Best MR2 Mark 2 For Me?

[bigchief10uk]

not always the case mate... paints dont fade anywhere near as bad on bumpers as they do on body panels ... its very common... but ye ask if it has been in a front ender also have a look under it and you will be able to see...

[bigchief10uk]

for that power it has been chipped high lift race cams full system decat manifold lightened flywheel pulleys forged pistons also happed it propperly dyno'd and had a live map done on it aswell and cant think what else i have done lol... i have a list of stuff just cant remember half the stuff i have done lol

[Harold]

Just out of interest, have you tried an insurance quote on a turbo? I bought mine when I was 25 and insurance was very reasonable, around £800 for a lightly modded one with Admiral. Considering the power the insurance is very cheap compared to a lot of other cars.

[Ridge Racer]

Actually.. I haven't but to be honest I don't really want a turbo model. I'm not really in it for the speed/power.

I see you're from Wiltshire! Where abouts? I'm from Gloucestershire but have family in Wiltshire

[hygt2]

What is a sensible mileage to look out for? I've seen some at 89k some at 194k obviously less if best but... whats a reasonable amount before you would consider it too much?

I would buy on condition rather than mileage at this stage.

When I bought mine at 15 year-old, it has done 150k. 10k per annual used for motorway run from Wolverhampton to Heathrow daily from a guy who has another 4 (more exotic) cars and 2 bikes. The MR2 was his commuter car really.

Look for full service history, regular cambelt changes, suspension and brakes overhauls and no rust. Also do a compression test and you are pretty much sorted.

I was out in Wales last weekend driving as well as swapping cars and the guys could not believe it has 172k on the clock. The drive was just like a new car ... which is what I expects as it has had suspension and brakes overhaul last year (i.e. new springs, dampers, drop links, bushes, discs, pads, calipers-serviced, fluids all round).

I would suggest you get a ride with as many members as possible so you get a sense what a good car should drive like and use that as a benchmark rather than based on mileage.

Bottom line - you want a clean and well maintained car which has done no more than 30k-40k or 3-4 years since the last suspension and brakes overhaul. Rubber perish with time (under-used) as well as mileage.

[Ridge Racer]

I would LOVE this one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-MR2-GT ... 697wt_1396

Such a stunning car! Just a shame its a T bar

I would buy on condition rather than mileage at this stage.

When I bought mine at 15 year-old, it has done 150k. 10k per annual used for motorway run from Wolverhampton to Heathrow daily from a guy who has another 4 (more exotic) cars and 2 bikes. The MR2 was his commuter car really.

I see, I take it these engines are pretty reliable then Thats good news!

Look for full service history, regular cambelt changes, suspension and brakes overhauls and no rust. Also do a compression test and you are pretty much sorted.

Will do, What sort of PSI should each cylinder be doing roughly?

I was out in Wales last weekend driving as well as swapping cars and the guys could not believe it has 172k on the clock. The drive was just like a new car ... which is what I expects as it has had suspension and brakes overhaul last year (i.e. new springs, dampers, drop links, bushes, discs, pads, calipers-serviced, fluids all round).

Thats really cool! You must take very good care of your car! I'd love mine to have that "new" feeling.

I would suggest you get a ride with as many members as possible so you get a sense what a good car should drive like and use that as a benchmark rather than based on mileage.

That's a very good point! I'm not sure if there are many members around here though? I've seen IMOC stickers on afew MR2's in the chippenham area though... Anyone wanna take me for a spin?

Bottom line - you want a clean and well maintained car which has done no more than 30k-40k or 3-4 years since the last suspension and brakes overhaul. Rubber perish with time (under-used) as well as mileage.

Very good point there! Are the brakes and suspension the thing to mainly look out for then on these? (rust too?)

Do these mark 2's rust as bad as the mark 1's?

[MR2O12]

I would LOVE this one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-MR2-GT ... 697wt_1396

Such a stunning car! Just a shame its a T bar

lol are they tsw venoms!! Old skooool

[riot68]

To get cheaper insurance you'll be better with a UK car & they were never available in tin tops just moon roof & tbar, good luck getting one though. Awesome cars which ever one...

