Buying a Mk1 MR2 with no service history

[deadonkey]

Hi,

Im looking at buying a mk1 MR2.
ive found one that looks immaculate, good colour etc but there is no service history with the car
The seller has supplied answers to all of my questions, sent me loads of photos of the bodywork which im completely happy with, it is totally rust free.

He says he hasnt got the cars service history book and has self serviced the car for the 5 years he has owned it, but has no receipts to prove this, he seems like a genuine guy so im inclined to believe him.

The thing that is worrying me is how easy is it going to be for me to move the car on in a few years time, I cant prove the milage (62k) as i have no way of verifying it. MOT's only go back 5-6 years so for the 20 years previous to this i cant prove it.

But the more I think about it if the car is running well no smoke etc how much value should I put on the fact of having or not having a service book detailing where the oil was changed 20 years ago, does it even really matter. id be inclined to believe the miles due to the condition of the interior, the steering wheel, pedals gearknob etc.

We all know the Mk1 Mr2 is fairly mechanically strong and its the bodywork that usually lets them down. The bodywork and paint on this one are immaculate.

Anyway I just wondered what your thoughts are on this. Should I be letting this worry me?

[Ben]

Look up the reg here:

https://mot-history.net/

Personally, unless he's asking top money for the car I wouldn't look twice at service history on a 25-30 year old car. Condition is everything IMHO

[deadonkey]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking, plus with the price of complete engines if I had it a few years and it went bang I could buy an engine and replace it myself, in a worst case

He's asking £4.5k which is strong money, I wouldn't pay that I'd be looking to offer around £4k but that's still strong money.

I'm really impressed with the quality of the bodywork and how open the seller has been with supplying me photos of all areas I've asked for.

It's just worrying me about losing money if I sell it on.

I've done the MOT history search, it shows gradual increases over the years since 50k miles in 2010 but prior to this the mot database was not computerised and so there is no record of miles on the Mots.
The seller does not have any Mots prior to his ownership in 2010, the miles would have been written on the paper certificates which he doesn't have.

[Charged]

It would be wise to post pictures and details on here or mk1 club and let the experts give your their opinion

[deadonkey]

The car is for sale on the mr2 mk1 club forum, which is a good sign.
The seller isn't a very active member of the forum judging by his post count but has been a forum member since 2010

This forum won't let me post the URL due to my low post count.
But the car is advertised on the forum and is titled as
Mice Blue T bar for sale.

[Charged]

It looks good but if I was spending that sort of money I'd want a thorough look and prod with a screwdriver underneath. I guess the price represents the cost of the resto. Personally I wouldn't buy that and would look for an original unrestored car but appreciate one would be hard to find. I'd want to know who did the resto and if the work was guaranteed. I bet the t bar leaks like a sieve like they all do. Also, I'd always say buy on condition but for £4.5k I'd want evidence of the low mileage, really for a resale and insurance valuation purpose.

[un1eash]

Looks like he's sold it.

[deadonkey]

he says he has decided to keep the car himself

Thanks for your advise, the search continues....

[Charged]

Maybe he read my post and had a prod with a screwdriver

[WilliamScott]

Don't rush into buying one, Mk1's on the market at the moment are up for some serious money and most don't represent good value, is it just me or did Mk1's seem to have a jump in pricing this year. 4-4.5k I'd want a pretty much mint, low mileage,lots of history AW11. Saw that one on Mk1 forum and lost interest as soon as I saw the price.

Hopefully the winter will drop the prices a bit.

[jimi]

Maybe he read my post and had a prod with a screwdriver

Or maybe he decided to keep it out of people with screwdrivers reach, I know if you came anywhere near mine with a screwdriver what would be getting prodded (and it wouldn't be my car) and I have absolutely nothing to hide.

Hopefully the winter will drop the prices a bit.

As a prospective buyer I'm sure you do, as an owner I hope it doesn't !
The number of MK1's out there is dropping rapidly, which I would suggest is one of the reasons for the price increase.
IMHO when it comes to buying a MK1 the car mileage /history isn't that important, apart from the rare exceptions anything 20-30 years old is going to have a fair mileage on it and on a MK1 body condition is everything not history.

[deadonkey]

There are some reasonable priced mk1a's around but when it comes to 1b's there are some sky high prices around of course its a 1b im after

one in newcastle on ebay for £7k being an example, For that money id want a boot full of concourse trophies.

