[Mk2] [NA] What has happened to MR2 prices?

[refo]

interesting...

i'm just about to finish rebuilding a mk2 rev1 uk spec na. the m8 who owns the car has had it since 2002 and paid £2100 for it then with about 80k on the clock.

it was a nice standard car in black with T bars. over the years he has spent money on suspension, brake and stero upgrades and had driven it up to 157k when it was parked up due to engine trouble back in autumn 2005. 80k of motoring for less than 3k is not bad over 3 years.

now the car was mainly used for drifting and as such it took a good beating. killing a gearbox and an engine on the way.
the current rebuild is a replacement engine,3 new engine mounts, fix exhaust, service engine parts, all new poly bushes for everything, new drop links, new rear caliper, arb mount, 3 bits of chassis welding (both rear arches into boot and front arb mount), front track rod ends, a ball joint, brake service, 4 new tyres, new battery etc etc.. i'm sure there are bits i have missed off that list..

in short, with the MOT, tax etc the car will have cost about 2k to get back on the road. this seems a lot of money to spend on a car that isnt worth that much.. but you cant get a car in this condition for 2k.

it's almost like a new car now. every bolt, bracket or part that was past its best has been replaced with a new part or even an upgraded part. the spec is quite impressive for an NA car now.
it is a lot of money to sink into a car but i and the owner know that once he is driving it again it will be good for another 3 years or 80k of hard use with just regular servicing.

better the devil you know.
many non car nuts have said to my m8, "why are you spending all that money on that old car? you could get another one for that" and his reply is allways "yes but i'd only get a tired standard car for the money, this is much better"

on the flip side.. i'm over the moon that the prices are low at the moment as i'm one of the buyers who's market it is at the moment

[Mk2Man]

Yeh, prob better to use these cheap 1's 2 fix yout current car!

[pintovit]

Sometimes people forget what they spend on new cars.

My car just went to the 60.000km maintenance and got a bill over £500... On a 2 years car...
Nothing special except new front brake rotors.

And that seams like the big bill... However, the big one really is that I paid £17k for it... and now it must worth about half that... so £4k a year...

If I spent £4k a year on my 2, I would have a rocket by now (worthing next to nothing, but still very drivable and enjoyable)...
But somehow, that seams nonsense... At least to my wife

[Deegee99]

I saw a nice Mk2 today in the dark red colour, not sure what that is, a Rev1 N/A which looked very clean. I didn't stop to look closely but it was up for £1495 which means £1300 or less for cash. Garage near Wattisham Airfield near Needham Market. I thought that was very cheap. Then again I only paid £600 for my Mk2, accident damaged though. Plus my donor car came from EBay and I only paid £150 for that. But you still can't get away from the fact that they are a great looking car, even my partner who knows nothing about cars thinks its a sexy motor. Nuff said.

[Lauren]

Its simply down to the car being quite old now. As old as 17 years for the Rev1s.

Its also down to running costs, though you can buy one for a couple of grand, because of the original cost of the car, you could easy spend that fixing it.

Then there is insurance which can be expensive. Being a two-seater as well doesn't help. Also there are plenty around, so its not got that 'rare' cachet. I really don't think whatever season it is has that much of a bearing on a sale tbh.

Prices will continue to drop for a few years yet.

[Peter C]

Prices will continue to drop for a few years yet.

... and cars will fall further into disrepair.

Thereafter only the well maintained cars will survive and eventually prices will firm up. But don't hold your breath, by then we're all gonna be old and Lauren will be driving her 6 kids around in the back of a Volvo 940 estate.

Peter

[dawolf]

I think it's a real shame that prices have dropped so much but I think genuine good examples should still fetch a fair price. Not so long ago rev3's onwards fetched a hefty sum but they're now very affordable, turbo's are dropping to around £3k now.

Lauren, you say there are plenty of MR2's around but I don't see as many on the roads as I used to. Maybe 3 or 4 a week which isn't many at all. I think the popularity of these cars has dropped off for several reasons, practicality, fuel costs, age. Many people nowadays want nippy but economical TDI's.

I hope I'll always have an MR2, even if only as a weekend car.

[refo]

the real long term problem of keeping these cars on the road will come when (not if) the gouvernment pass some ill thought out eco law that bans all cars over a sertain age and all my cars will be bannished to the track forever.

i love my 90's cars, i fear the day i wont be able to use them anymore.