[Harold]

Actually.. I haven't but to be honest I don't really want a turbo model. I'm not really in it for the speed/power.

I see you're from Wiltshire! Where abouts? I'm from Gloucestershire but have family in Wiltshire

Fair enough, If you're not bothered about speed then no point enduring the costs that come with a turbo, low mpg, higher insurance and purchase cost etc. I live in Trowbridge, whereabouts are your family?

[hygt2]

I would LOVE this one...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-MR2-GT ... 697wt_1396

Such a stunning car! Just a shame its a T bar

Will do, What sort of PSI should each cylinder be doing roughly?

Very good point there! Are the brakes and suspension the thing to mainly look out for then on these? (rust too?)

Do these mark 2's rust as bad as the mark 1's?

That car is over 16 years old which implies 3,415 miles per annual. Very low mileage and the risk is under-maintenance. Service is required annually and it should be on its 4th cambelt which should be done every 5 years.

Also, check that the wheels and tyres are staggered. 6" front and 7" rears for wheels, 195 width front and 225 width rears for tyres. If these are not staggered, the handling is severely impacted and you risks swapping ends in corners.

Then as you said, check suspension and brakes, rust everywhere though nowhere as bad as the Mark 1, compression test should be a consistent 170+psi across all cylinders with no more than a few percentage points variations between highest and lowest reading.

I may have slightly overpaid for mine, a 95/N 150k red UK Rev 3 N/A T-Bar with leather and all extras such as air-con and CD-changer, 2 years ago for £900. Since then, it was air-con condenser (tree branch damage, my fault) and pipes (rusted into the condenser), full suspension overhaul and brakes overhaul at 165k (broke the rear shocks on the jumps at Millbrook Proving Ground Alpine route and seized front brake calipers on a high speed road trip holiday in the continent).

A full OE suspension and brake overhaul will costs around £1,200 all in if you source the parts yourself, DIY a bit and let the specialist to do the rest.

Back to that car - if maintained correctly, has recent suspension and brakes done and no rust, then £2,000 sounds about right.

Personally, I would rather find a well-maintained, no rust car for as much below £1,000 as possible and do the suspension and brakes overhaul when needed, just so that you could be sure these have been done right, properly and OE.

[HighwayStar]

That's a good plan. If you accept a brake overhaul at some time no problem getting a rev1 as you can upgrade to the later larger brakes during the upgrade (though you'll need the later larger wheels also... all cars rev2 and on had 15s, 6" and 7" wide with 195/55 and 225/50 rubber). Rev1s had narrower rear rubber at 205 which helped their rep as twitchy but again easily sorted with a secondhand set of rev2 wheels or a trip to the tyre fitters. Suspension was revised on rev2s and the cars were slightly lower later as well... Rear spoiler changed on the rev3s to the single piece and the sills, spats and splitter were colour coded as well as the round rear lights introduced. All of these though are again easily and cheaply changed over so don't let the 'look' effect your judgement of the soundness of the car.
Mileage isn't an issue if serviced well so as said get good history and check really well for rust then get it treated straight away... wax oil or whatever and you should get years and years of fun from it. Had my rev1 n/a t-bar nearly 13yrs. Fabulous drive today to town with the roof off.
Do I understand that this will be your first car? Have you driven a mid engined rear drive before? Just wondering what your experience and history is?
Anyway, good luck.

R.

[hygt2]

Also I heard some time ago that the rev 1/2 were more tail happy/didn't handle as well as the later models? I'm actually slightly worried about the tail happy side of things I've heard a lot about people spinning them on roundabouts

Rev 2 has bigger wheels and wider rear tyres so more understeer than Rev 1

Rev 3 has firmer damping and 19mm anti-roll bar against 17mm for Rev 2 so Rev 3 is more understeer than Rev 2.

Rev 3, 4 and 5 are very similar.

