| Author |
Message |
Marijan Sculac
Newbie
SA
TT
Posts: 1
Reg: 07-2011
|
Hey all,
I used to own a 92 Soarer V8 LTD which was a pretty good car to me. Had about 160xxx kms but did alright, only ever had a problem with the coil packs and the display flickering. I sold it about 4 years ago though.
I've since bought a house and thinking of buying a Soarer again now that they are fairly well priced. I've considered going to the Twin Turbo model now just for something different, and I've seen a few models with 150xxx-200kms on them.
Has anyone had many problems with their soarer? I'm just concerned they are getting a bit old, but then again some are maintained well & the kms on them aren't so bad.
Probably looking for a 91-94 model. Any feedback is much appreciated, thanks! |
Ali Saeed
Goo Roo
WA
UZZ31
Posts: 3750
Reg: 09-2007
|
pretty damn reliable to be honest. just change the oil every 5000km, take care of the bushes and mounts and it will last another 20 years |
Shane Haverkamp
DieHard
nsw
soarer TT
Posts: 687
Reg: 10-2007
|
problem is due to their aging nature you'll struggle to find that "perfect" condition one anymore.
Most door trims have the cracks, same with air vents.
mechanically though they'll generally be fine assuming they've been looked after. just look for the normal things like oil leaks and that and ask about 100,000k services depending on how many k's they,ve got on them. |
Marijan Sculac
Newbie
SA
TT
Posts: 2
Reg: 07-2011
|
Alright cheers for that  , what about the turbos on the TT model?
Should i be concerned if they haven't been replaced yet? I hear after a while it's fairly common for them to need replacing anyway. |
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31
Posts: 6531
Reg: 10-2005
|
My JZZ31 I've had for 7 years has been by far the most reliable car I've ever owned with only a couple of very minor, and one totally avoidable incidents in 130,000 of driving. Its 16 years old this year and seems to be holding up pretty well. As Shane says, it has the usual cracks and blemishes though. |
James Tims
TryHard
Vic
TT
Posts: 447
Reg: 11-2008
|
Mate I've only had my car for nearly a year & it is the best and most reliable vehicle I've ever had. Even with modifications this car can take it and I absolutely give it to it each and every single day and it loves it and like what was said above, as long as you service them every 5,000km's especially with a modified TT like mine, you'll have no issues whatsoever, most of my mounts have been replaced and I'll be slowly fixing it up cosmetically, you probably won't find something as good on the market for the price
The interior is what let's my car down, especially on the drivers side, but we can always get that fixed for the right price |
Jay Asghari
TryHard
Victoria
'94 UZZ31 GTL, '94 TT, '96 UZZ32
Posts: 109
Reg: 01-2010
|
Any 90's Toyota is going to be reliable. |
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack
Posts: 1672
Reg: 07-2005
|
Matthew Sharpe wrote on Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 07:03 am:My JZZ31 I've had for 7 years has been by far the most reliable car I've ever owned with only a couple of very minor, and one totally avoidable incidents in 130,000 of driving. Its 16 years old this year and seems to be holding up pretty well. As Shane says, it has the usual cracks and blemishes though.
Our JZZ31 is nearly as old as yours (ownership-wise) and has been utterly reliable. It has nearly 180k kms up and in general still drives like a new car. The only mechanical blemish(es) has/have been noise on full right lock (still under investigation) and maybe the front bushes in need of replacement.
Our interior is holding up well, no cracks as yet ('97 model) especially considering it had a "C" grade interior when it left the auction house in Japan. It was mainly dirty, took a lot of cleaning. In every respect, mechanically and electrically, it has been bullet-proof.
Frankly, I'd have the n/a over the turbo any day, and only '94 and onwards age-wise. The early Soarers are looking quite dated (even the '94 isn't immune) while the '97 still looks like a current model (indeed, I was asked if mine was "new" only last week!). Of course, it isn't a big deal to upgrade the nose to '97 standard. |
Marijan Sculac
Newbie
SA
TT
Posts: 3
Reg: 07-2011
|
I can't decide now between the V8 or TT model haha, but yeah for the price they seem pretty good value.
Now just need to find one without a hideous looking body kit on it, and well maintained!.
