To Buy Or Not To Buy... Uk Vs Import

[stgeorge]

hi there

Wondered if anyone out there can help me, I have done a search through old postings but if I have missed the answers to my questions please dont flame me - sorry - if you could post the links!

Firstly just by way of introduction my name is Ed, I live in Cardiff and I am currently looking to buy an MR2!! I just wondered if you could help me with a couple of questions before I part with my hard earned.......

I am looking for a non-turbo, rev 3 MR2 T-Bar (could time of year to buy one I dont think!) and recently went to look at a real beauty!! I chatted to the guy a bit on the phone before arriving and he assured me it was a UK car. After missing all the signs and falling for it I looked at the V5 and noticed it was infact an import.

Now rightly or wrongly I fell into the typical mind-set that all imports are bad, especially when they are being passed off as UK cars! Having looked into it a little more I have begun to realise that this is perhaps not the case and I might have been a little rash in walking away! Basically my concerns are 4 fold:

1. Insuring it (although with a specialist company this should be ok?)

2. Mechanical differences resulting in £££ repair bills if anything goes wrong.

3. Bodywork / trim differences reducing in £££ repair bills if it gets bent / broken and incresed ins premiums?

I was wondering if anyone out there could offer me some serious insight into owning and running an imported MR2 as an everyday car. I know there is a stigma attached to non-UK cars but I wonder how fair it is?

The car itself looked very tidy, (although I know very little about cars so would Shell out for an AA inspection), the coolant was dark red, there was no gunk under the oil filler cap and it looked in tidy condition. It had had 3 owners since import one of whom was an owners club member. Here is the spec:

1995 TOYOTA MR2 Coupe GT T-Bar Sports 2dr

Tax 6 months, MOT 12 months, full service history, 17" 5 spoke alloy wheels, also included 4 original alloy wheels, dark bottle green, induction kit, full leather interior, 6 disc CD changer, ABS, anti-theft alarm, very tidy car. Open to offers. 95000 miles. £5100.

I think it is expensive for an import - but do you think i am being unrealistic?

Thanks in advance, any opinions appreciated as I am keen to aviod an expensive mistake!

Ed

[RichB]

Hi,

There are a few nice UK cars out there, but to be honest, the majority of decent low mileage MR2s out there are imports.

Insuring an import is a little more expensive, but not unreasonable - try Dorset Insurance Group for a competetive quote.

The car is mechanically the same as the UK model on the N/A, but with a few different electrics and body work. It is a worry if they break, the good news is, it doesn't happen often, and mechanically they can be fixed at most good garages.

Notes on spotting an import on a car inspection: Incomplete service history (although some come with good Jap records), toblerone side repeaters on the nose (though not sure if this is still the case on Rev 3 models), additional non standard fog light switch (fitted to meet British MOT standards), and Jap writing on the fog light switch (as well as inside engine bay), and square number plates.

Basically there are lots of clocked/crash repaired import rubbish out there. Make sure you look carefully for one with some mileage verification, or an excellent post import service history and few modifications.

TBH, for about 5K you should get a decent mileage 95 model.

[Dame]

Hi ED,

Firstly, welcome to the club, you will find the forums here a valiable resource when looking for solutions to problems etc.

In answer to your questions:

1. Insurance is an issue with imports, with some companies refusing to insure anything imported. However, there are companies such as Elephant and Admiral, who will provide realistic quotes for imported cars. For a guide, I'm 26, with 1y NCB, no accidents or convictions driving 9 years, renewal quote on MR2 GT Turbo Coupe £734.00 - which isn't bad at all.

2 & 3 Mechanically and body wise, they're pretty much the same, the major differences are the front side indicators, and of course the fact that all imports come with extras such as Climate control etc. Standard radios are different too, in so much that they can only access japanese FM frequencies. This is not a problem if you intend on replacing the radio. The only other difference is that the milage and speed will be in KMs not miles. This can be converted quite cheaply , so again not a major hassle. Only other issue that springs to mind is the different coloured tinting of the windows on some imports, again this can be obrained without much hassle from most window replacement companies.

£5100 is not an unrealistic price for a car of this age. Mine's a 1992 on a K and is worth around £3200 - £4000.

[TheNissanMan]

Personally would not worry a bit about whether it's an import, imports do tend to have a lot less miles on the clock and if your careful chosing the right car you should have no problems, the red coolant sounds like the standard toyota coolant which is a good thing, if you fancy a second lok give us a shout when looking at 2's as i am in cardiff (st mellons) as well....

only thing to worry about when buying a 2 is not to pick up a dog, there are some great cars out there and find a good one you'll love it, find a dog, you'll be put off for life :)

the electric components from jap cars can easily be found in places like toyota celica breakers for dirt cheap if required and most stuff can again be done by yourself and buddies if need be, there will usually be someone close to help out :)

Best of luck and give us a shout if need be...

[Bibbs]

Import NA's are the the same as UK NA's apart from the Trim (UK - full leather, Jap - half leather) and things like the !Removed! got AC as standard.

Get someone who is/was an MR2 owner (like rhaines) to have a look .. owning one always helps you know what to look for :)

[TheNissanMan]

Import NA's are the the same as UK NA's apart from the Trim (UK - full leather, Jap - half leather) and things like the !Removed! got AC as standard.