[acf8181]

the real long term problem of keeping these cars on the road will come when (not if) the gouvernment pass some ill thought out eco law that bans all cars over a sertain age and all my cars will be bannished to the track forever.

i love my 90's cars, i fear the day i wont be able to use them anymore.

I wouldn't worry about that....too many politicians have classic cars i bet....plus, surely it'd be political suicide, as many not so well off families require older cars simply to get to work/get kids to school, etc

[refo]

the law is already trying to pass in europe!!! i haev signed 2 petitions to prevent this getting to the uk. hope they work.

but i agree with your point. many, many, many people in the uk just cant afford a sub 10 year old car. i could but i like the performance side of the market and you get more bang for your buck if you buy 90's jap turbo stuff.

however i doubt i'd find a daily drive as cheap to run and fun to drive as my porsche 924. its not flash (faided so bad its almost white!... from red) but its loads of fun. a fiesta just doestn seem to cut it.

[Lauren]

I think it's a real shame that prices have dropped so much but I think genuine good examples should still fetch a fair price. Not so long ago rev3's onwards fetched a hefty sum but they're now very affordable, turbo's are dropping to around £3k now.

Lauren, you say there are plenty of MR2's around but I don't see as many on the roads as I used to. Maybe 3 or 4 a week which isn't many at all. I think the popularity of these cars has dropped off for several reasons, practicality, fuel costs, age. Many people nowadays want nippy but economical TDI's.

I hope I'll always have an MR2, even if only as a weekend car.

Its absolutely inevitable as death and taxes that prices will drop really. The bottom has well and truly dropped out of MK2s i think. I know what you are saying in that not every other car is an MR2... but they are not exactly rare. Not like an AE86 or say an E30 M3. In other words they are nowhere near that level when rarity bouys up their value.

[dawolf]

True I guess but proper mint examples are becoming rarer.

[Peter C]

True I guess but proper mint examples are becoming rarer.

No thanks to IMOC members! Almost every car on here is modified in some way! Hey, I am to blame as much as the next guy.

Perhaps in 20 years time IMOC will mature into a classic car forum!

Peter

[refo]

i spose its only 8 years off before you could easily get classic insurance for the oldest ones. 25years old. hahaha by then my daily drive will be 33 years old

[JAP BOY]

Guys my car is a Rev1 with 71000 miles on it and in my veiw these cars only sell for dirt cheap prices when people want to make a quick sale !

In my veiw a decent rev1 in my books should cost about £4500 with the 71000 miles and two owners from new! High maintance costs usaully forces the owner to sell at cheap prices! Something like a Rev3 + should still pull in about £5500 + which is what i'd be willing to pay for a dcent example not saying that there isn't any decent examples for below 5500!!

[Lauren]

Guys my car is a Rev1 with 71000 miles on it and in my veiw these cars only sell for dirt cheap prices when people want to make a quick sale !

In my veiw a decent rev1 in my books should cost about £4500 with the 71000 miles and two owners from new! High maintance costs usaully forces the owner to sell at cheap prices! Something like a Rev3 + should still pull in about £5500 + which is what i'd be willing to pay for a dcent example not saying that there isn't any decent examples for below 5500!!

Its worth what someone will pay for it. Tbh i really can't see a Rev1 being worth anywhere near that figure. 3K tops i would say.

[ANT]

i sold my N/A in my sig completely standard 13months ago for £2100

just brought a similar aged rev 2 all be it with 20k more miles on it and needs some TLC, but drives better for £250. spent £250 to get it on the road. but the fall in prices certainly benefited me

but as others have said, a car for this sort of price is going to require TLC, but i'm up for a little bit of a project

[Poohbear]

For me it's my hobby car so I don't need to worry about what it's worth or what I can sell it for. So I'm not selling mine at any price..have far too much money and time invested in it. I will never get that money back but as long as the bodywork holds up (mintier than a minty mint at the mo) then I will keep it.

Bob

[dawolf]

Yeah, it's a tough decision sometimes deciding how much to spend on a car. I think it all depends on how long you're keeping it and how much it means to you. I used to get very attached to my cars but lately I'm not quite as bad. I'm currently contemplating whether to get mine all resprayed but it's not too bad as it is. I quite like the idea of getting a car very cheap with a few niggles, keeps you busy on weekends and days off work.

[Mk2Man]

For me it's my hobby car so I don't need to worry about what it's worth or what I can sell it for. So I'm not selling mine at any price.

Very envious !