If anyone in South Australia knows of one, please PM me |
Shane Haverkamp
DieHard
nsw
soarer TT
Posts: 689
Reg: 10-2007
|
i've had my car for 4 years i think and put 70,000k's on its, turbo's still chuck out a nice 10 - 11 psi every time i put my foot flat to the floor. i do remember reading somewhere about the turbo's clapping out every 70,000 but are still 140,000k's old and loving it considering it was built back in 1992
also with the price of turbo's these days you can normally pick up a set 2nd hand for $100 - $200 anyway so i wouldn't worry TO much
but yeah you seem to notice a few people starting to have the same issues considering our cars are starting to get around the 20year old mark. quite a few are having the empty TRC accumulator squeak and auto box's that haven't had regular fluid changes seem to be having a few issues. all in all though they're such a hard car to fault. and even my 1992 model still turns heads and gets compliments in the work parking lot |
Daniel Clarke
Goo Roo
NSW
TT 2.5L 6 cylinder
Posts: 6585
Reg: 03-2006
|
211,000km's and 18+psi still going . Sure its getting on and a bit smokey under boost ( As many are nowadays ) , but what boosted engine with that many km's wouldnt be ??? Hehehe .
Like all cars they have issues , but almost 6 years of ownership and almost put 100,000kms on mine and its still going . I will just keep driving |
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31
Posts: 6532
Reg: 10-2005
|
Mike Triggs wrote on Wednesday, January 04, 2012 - 01:01 pm:Frankly, I'd have the n/a over the turbo any day,
Yes, less to go wrong - I'd consider the turbo if I had more room in the garage for another car - but I only get to have one personal vehicle, and regardless of how cheap it is to replace turbos, I don't want the car to be off the road for any length of time if I can avoid it. |
Aiden Cheese
Goo Roo
QLD
Soarer jzz30
Posts: 1045
Reg: 09-2009
|
Ali Saeed wrote on Tuesday, January 03, 2012 - 10:34 pm:pretty damn reliable to be honest. just change the oil every 5000km, take care of the bushes and mounts and it will last another 20 years
List of things that have gone wrong in my 20yo car
1) Brake accumulator
2) warped rotors
3) 3 broken window regulators
4) Yellow lenses on my headlights every 3 months
5) Radiator was so clogged the car overheated
6) Door card cracked
7) 3 of my air vents cracked
8) Toyota supplying wrong parts for 100,000 service 2x (wrong water pump)
9) Cracked gear shifter, the button broke so bad you couldn't push it to release it from park
10) The cd-changer stopped reading cd's
11) Stock sub amp died
12) Plastics surrounds around the belt clip broke off
13) My inner door handle broke, twice, again don't get 20yo second hand plastic bits to replace 20yo plastic bits
14) Exhaust fell off as it rusted between the cat and the flange and snapped in half while i was driving at 100kph.
15) Passenger seatbelt retracting mechanism doesn't work, still locks but doesn't quickly pull it away so it always gets stuck in the door as they get out
16) Hand brake glove wore back and looks terrible
IN other words, a 20yo car is 20 years old. The mechanical side mostly has been 100% but plastics break.
If you're not mechanically minded I'd urge you to consider something newer.
Edit: just want to clarify, this is only about 3 years of ownership and that's not ALL the issues i've had with the car but the ones which instantly come to mind.
Edit2: Oh yeah, i do love the car, but it is a constant ongoing cost, it's about 140 dollars to fill the tank, which you can deplete on a TT version in a week or so of driving, that along with needing about 500 dollars of various repairs a month to keep it in nice condition.
(replacing broken plastics with new ones, rotors which need new $275 pads even if my old ones have 1cm of wear left.. fabricating amp mounts and sub mount to sit a new sub in the same stock spot etc etc, it's all fun for me to do that simple stuff but to keep it in the same condition i bought it, it's not cheap.. hoping one day to get it to the point where the replacement bits are all new and it'll slow down the stuff which breaks.. but i expect the shock absorbers will go soon and then they'll be hard to replace to keep them the stock TEMS setup etc etc) |
Rowan McMahon
DieHard
WA
GTT-L
Posts: 709
Reg: 07-2010
|
I'd like to add that all the above examples will be series one cars.
All the above posts especially aidens (dude I love your name)
All the above don't apply to series 3
My cup holder still works
My door cards or air vents haven't cracked
Nothing has gone wrong
You pay more, yes.
