car like this it may be hard to find one because they didn't sell too many with the 80's being the age where import cars were just becoming popular and everyone wanting the Iroc Cameros or 5.0 Mustangs. But I would suggest this car over either of them because of the reliability and because of the economical advantages. Sure it's not as fast but the handling is much better and if you wanna put about $1200 into it for a japanese exchange 6mge engine (which is completely compatible with the 5mge that comes stock) you will be passing V8 domestic cars with no problem. The 6mge also is compatible with th ct-26 turbo if you are a performance fanatic like me and for around $2500 you can have a 1985 Supra with around 300hp that is street friendly. Of course the car is easily peppy enough with the stock engine since that's what I still have and I love it to death. Toyota has more experience with building DOCH (dual overhead camshaft) engines than any other car company so the DOCH 2.8L L6 engine in the Supra has very advanced technology for the age.

The interior styling is beautiful and graceful with a feeling like a rich BMW coupe. The controls are simple and elegant and the seats are very comfortable. The rear seats are very roomy in comparison to other sporty cars. The headroom on the moonroof model is slightly cramped but the leg room is sufficent for 4 people. Everything about the car is power, windows, antenna, locks, mirrors, steering, roof. Even the air conditioning and heater systems have an automatic setting. When you look at the exterior styling it looks much more mean and more fun. It has a curb weight of around 3000lbs making it feel very stable. And 235x60x14 tires which give great traction even in the winter months.

If you are prepared to buy this car, milage shouldn't be too big of an issue considering mine has 210,000 and runs nearly perfect. But low milage will considerably bring the cost up. One thing you do want to look for however would be rust, under the lid of the hatch and inside the doors the car tends to rust. Other problems you may find such as a broken air conditioning, old alternator, bad brakes are all easily and cheaply replaced because of Toyota being a very common car company and because of the Supra's advanced technology which is used on many of today's Toyotas. Also, look for one between the years of 84-85 (early 86 was a carryover from 85 so these will do too but the late 1986 are the next generation of Supra). In 84 the Supra recieved some minor restyling and higher compression pistons raising the horses from 145 to 161. The roof spoiler was redesigned in 85 giving it better aero but personally I think the 82-84 design looks better. Mine was very cheap because of the condition and the kids need to sell it quickly, but it was no problem to fix a few problems, if you want a good Supra of the 82-85 generation I would look at a price around $2200.
Amount Paid (US$): 1400
Condition: Used
Model Year: 1985
Model and Options: P-type, Sports package, 5 speed, leather seats, moonroof