You can try thicker rear anti-roll bar and modify the geometry to counter the understeer on Rev 3, 4 and 5 but in terms of handling I prefer the pointy Rev 1

You hear people spinning them on roundabout is most likely due to car issues (wheels/tyres combination or suspension/geo set up) or drivers error (trailing throttle into corner or, worse still, no throttle/backing off around a corner). You have to maintain a position throttle all the way around a bend - lift suddenly, you spin. Always slow-in, fast-out and stay committed/assertive and you'll be fine. You can also subscribe to an advanced driving course and learn how to drive MR cars effectively and safely.

[Ridge Racer]

To get cheaper insurance you'll be better with a UK car & they were never available in tin tops just moon roof & tbar, good luck getting one though. Awesome cars which ever one...

wow really? I never knew that! might have to go with a moon roof then

Fair enough, If you're not bothered about speed then no point enduring the costs that come with a turbo, low mpg, higher insurance and purchase cost etc. I live in Trowbridge, whereabouts are your family?

Exactly, I value my MPG

I have family in Malmesbury and Chippenham

hygt2, HighwayStar, Thank you both for your very informative posts! Very good information!

[bigchief10uk]

hope u make the right decision for urself and get urself a very nice mr to join all the forum boys with...
if ur not bothered about speed and power etc i do agree with the other guys... theres no point in you buying a turbo or a big power mr, do your own thing and enjoy what you buy mate

[riot68]

Also forgot to say, my import rev1 na doesn't have power steering and you really wouldn't know, only the finer points of parking that you notice. I prefer not having it to be honest, rev1 is quite a bit lighter, no side impact bars, no ABS etc. All i've done so far is upgrade to rev2 wheels with wider tyres, handles like a dream, even on 22 year old suspension, also find the smaller brakes fine too...

[bigchief10uk]

i agree mate there is no need for power steering on the mr... and yes the rev 1 and 2 are lighter than the rest...
i have a rev 2 and it doesnt have power steering but i defo prefer it as it is much more responsive and crisp also far more precise... i have drove one with it and it just doesnt seem as nice with the steering...
the front end is far too light for power steering, but thats my own opinion
i do have to say tho that the bigger brakes do make that noticeable difference tho

[riot68]

Will be doing a brake upgrade at some point, just rescued mine a few years back and brakes got all done before I knew the difference so still has decent newish rev1 brakes on for now.

As for PS, yes much prefer it, my civic is very light and is quite funny after i've been driving the two. In fact when I took the two for the first test drive I didn't even notice it didn't have power steering. I also think that the lightness kind of makes up for the little less HP.

So as said before, don't worry about what rev it is, just get a car in decent condition, looks can be changed, parts can be upgraded, plus hanging around here you'll get the tinkering bug anyway ...

[bigchief10uk]

i cant agree anymore than what riot68 has said... he hit the nail on the head n said it as it is...
as i said aswell dont worry about what rev you get... the 1's and 2's are always going to be cheaper to buy.
they are lighter but have a little bit less power and dont tend to have power steering but you dont need it and dont notice it to be honest...

[toxo]

oh sorry just saw your last question about the colour lol... yes that colour was actually quite rare and hard to get a hold of..

Wrong. Totally standard colour for rev3 cars. Not rare in the slightest, available on UK and Import cars. I can think of 5 of them just in the area I live in (and 2 that used to live here). I've even bought a touch up kit from my local Toyota garage (off-the-shelf) for this colour.

as i said aswell dont worry about what rev you get... the 1's and 2's are always going to be cheaper to buy.
they are lighter but have a little bit less power and dont tend to have power steering but you dont need it and dont notice it to be honest...

Wrong. Non power steering MK2s are relatively rare. It's not really down to revision (although MUCH rarer in rev2 than in rev1).

[bigchief10uk]

yes fare play that shade of blue was a standard colour but there isnt that many of them knocking about... most common colours are red black silver... which does make it a rare choice... and maybe so there is 5 of them around your area... i have been to alot of different places and there isnt many at all going about in that shade of blue...
and as for the power steering how do you figure out that it was rare for them not to have it when every single rev 1 and 2 i have been in hasnt had ps so its not rare at all in the rev 1 or 2... its more common to have power steering in the later spec from rev 3 onwards..... and yes its rare to find ones that dont have it in the rev3 upwards...