But the series 3 is a TOTALY different car :-) |
Mark Pattel
TryHard
Queensland
RT142 with a 1jz and R154 5 speed
Posts: 185
Reg: 04-2006
|
Rowan maybe that's because the series 3 as you call it (who calls it that anyways???) is potentially 8 years newer. Give it some time and it will all break eventually. I guarantee you in the late 90s Toyota didn't discover some magical thing that makes your car that not ever break. |
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack
Posts: 1673
Reg: 07-2005
|
Mark Pattel wrote on Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 04:08 pm:Rowan maybe that's because the series 3 as you call it (who calls it that anyways???) is potentially 8 years newer. Give it some time and it will all break eventually. I guarantee you in the late 90s Toyota didn't discover some magical thing that makes your car that not ever break.
I'm a bit confused about the "series" thing too. Technically, I thought, most of our Soarers are Series 2, the first being the old square ones and the 3rd the SC430.
Good point about the age of the cars, although I did hear somewhere that Toyota fixed the "cracking centre register" problem, possibly by making the hole for it a little bigger in the centre wood trim (or making the vents smaller?). Personally, I think the "door card cracking" problem is more due to poor design, although age of the plastic comes into it. My '97 is fine, no sign of cracking, so again, they may have changed the plastic slightly because they sure as hell don't appear to have changed the design. We had a '95 which was much better looked after than the '97 had been, and had a lot less kms (I trust both odometer readings because I personally bought both cars straight from a Japanese dealer, with auction sheets). The '95 had the cracked driver's side trim and developed the vent cracks in the two years we owned it.
Some years ago I owned a '92 Subaru Liberty, and that shed bits of the plastic dash all over the place- brittle plastic unable to cope with Australian temperatures. |
Mark Pattel
TryHard
Queensland
RT142 with a 1jz and R154 5 speed
Posts: 186
Reg: 04-2006
|
Mike, in 06-08 I had a 91 Soarer which didn't have the cracked door trims, although I did have the cracked air vents and leaking LCD screen. I think some of it is just luck of the draw. However, in saying that they may have redesigned a few items, I'm unsure on that. I was more concerned about the "nothing has gone wrong", almost as if to say nothing will ever go wrong..
All in all they are pretty well made cars generally but with the prices they command these days I would be expecting to see many more poorly maintained examples for sale in the future (maybe this is another advantage of the "series 3" in that they are not so cheap, resulting in them not being owned by individuals to poor to maintain them correctly?) |
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack
Posts: 1674
Reg: 07-2005
|
I've owned a few cars, including a 4AGE 20v Corolla, and none of them were put together anywhere near as well as the Soarers are. Now that you mention the LCD bleeding, our car is starting to do that too. I don't think it helps having the climate we do- for first 18 months here our car was parked in the sun, and 28 months before that in very hot climate (in fact, over Xmas my last town had a run of 8 days averaging 46-47C, glad I wasn't there!). |
Joshua Rao
Goo Roo
WA
TT (for sale $5.2k), 97 Blk UZZ31, 97 JZZ30 vvti turbo white manual, 96 vvti turbo manual, Legnum VR4, MR2 sw20, Alfa 156
Posts: 2720
Reg: 09-2006
|
I have wrecked alot of soarers and I can honestly say that my endeavours have shown me that toyota changed heaps on the series 3 jzz30 (96-00) apart from the cosmetic differences.
Off my head a few ones I can think of are:-
- Door intrusion safety bars
- Chassis stiffener under rear seats
- Front crossmember chassis stiffener
- seatbelts
- Rear boot trim
- LCD climate control unit
- Window regulators
The more you pull out and compare the more you will be shocked, honestly I was. At least we know they made their cars properly then, advancing with technology.
The above is just what I can think of so yes Toyota did not find any magical beans to put in the soarer, however they redesigned heaps on the 96 onwards series 3 jzz30 |
Jay Asghari
TryHard
Victoria
'94 UZZ31 GTL, '94 TT, '96 UZZ32
Posts: 112
Reg: 01-2010
|
Actually, the 94+ has the chassis stiffening brace under the rear seats too. I don't know about the other things.
I've had no problems with 3 x Soarers. Utterly reliable. |
Joshua Rao
Goo Roo
WA
TT (for sale $5.2k), 97 Blk UZZ31, 97 JZZ30 vvti turbo white manual, 96 vvti turbo manual, Legnum VR4, MR2 sw20, Alfa 156
Posts: 2723
Reg: 09-2006
|
Yes jay spot on my bad |
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31
Posts: 6537
Reg: 10-2005
|
Always a good idea to get the latest model/lowest km/best service history example you can find/afford when buying any vehicle - but ultimately a really good, long test drive and close inspection has to be the deciding factor.
