NA or Turbo for first MR2 - around £3k to spend

[Andy F]

im not far from you if you want me to have a look, when you find one!

Rash is a good guy and sells some good cars
http://www.ramotors.co.uk/

[Race Idiot]

The NAs are never going to win trafficlight gps but they are definitely fun cars. Mine was good fun with tubby spec billsteins and a bit more rubber than standard, would have been nice to see what it was like with the thicker arbs too but I had them put on when it was converted to a tubby.

Go for a nice hardtop rev3/4 NA G-Limited!

[JayUK91]

The only reason i chose an N/A over a Turbo is insurance. I'm 18, so a quote for insuring a Turbo would have costed upwards of £3500, and i currently pay £1500 to insure my N/A.

I haven't regretted it though, the N/A is an extremely fun and nippy car. Well, compared to my first car (Corsa) it is!

[arr0n]

http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/ads.html?page=sh ... 27&catid=5 looks excellent. I may phone the guy today. Pity it's 230miles away! If it's as good as it sounds it'll be worth the trip I reckon though!

[arr0n]

I gave the guy a ring the other day and while it seemed ok, it wasn't perfect so I didn't bother. I noticed this: http://www.pistonheads.co.uk/sales/1131731.htm on PistonHeads, which seems pretty good.. York being pretty close to me. Maybe if I can wangle them down on the price a tad, it would be a nice MR2... especially as it's a fresh import?

Can anyone recommend DCY Importers?

Cheers again.

[ashley]

Looks nice and clean, nice wheels too, and being a fresh import it should be clean as.

Personally I wouldnt spend that much on a rev3 NA though- I would want a newer NA, or a turbo for that price. I think you are suffering the exchange rate on that one!

It does look nice though

[HighwayStar]

snap.

R.

[HighwayStar]

.... though I should add that although a uk rev5 may be younger it may (it might have been garaged through our winter salty roads) still have been exposed to worse conditions. Service history is the key if you decide bodywork considerations are equal. Every stamp at the appropriate interval with invoices and receipts to back it up. Mine (UK car) had when I bought it at 10yrs old with 7 previous owners... all ladies of leisure I'd guess from the addresses. Probably only ever went as far as the local golf club or bistro save for the odd european trip "for the wines".
A fresh import rev5 is probably above your budget anyway but maybe a rev4? What do you gain though from the rev3? Lower on bhp (I believe). Styled the same pretty much.
If it's close why not look. If you're an enthusiast you'll enjoy the experience anyway, get in good practice even if it's not the right car (prepare and write a checklist and keep to it... check chassis and engine no. always) and hey who knows. At that price though I'd go very low to start so the mid way point ("meet me half way fella?"), the point you normally barter from, is likewise low.

[arr0n]

Cheers for the tips guys . As you say HighwayStar, as an enthusiast it's worth taking a look, even if it isn't the right car for me.

Insurance for the G-Ltd is pretty pricey though! Most places won't touch me (assuming it's because I'm under 25). Admiral is the only place I've found so far and that's around £1000 .

[GTSAARON]

Hello mate,

try elephant for insurance, I am insuring my rev 3 turbo (which is for sale ) for £735. I wasn't sure if they had it down as an n/a but they didn't, they confirmed it as a GTS turbo import. Im 22y/o with 2 years ncb. Turbos are a hell of a lot of fun!!

[toxo]

Admiral and Elephant will give you the same quote (within a tenner) as they share underwriter.

I think you're sensible aiming for an NA as your first. In your situation insurance pretty much dictates it! I struggled to find anywhere that would give me insurance on my turbo with a documented 1 yrs driving experience.

[lemonyfresh]

As a relatively new MR2 owner i had the same issue before i settled for my rev5 NA - i wanted a tubb SO BADLY but it would have been a bit overkill for my daily driver, also insurance (22 years old) was a bit of a sting :S

i was looking for a good few months before the right one came along, but the tedium of the wait was certainly worth it in the end! £2500 minter - black, non molested, low miles, full history no missed services etc etc bargain!

