What would this be worth?

[evo2002]

I'm after a bit of advice, currently interested in a car I've found with the following spec what would you value this at?

1995 Turbo Rev 3 running approx 300bhp
88k Miles
TD05 Turbo
Catcams
Tein Springs
HKS Hardpipe kit
Blue flame Exhaust
TRD Steering wheel, and gear knob
Belts change 5k ago
Clean interior and exterior no rust

TIA

[psummers]

If it's in really good condition then I'd pay £2300 to £2800 at a push. Do have a good look for rust though, especially the sills, bottom of the driver’s door and at the back of the rear wheel arches.

Also, on the test drive find a quiet bit of road and accelerate from about 20mph in 3rd gear right to the rev limit. It should be a smooth power delivery and it should pull right to the limiter (just seen it's got a TD05 Turbo, I don't know what the power delivery is like on those but just check for flat spots or hesitations). Also check downshifting through the gears at moderate revs to check for any crunching gears, downshifting to 3rd seems to always be the worst for me.

A good check of how well the car has been looked after is the brand of tyres that it's got on. Cheap Chinese tyres shows that the owner was trying to spend as little on the car as possible. If it's a good brand then, to me at least, it shows it's been looked after well. Also note these cars are very tyre sensitive, cheap tyres can be lethal in the wet. If its got aftermarket wheels check it has wider rear wheels.

Also don't just take his word for it about the belts change, check the paperwork. Also you can look up the previous MOTs online in case he has "misplaced" the advisories pages.

What else... The clutch might be getting on a bit now so check for high travel or slipping, clutch changes are quite expensive on MR2s. Check it hasn't been leaking any coolant as that could be trouble.

Check the handbrake too, they usually have a lot of travel but park on a hill and check its working properly. After the test drive check if any of the wheels are hot, if they are then you have a seized brake calliper, not the end of the world but about £120 for a new calliper or £30 for a refurbishment kit.

Don't forget that you are looking for any problem you can, however small, just to push the price down a bit. The car is only worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it, and shifting MR2s isn't easy at the moment.

Sorry it's a bit of an essay. Hope it all goes well for you mate, sounds like you have found a good example

[psummers]

Is this the car you are looking at?

http://www.pistonheads.com/sales/3588727.htm

[djpkins]

duh

[evo2002]

Is this the car you are looking at?

Yes mate thats the one. What do you think?

Really appreciate your comment really useful points. Thanks for taking the time out to write it.

Apparently the clutch was changed approx 5k ago aswell

[evo2002]

without a mappable ecu, bigger fuel pump and injectors...the turbo mayaswell be standard...the cams will make it laggy...there is alot of money to be spent on it to make it what you think it is...walk away, it's half a job...isn't the td05/6 a dinosaur now? ...also, the clutch may be ok with the "300bhp" it's making now...which it prob isn't unless you have a dyno printout to prove it and I would say it's certainly not a safe 300fwbhp without a mapped ECU...but when you step it up a bit, you'll need another £5,6,7,8+ for a clutch that'll hold it all down, depending on how much you let out.

Not at all trying to put your flame out,,,,but you asked for an opinion and thats what I think on face value...you havn't really submitted all that much info or any pics so I'm basing my judgement on what I would pay for it on fleabay as a chancer.

no problem mate, sorry I couldn't post the link because I'm limited on what I can post being a noob Think I can post links when I've made 15 posts

[riot68]

15 it is, good luck with the purchase...

[psummers]

See if you can track down the previous owner or the guy who rebuilt the engine. They may shed some light on what djpkins said.

Personally I'd have a good poke around those extended arches, just to check it's all been fitted properly.

At the end of the day just take it for a test drive and see if you get on with it. Granted it does seem to have a fairly weird spec (uprated turbo and cams but no boost controller or mappable ECU fitted) so it does seem a bit half done. If you can get hold of the guy who rebuilt the engine then he may know more.

It also looks to have the stock intercooler as well, they are useless and would need replacing straight away. He's also just stuck a HKS sticker on the stock ECU so don't let him fool you its a HKS ECU or something.

I'd say to get it to 300hp you would need new ECU, intercooler and electronic boost controller (may be one included with the sale), Easily another £500 at least. If it's in good nick and you get it for £2400 I'd say you've done well.

[evo2002]

See if you can track down the previous owner or the guy who rebuilt the engine. They may shed some light on what djpkins said.

Personally I'd have a good poke around those extended arches, just to check it's all been fitted properly.

At the end of the day just take it for a test drive and see if you get on with it. Granted it does seem to have a fairly weird spec (uprated turbo and cams but no boost controller or mappable ECU fitted) so it does seem a bit half done. If you can get hold of the guy who rebuilt the engine then he may know more.

It also looks to have the stock intercooler as well, they are useless and would need replacing straight away.

I'd say to get it to 300hp you would need new ECU, intercooler and electronic boost controller (may be one included with the sale), Easily another £500 at least. If it's in good nick and you get it for £2400 I'd say you've done well.

Yep I thought it was odd that it didn't have an mappable ecu, I wasn't sure whether the MR2s needed one as all previous cars I've had always required a remap with even the change of exhaust or air intake, but especially a new turbo. But just seeing so many MR2 Turbos running oe ecu without a remap running approx 300 I thought was the norm, I'm still learning about them .

I'll try and find out who built the engine and try and get in touch with him, I'm told it was the previous owner who was a mechanic.

I will have a good poke around if/when I go and see it but as its quite far away from me I just want to get as much info about it as possible so I don't waste the sellers and my time.

[psummers]

Definitely track down the previous owner then. His name and address will be on the front of the V5, see if he’s on facebook or something. He will be a lot more forthcoming with any issues the car had.

Just as a bit of a guide I got a standard rev 3 turbo with similar mileage and in good condition last July for £2200. Prices haven’t exactly rocketed since then and it's a bad time of year to be selling this type of car.

[Rob B]

That cars on here or mr2oc so have a sniff for more info.

If its clean and in decent order its a fair asking price imo (allowing for haggling)

The colour scheme wont be to everyones taste though

[evo2002]

That cars on here or mr2oc so have a sniff for more info.

If its clean and in decent order its a fair asking price imo (allowing for haggling)

The colour scheme wont be to everyones taste though

I thought it might be but done quite a bit of searching and can't seem to find any info on it.

If anyone has any info or links to it I'd be most grateful.