Definitely go for a late '96 model on if you can find one you want - of course Toyota would have remedied anything they could that was costing them money in warranty claims - no company just keeps sending out stuff that breaks if a small amount of re-tooling will sort it out - just makes economic sense as well as making customers happier. |
Ian Rigby
Tinkerer
NSW
AE102, JZZ30
Posts: 83
Reg: 11-2010
|
Mike Triggs wrote on Thursday, January 05, 2012 - 04:17 pm:I'm a bit confused about the "series" thing too. Technically, I thought, most of our Soarers are Series 2, the first being the old square ones and the 3rd the SC430
They're referring to the facelifts within the Z30 series - ie Series 1 is 91-94, Series 2 is 94-96, Series 3 96-00, easiest way to differentiate between the series is the tailights (each series is different), and Series 3 have the single turbo 1J and different front end.
As for the model series (or "mark"), the Z30 is the third - there was the Z10 and Z20 before it, and the Z40/SC430 after it. |
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack
Posts: 1675
Reg: 07-2005
|
Ian Rigby wrote on Friday, January 06, 2012 - 02:49 pm:
They're referring to the facelifts within the Z30 series - ie Series 1 is 91-94, Series 2 is 94-96, Series 3 96-00, easiest way to differentiate between the series is the tailights (each series is different), and Series 3 have the single turbo 1J and different front end.
I had figured what was meant, having owned a '94 and now a '97, and seen the differences between them and the 91-93 models. I forgotten about the Z10, so yes, there are 4 "marks". |
Marijan Sculac
Newbie
SA
TT
Posts: 4
Reg: 07-2011
|
I think i might just go the V8 haha, love the sound honestly. But yeah thanks for your replies, will keep an eye out for all of that. |
Matthew Sharpe
Goo Roo
North Island
JZZ31
Posts: 6540
Reg: 10-2005
|
The 1UZ-FE is a fantastic engine - not the quickest off the blocks, but so good for touring - and so over-engineered - I still miss my UZZ30 after all these years... |
Shane Haverkamp
DieHard
nsw
soarer TT
Posts: 696
Reg: 10-2007
|
i'd love a v8... purely for the fancier options that where available to them |
Daniel Clarke
Goo Roo
NSW
TT 2.5L 6 cylinder
Posts: 6588
Reg: 03-2006
|
More things to go wrong dont you mean Shane ? Hehe .
I would love a Twin Turbo UZZ32 . That would be sweet . |
Ian Johnston
Goo Roo
South Australia
UZZ30 GT 4.0 SOLD(sort of), BA XR6Turbo Ute. 2007 VE GTS.
Posts: 1461
Reg: 07-2005
|
I usually dont keep my cars for long(just ask my wife), but have had my Soarer for 7 years. I cant bring myself to sell it. It has been a great car to own, and one of the best to drive.
My daughter has taken it over now, as her Commodore isnt as reliable as we would like
I would love to get a late model one, but just not in a position to do so yet. |
James Buchan
Goo Roo
Vic
V8
Posts: 1223
Reg: 10-2008
|
My car has had it's ups & downs. The biggest problems I have had with it were the maintenance the previous owner didn't do. I've been on a mission to fix things up, and it's a very nice example now. See my profile for complete list of what I've fixed/modified.
Compared to some modified twin Turbos, my 180rwkw V8 may not be that fast, but the sound is awesome and the quality/feel of the car is second to none, for a car of it's age.
Problems have been;
Door trims cracked
aircon vents cracked
drivers side seat - leather cracked
power steering pump
power steering lines
alternator.
It's now at that stage where it is a reliable, fast-ish cruiser that looks and sounds nice.
Regular maintenance is the key. |
Luke Gomer
Goo Roo
Dorset
Uzz31 LTD
Posts: 445
Reg: 07-2005
|
The most reliable cars I have owned.
V8 number 1;
Radiator ,
Fuel ECU ,
Alternator ,
Battery terminals ,
Aircon pump.
V8 number 2;
Power steering pump ,
Abs / ect fault ,
Engine ECU .
Air pump.
Plus the usual dash and emv faults. Both 91 cars.