The only advice id givge is wait it out until you find exactly what you are looking for as there were a few dodgy ones on my route to owning my dream - its worth the wait :

[RyanRs]

I am going to have to disagree with the majority and say.......!Get a turbo and control your right foot!!

I got my mr2 4 and a half years ago (so i was 23 too!) mine came with 340bhp and 290 lb/ft torque and it was the first turbo and first RWD car i had ever driven in my life!
Since then i have 'visited the edge of no return' twice but the ar$e pulled back, never actually spun it! And the only scary moment i had in it was when the rear control arm bolts worked loose and the ar$e started snaking about when i come off throttle!!

I think that most people say get an NA to give you RWD experience, but tbh i dont know if that is the best way to go about it. You could get too confident with the NA, then later on you get in a turbo -the car looks and feels the same, but power delivery is totally different and thats where it will catch you out! Next thing you know your going backwards through a fence!

My insurance on a 1994 gt-s turbo with 'most mods declared' , with tesco, 3yrs ncb @ 23 was £890. and iirc the NA was about the same. It seems that the same lack of data that the DVLA have for import turbo mot tests, is also the same data the insurance companies need.

[TheBaker]

If you are going for an NA you WANT at least a rev3- they are 172bhp (the rev 2's are 158bhp).

Pretty sure the speeds are about the same due to the rev3+ onwards being heavier.

[arr0n]

Hi again guys.

RyanRs: Yeah that's sort of what I was thinking which initially swayed me to consider a Turbo, but after a few insurance quotes I was a bit put off.

lemonyfresh: Cool.. I think that's the key.. waiting until the right one comes along.

GTSAARON: I'll give them a try but like toxo said, I think they're pretty much the same as Admiral.

Wish I had as good luck with insurance as you lot! I was originally quoted £800 for a UK N/A which I thought wasn't TOO bad. But that was at my old address when I lived with my parents. I've just done another quote at my new address (near the town centre of Huddersfield) and Admiral want £2000 for an Import G-Ltd or £1600 for a UK N/A. No joke :/. I was even quoted £1200 for an MX-5! Cheapest I've found so far is Directline, and that's £1400 for a UK N/A.

I'm at a bit of a loss at what to do at the moment. Maybe I'll have to spend less on the car and save the rest for insurance.

[toxo]

If you are going for an NA you WANT at least a rev3- they are 172bhp (the rev 2's are 158bhp).

Pretty sure the speeds are about the same due to the rev3+ onwards being heavier.

Are you sure?

[TheBaker]

If you are going for an NA you WANT at least a rev3- they are 172bhp (the rev 2's are 158bhp).

Pretty sure the speeds are about the same due to the rev3+ onwards being heavier.

Are you sure?

No way to be 100% sure but:

"EU GT (non turbo) spec engines increased in power to 173bhp, but additional vehicle weight (side impact bars, sound deadening, etc) saw the performance figures drop (0-60mph times for early SW20 'Rev 1' = 6.7, 'Rev 3' =7.9 (Autocar))."

From Wiki.

aaron: Try Tescos aswell, they're quite cheap I've found.

[toxo]

Not convinced by that, for a number of reasons:

1) Side impact bars were available (albeit optional) on rev2
2) I'm not aware of any sound deadening differences across the range
3) There was a similar power jump between rev2 and rev3 on the turbos as well (circa 25bhp) which would presumably have the same structural modifications, yet unmodified they are significantly faster in a straight line.

Happy to be corrected though

Oh and you will probably get a very similar quote from Tesco as you do from Direct Line as again, they share underwriters.

[C50]

I wished i went N/A. Turbos are very thirsty plus looks identical to N/A, bar the engine lid.

[marc GT Turbo]

I wished i went N/A. Turbos are very thirsty plus looks identical to N/A, bar the engine lid.

argh ! but you get more miles per smiles from a tubby