Most of the nice cars for sale at the moment are at dealers at inflated prices, id far rather buy from a club member,

Maybe the lack of cars for sale due to the time of year is pushing prices up of available cars, and that instead of the thought that winter is the best time to buy a summer car, maybe spring is a better time due to the increased number of cars that are usually available for sale at that time.

[jimi]

one in newcastle on ebay for £7k being an example, For that money id want a boot full of concourse trophies.

Most of the nice cars for sale at the moment are at dealers at inflated prices, id far rather buy from a club member,

I quite agree with keeping away from dealers and looking at club cars, as for 7k I wouldn't pay 7k for any MK1!

[Lauren]

I think one of the reasons for a price increase or at least dealers trying their luck (which is the more likely reason) is the recent increased interest in classic Japanese cars and that they are finally getting some recognition.

This is a good thing and obviously there has been much ado about the price increase for R32 GTR's because they have reached 25 years old and this makes it easier to import to the US or so I hear.

Also desirable stuff like 70's RA28's are on the rise as they are now very rare indeed and much admired by the Japanese car community. Cars like these if you can find one are worth importing I would say.

So this may be a part of the knock on effect. For example I've got an agreed value on my AE86 for £9K. I bought the car for £5.5K four and a half years ago. The basic truth is that you can't pick one up in the condition of my car for £5.5K now. So there has been an increase. Though I have spent about £6K on my car making it better etc. So I'm still out of pocket!

So MK1s will go up, but I do think it's best to be realistic. They are always going to be worth less than an AE86 as MK1s are not rare. Yes they are getting rarer, but to give you an idea there are less than a hundred AE86's in the UK and the DVLA list 13 Trueno's like mine the last time I looked! That is very, very rare indeed and then there's all the motorsport pedigree the AE86 has which drives the desirability factor up.

The MK1 doesn't have this as it was not a car used in competition. A model that has competition pedigree or heritage or whatever you want to call it does tend to help the value of a model of car significantly. Look at MK2 Escorts for a good example.

So I would say be careful as though there are high priced MK1's advertised I'd be interested to know what they actually sell for.

I do think that MK1 values have increased and that you will pay more for an immaculate car, exceptional cars command exceptional prices of course, but I would be very careful about spending a lot on a MK1 when there are still cars available for pennies. It's not really until you're paying a lot money for an absolute rust bucket that you truly know there is good and stable value there. £4.5K will not get you a decent AE86 as an example, you'd need to spend £7K to get something reasonable.

I'd want a MK1 to be absolutely mint for £4.5K. And being that pretty much all are UK cars (the more valuable SC's being the exception), I'd also want a good history with it as there's no excuse not to really.

[WilliamScott]

I'd want a MK1 to be absolutely mint for £4.5K. And being that pretty much all are UK cars (the more valuable SC's being the exception), I'd also want a good history with it as there's no excuse not to really.

Perfectly put.

[Charged]

Or maybe he decided to keep it out of people with screwdrivers reach, I know if you came anywhere near mine with a screwdriver what would be getting prodded (and it wouldn't be my car) and I have absolutely nothing to hide.

If the 'restored' car has had the underside covered in underseal then any buyer parting with strong money would be silly not to have a prod here and there. No prod, no sale as far as I'm concerned. If the car was original with no coating of underseal then no prodding would be required as you can see any visibly see any bad patches

[jimi]

I totally understand and appreciate the need to check thoroughly for corrosion especially if your spending a lot of money, but when it comes to prodding with a screwdiver then I'm afraid we'll have to agree to disagree on that.
I don't find it acceptable to damage (even if it's only the underseal) a car you might not buy.
Even MOT testers are not allowed to prod with a screwdiriver

Having identified the important load bearing members and ‘prescribed areas’ on a vehicle, the tester should determine whether they are excessively corroded, firstly by visual inspection and then by finger and thumb pressure.

If necessary, the Corrosion Assessment Tool should be used to assess the extent of any corrosion by careful scraping or light tapping of the affected areas.

It is important that use of the Corrosion Assessment Tool is restricted to ascertaining that the failure criteria are met and not used for heavy scraping or poking of the affected areas.

Excessively corroded metal, or metal treated with filler, emits a duller sound than unaffected metal. It is not permissible to apply heavy impact blows or to use a sharp instrument to probe at the structure[