Its fair to say that if you have repaired these faults with new parts then you are unlikely to have to revisit them later. |
Tim Ross
Goo Roo
Qld
1J + GT35-82R
Posts: 2521
Reg: 09-2007
|
I'd say stick with a V8 if you are wanting reliability. The TT is nice, but WHEN the turbo's go, it can be a headache trying to find a decent replacement... or expensive as you end up either rebuilding them or replacing them with better aftermarket items |
Jose-Antonio Castillo
Goo Roo
NSW
JZZ30/UZZ31/JZS160
Posts: 1874
Reg: 07-2005
|
Everything I'm listing isn't part of normal service items:
My Series-I Limited:
* Ignitor unit replaced after heavy misfire on start up
* Driver's window not working (still have to fix it)
* Cracked door trims (upper and lower) and air vents
* Torn handbrake boot
* Slight crack in driver's seat leather
* Audio system rework (CD stacker realigned, radio unit repaired), still has stock speakers etc and sounds better than my GS300!
* Blinkidash (on cold winter start ups and only after sitting for a few days)
* Dead aircon compressor
My Series-III turbo:
* Blown diff (single spinner)
* Cracked air vents
* Cracked radiator top tank
* Starter motor
For their age and the amount of gadgets in these cars, my Soarers have been fantastic to me (the most extreme of anything breaking was the crappy single spinner on the turbo). |
Mike Triggs
Goo Roo
Western NSW
3.0GT G-Pack
Posts: 1717
Reg: 07-2005
|
Jose-Antonio Castillo wrote on Wednesday, February 01, 2012 - 09:02 pm: Audio system rework (CD stacker realigned, radio unit repaired), still has stock speakers etc and sounds better than my GS300!
I'm astounded at the quality of sound from our Soarer (now has new rear speakers, the rubber suspension fell apart), especially so given we have a more basic stereo, and the front speakers are 10 watt, the rears 20w each (or they were, now 70w). Not counting the tweeters, a 60 watt sound system! |
Mike Beck
Goo Roo
New Zealand
BMW E36 Coupe 1UZFE V8 340i
Posts: 5454
Reg: 11-2005
|
Two words: Toyota Reliability |
Steven Anderson
DieHard
NSW
JZA80
Posts: 636
Reg: 05-2006
|
Probably a repost but belongs here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43MLpdniz_o
My soarer was pretty good, had a water leak, the little thing that controls the hot air on the air con died, and most of the other stuff has been to do with stuff that I messed around with like the clutch master, throwout bearing.
But seeing in a for sale ad for example having a VY commodore with failing power window switches, I would be pissed off big time if •••• were to start to break that quickly. |
Jai Blackley
Tinkerer
QLD
3L
Posts: 62
Reg: 05-2010
|
I got my car at 150thousendkm now its done 200thousend and i got it for 4grand, but now something has went wrong will be around 500 to fix the power sterring belt came loose becouse of the balencer thing, harmonic balencer tho getting a new balancer that the power steering belt goes around, it was just on its way out i could feel when turning sharp, well i wont have my car for a week but will be driving heaps good when i get it back, best car i could get i recon, better then a merc or a bmw |
Vincent Chan
TryHard
nsw
v8
Posts: 205
Reg: 12-2010
|
I haven't owned too many Mercs & BMW so I wouldn't know. |
Jai Blackley
Tinkerer
QLD
3L
Posts: 63
Reg: 05-2010
|
well when i pull up next to a merc in my shiny freshly gloss soarer with 18s i can tell you the feeling is pretty good, nothing beats driving around in these cars an the gawks an head turners, I drove past a bmw cruise the other day an they all looked at me like wow, whats that, debadged and new coat of paint, also i recon i could drive my car to perth an back an it would be sweet just gotta change oil check water an the usual......ps what makes a soarer 10 times better is clean lights |
Chris Milner
TryHard
qld
tt
Posts: 111
Reg: 09-2008
|
I bought my 91 tt with 120k for 7g a few years back now. As soon as i did i fitted an intercooler a shift kit, fcd and run 15 psi. After a bit of practice i was getting consistant 12.50's from it.
Then i took it to powercruise 19 and had a awsome time, suprising more than a few v8's. I even put a you tube vid up to show how quick a fairly stock soarer can be. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3Ziw7Fk4AY
Apart from a completely blocked 20 year old radiator and an alternator reg it has run perfectly. Even now with 240k on the clock it still bangs out 12.50's
Easily the best car i'll ever own. Recently drove from caloundra to gladstone, a 1000km round trip and managed 750km from a full tank. How many 12 second cars for under 10 grand and a 10L/100km fuel economy could you name? Not many.. |
Michael Sinay
TryHard
NSW
TT
Posts: 245
Reg: 07-2005
|
Nice work Chris. Soarers hammer. Ive had mine about 8 or so years now, and just beat a couple of evo 10s recently no probs. I love these cars still cant believe how good they are. |
|
Previous
