A few month back we featured a BMW dealership in Canada that had at one point been abandoned with some of the cars still in it. Well it seems a Toyota dealership in Calgary, Alberta Canada has a Supra that the owner of the dealership bought and left parked there, with the hopes that one day it would be worth considerably more than when it was new. Well, all these years later, they have decided it’s time to put this showroom piece up for sale with an asking price of $69,998 CDN. That’s a pretty substantial increase over this Supra’s original MSRP of $25k. If you’re interested in seeing one of, if not the lowest mileage 1990 Supras out there, find it here at Country Hills Toyota. Special thanks to Walter S for this tip!
So $70k sounds like a pretty good return on the dealer’s investment, but if you take inflation into account it’s actually only an increase of $12k in 1990 money. After storage and opportunity costs, I’m actually thinking the dealer would have been better off to have sold this car and used the space to show and sell more cars, but perhaps it draws lots of potential buyers into the showroom? Plus if they hadn’t held onto it, we wouldn’t have this incredible survivor today. This has to be one of the lowest mileage, if not the lowest, 3rd generation Supras out there!
As you can see, this car is still wearing its factory plastic seat covers and is literally a new car inside. I wonder if it still smells like new? After sitting for 26 years, I’m sure it’s lost the smell, but you never know! I’m happy to see this one has the 5 speed manual. The dealer includes a photo of the original window sticker, but just the included accessories section. Looking at the interior, it looks to be an extremely well optioned car. Given that the Supra was Toyota’s flagship model, I’m sure most of the 6k cars shipped to the States were well optioned though. Of the Turbo models I’ve seen, all have had leather seats and power everything.
The dealer has actually had this Supra on the market for a while, but they haven’t done a very good job marketing it. Our buddies over at CurbsideClassic featured it almost 3 years ago and the dealer was asking the same price back then as they are today. You would think by now they would have lowered it at least a little bit, but I guess it takes time to find someone who just has to have a brand new 1990 Supra Turbo. I’m sure the dealer doesn’t mind the added traffic it brings to the dealership either. Heck, if Calgary were nearby, I’d go look at it just to see what a 57 mile Supra looks like. I’m not sure I would want to buy it, at least not at this price, but what about you?
You can get a really nice C7 Corvette for that kind of money. I can’t imagine sitting for that long has done the car much good.
I worked for Toyota in 1990 and sold several Turbo Supra’s they were 38,000$ and in its final months of the year sold for 32000$
I’m not sure the ride and performance compared to today’s cars commands 70,000$ but it was a nice drive in its time , my2cents
$70K? I don’t think so.
Toyota missed an early entry into sports/performance cars, and to me these Supras were mainly soft cruisers for an image, and not very appealing. That asking price is dreaming.
Toyota makes some great, reliable cars, and is back to being the largest carmaker after VW Group shot itself in the foot, but I don’t go looking to Toyota for exciting cars.
I have to agree with Dolphin. I spent some time behind the wheel of a few Supra Turbos when they were new — including more than a few laps on-track — and found them to be nice cars that didn’t really provide all that much driving fun unless worked over. I still remember one TRD-modified (boost raised, lowered/stiffened suspension, sticky tires) example that was a standout. By comparison, the stock version was weak sauce.
If the dealer gets $70K for this, he’s not making much of a profit. And I wouldn’t drive it off the lot until I was sure brake seals/hoses, gaskets and belts were all freshened. Twenty-five year-old rubber is not your friend.
I sure agree Ray T. Twenty-Five year old rubber is certainly not your friend. I would also want the whole fuel system inspected, new gaskets all over and the fuel tank drained and cleaned out. This can’t be considered a “New Car”.
I live in Calgary. If I wasn’t so busy I would take a run up there just see what it smells like inside… I work for an auto parts store and they are one of our customers…maybe I can get one of their people to have a sniff and let me know.
At today’s (approx.) exchange rate that works out to about $50,400 US dollars. Does that make it a better deal?