Get someone who is/was an MR2 owner (like rhaines) to have a look .. owning one always helps you know what to look for :)

owning 7 or 8 even better lmao.....

[SMiFFAD]

I was in the same situation before buying mine, the only thing i can fault is the insurance.... which can be justified by the fact some of the parts are a bit tricky to get hold of, a mate had a bike run into the back of him a few weeks agao in his tubby, the rear bumper cost quite a bit as its not uk spec....

Engine wise i think they are similar, there are subtle differences as i had a bit of trouble finding an induction kit to fit an import..

On the plus side they seem to be better spec'd, folding mirrors, ac etc....

As for the bloke hiding the fact its was im import, you cant really say he wouldnt have known, so sounds a bit dodgy.....

Happy hunting B)

[RichB]

UK spec bumper? Should fit fine - but you'll have to get a normal number plate instead of a square one??

[stgeorge]

Thanks for the replies guys - really really appreciated ;) ! rhaines - this one was in Western Super Mare so a bit of a treck from Cardiff so I wouldnt expect you to come out there with me. However if you do hear of anything in the Cardiff area pls let me know!!

Like I mentioned I didnt really know what I was looking for when I went to see this one but the spec is confusing me now..... reading what you have written, the car had full leather and no air-con (UK spec?) and also had a normal number plate (not a square one) would this point to a UK bumper (perhaps crashed and repaired?) ? BUT the V5 and AA report def said this is an Import? So, am I right in thinking this MUST be an import???? If this is a UK car a might be starting to feel mighty foolish :

[John R]

Firstly, you'll never know just how genuine an import is, never.

Secondly, buy my UK rev4 off me.

[stgeorge]

John - I reckon you are asking more than my 4.5 - 5 k budget ;)

[Funkadelic]

My import would appear to have an LSD...

Apparently, a friend of a friends has a UK n/a and says it can't do donuts...

That's just poor.

[TheNissanMan]

if your budget is 4.5 there a couple on here for sale or maybe rash would be able to sort you out....

not sure which lvl member can do what these days, drop me a mail, if i hear anything i'll let ya know...

[TheNissanMan]

just had a quick look in the for sale section, 3 on the first pagfe didn't look any further than that but sure to be more....

[hinesh_p]

hi m8,

i recently bought my n/a mr2 uk spec, mostly because of the fact that im 21 and most insurance companies would put me to the sword if i touched an import. To give you an indicator of what u should be looking for here's the spec of my mr2:

1996 black GT-Tbar

70k, full leathers

electric everything (apart from climate and a/c - which u get with imports)

fsh

i picked this up for 4.5k

hope this helps

regards,

HP

[Bibbs]

A mate has an "import" .. it was a UK spec car shipped to Germany for a UK squaddie ..

So it's a UK car - but cause it was bought in Germany, is classed as an import ..

[stgeorge]

Thanks for all the replies, I guess insurance shouldnt be too much of an issue as I am 25 with 8 yrs NCB and no points etc (atm!) so even with an import I shouldnt get too badly fleeced. I will just have to keep scouring the autotrader etc until I find a nice example, could take a while though :(

HP - thanks for that, yours sounds like exactly what I am looking for, I assume for that price it was private? If you dont mind me asking what did the seller initially want for it?

Anyway, thanks for all the help, hopefully sometime soon I will be on here asking lots of dumb newbie questions when I have a shiny MR2 on the drive!

Pls dont think I am taking the ***** but..... if anyone stumles across a nice clean well loved Rev2 NA then pls pls let me know.

Cheers Ed

[TheNissanMan]

Autotrader Link for CARDIFF MR2's

A rev 2 t-bar here, no pic but only 3 miles from my postcode if you want me to look.

[Bibbs]

I'd just say one thing .. have a look in the sticky threads at the top of the posts .. they should answer most of your queries ..

That's why I put them there :)

[jez_1_2000]

If you are willing to travel for a decent car then i'm sure rash would be able to get you a minter for that kind of money.

[stgeorge]

rhaines - link didnt work :( is it the G-Ltd that talks about Ferrari looks and fiesta money? I am filtering autotrader on age at the moment for 10 years or younger so I only get Rev 2 and newer so missed that one. Looks like good value - wonder what nick it is in and what the history is like? Might drop the guy a mail...... watch this space!

Bibbs - will have a read and try not to repost ;)

Jez_1_2000, definately interested in a minter and will travel!!

Cheers Ed

[DeusMR2]

rev 2's were made from late 1991 mate so the less than 10yr old filter might be filtering alot of mr2s out!

[stgeorge]

Scuse the typo (in 2 posts) - looking for Rev3 - feel dumb now!!!

[ZeroBlade]

Alrite there fella welcome to the club

Was just wondering what your history is with driving these sorts of cars?

Cos i've noticed your after an N/A, but if you feel up to it go for a tubby!

(Can't believe i'm saying this...)

After owning my n/a for a year now, it seems seriously lacking in the power department, hence i'm 'upgrading' to a turbo come Nov.

But I have to say driving the N/A initially has been a good learning experience!

Basically what I'm trying to say is if your looking for affordable power then get a turbo, if its your first time with a car such as thsi get an n/a then move onto a turbo later!

Happy hunting fella :)

-Z

[DeusMR2]

aaaah lol, in that case youre on the right track!