Believe it or not, the generation Supra before this model, 1982 to 1986 is a hot item today. There was a black on black 84 P Type model for sale two year ago with just over 10k original miles with an asking price of 30000. Yes, that sounds high too. It took about 8 months to move the car but it did later sell for 24000 to a guy who always wanted one new just like it. It only takes the right buyer. Oh, leather was an option on both Turbo and non Turbo models from this era. A guy in my town has a white Supra Turbo, same year with the Targa top and a blue cloth interior. Maybe someone will come along who always wanted this generation Supra new but could not afford it at the time. Now is his chance. You never know. I’m sure the new car smell is still there if it’s been in the showroom all this time. Sometimes, remembering a car’s smell when it was new will make a man go crazy to go buy a car like this and remember his youth. I believe in the early 1980s, the Supra, the Mitsubishi Starion Turbo, the Mazda RX7 and the Datsun 280ZX Turbos kind of restarted the horsepower wars because soon after, most cars started to offer some performance again within the next few years. The new 1981 Datsun 280ZX Turbo model really started the race for power. When that car came out, no new production car could outrun it and it only came with an automatic transmission that first year. It beat the new Corvettes, Trans Ams, Z28s, Ferraris, V12 Jags, Porsches, ect. I still have the Car and Driver road test from May of 81 on the 280ZX Turbo. That car was a shock to the world when it came out.
Nice car but not to my liking, I would much rather have a Corvette like Bill mentioned for the $$ amount on this. As far as the new car smell it would have definitely lost most as the cars do degas the “new car” fumes over time from all the chemicals used in the carpet, plastic, vinyl etc. Formaldehyde would be used to process most all the products interior wise. I feel there will be a buyer for this eventually, the seller may have to adjust the price down just a bit.
I might do $35K but it doesn’t really ring my chimes.
A little more than I would pay but I find it interesting to see what I’m pretty sure is a CD player up front under the cassette! I don’t know if I’ve ever seen one with an original CD player. It’s nice to see cars like these, meaning almost brand new, still popping up all around the world.
If I had the means I’d gladly pay that amount for a 4th gen Supra but not this generation. I’d also have worries about this car mechanically. Did they start the car from time to time? Unless you’re going to buy this and just keep it as a show car I think you’d be better off trying to find one with 30K or less miles that was only driven on the weekends. I don’t know about the 3rd gens but one owner, stock 4th gens with low mileage do pop up from time to time.
Dealers sometimes do dumb things if their primary business is retailing mundane new cars. In 2001 I bought a ’66 Ferrari 330 for $55,000 that had been bought by the dealer just as the Ferrari bubble was inflating for $125,000. For some reason he had been unable to sell the car (I first saw it in the showroom in 1988 with a price of $155,000 but as we know, by 1989 or 1990 the bubble burst). So the car went into the back warehouse until I bought it for $55,000 including all the recommissioning expenses done by his service dept. So moral of the story – wait 13 – 14 years and save a hundred grand! My what good investments Ferraris were!
I remember when we had the body shop at the Toyota dealership back in the 80s.. Supras were selling well over the sticker price due to the high demand..
Not attached to them then….. or now… Big waste of money for a mediocre performer.. Lots of Toyota hype..
This one is priced over the moon..
I have done business with this dealer before. They drive a hard bargain. I would bet he still has it in a few years. Work a warranty into the deal if you decide to go for it.
Cool enough car, but I’d expect better photos from a dealership.
Love seeing low mileage stuff, but it’s not a very inspiring car for that money.
I’d rather have a 59 Caddy.
I owned a 1990 turbo Supra.
The 3 liter inline 6 was a smooth running engine that made decent power, 232 HP.
The 5 speed and independent Posi rear made it a fun car to drive and it was a comfortable car that road well.
The Targa top was best left in place. It had a lot to do with the integrity of the car. It was down right scary to drive the car above 60 mph with the top removed. It flexed so bad it felt it was twisting in half!
Sold mine at about 200K. Other than normal maintenance and a few timing belts it was a very reliable car.
Like others have said, a Vette for this kind of money!
Naaaaaaa too much $$$, there are a lot of better performing newer cars out there for much less $$$, he can keep it.
Hey Josh… I asked one of the people at the dealership if it still had the new car smell…
His response was…”No…most definitely not…” and then he was quite for a moment…”…and it’s definitely not worth what they are asking for it”
There’s your answer! :)
…. had a few of these….slow by today’s standards…..and had to always look out for head gasket issues….a factory line error…
cool to see what one looked like new, but will probably remain right where it is for $70k…