Buying My First Mr2 - £5k To Spend

[daz_mcneill]

Hiya,

After many years of waiting Ive finally finnished uni and got myself a propper job where I now have some money!! Woo Hoo!!

Ive been after an MR2 for a few years now and came very close until I lost my 3 years no claims because some **** tried to claim off my insurance. I now have enough cash tho so its shopping time!! :D

Ive £5k to spend so i would like to know what to look for when Im viewing the car. Ive had a lot of lemons in my years of driving (probably something to do with only ever being able to afford crap cars tho!) and I hopefully want to avoid another one!!

Im looking at the Mk2 Tbar models.

Id like to know things like Import or UK car? Giveaway signs of lemons etc?

Hope someone can help! Im currently driving a Clio RSi but its giving me alot of grief at the moment (head's on its way and tonight the alarm stopped working!!) so im hopefully going to get the car before Xmas.

Cheers,

Daz

[jez_1_2000]

Hi,

Ask Rash about it, he deals in cars so he'll be able to tell you what to look for or better still get him to get you a car, he has a good reputation on here for supplying good mr2's.

ramotors@hotmail.com

[jdbecks]

i would say rev3+ tbar turbo have alook at this link it should tell you what to look for

http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/modules.php?name=Kn...dge_Base&cid=12

[BLOODUK]

Hi,

Ask Rash about it, he deals in cars

I thought rash was female oh dear

[Fizz]

As Jez said.. Rash is a trader and comes by a few MR2's... they are hard to come by this time of year i would have thought but then i could be wrong!

Rash found me my mota.. and am very pleased with it..

And with regards to what car you should look for.. firstly can you tell us if you are after a Natrually Aspirated ot a Turbo..?

The Turbo model was never released here in the UK and so can only be bought as an import.

[daz_mcneill]

And with regards to what car you should look for.. firstly can you tell us if you are after a Natrually Aspirated ot a Turbo..?

The Turbo model was never released here in the UK and so can only be bought as an import.

←

Im not sure which model really? What are the main differences between them both? Im a complete newbie when it come to the MR2 so people's thoughts and idea's would be greatly appreciated!!

[dudeone]

Hi Daz,

And welcome to the forum, I am in a similar situation expect I have choosen the type of MR2 I want ive got me Ins ready I just av to get shot of me existing car first.

i would say rev3+ tbar turbo have alook at this link it should tell you what to look for

http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/modules.php?name=Kn...dge_Base&cid=12

←

Yo Jon,

Whats the score with the link as each time i try it keeps telling me its forbiden???

Dave

[jez_1_2000]

I get the same, it's probably because we're not members of that site. If you register with it you should be able to view it.

[BlueMR2]

You can buy my UK TBAR Rev3....PM me for details...

[DeusMR2]

check the stickies at the top, theyre full of information! With £5k you can get a very good condtition rev3 turbo or a minter of an NA.

rev 3+ turbos develop 245bhp as stock but you'll generally find that they deliver even more than that unmodified! They have an official 0-60 of 5.3s. The body is also more colour coded than the rev 2 and rev 1 which develop 225bhp stock and have a 0-60 of 5.8s. All revs can reach 280bhp easily and safely with small mods. As Fizz mentioned, turbos were never manufactured here so you'll either have to import them or buy them from someone who has.

The rev 1 and 2 NA's have 158bhp as stock and the rev 3 onwards have 173bhp. (Rev 5 has 168bhp but thats unnoticable). These were made in both the UK and Japanese market (the jap ones have more toys though!) but you might find that insurance is a bit cheaper on UK specs.

Turbos are group 20 insurance (on the old system) and the NA's are group 15-16 I think. You should be ok to insure a turbo with 3yrs NCB if youre willing to look around a bit.

At this stage you should decide on whether the turbo or NA is right for you. Then decide on which range of revisions you want (rev 3 turbo or rev 4 NA in your case perhaps).

For a full guide on revs go here: http://toyotaownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=6927

[jdbecks]

Hi Daz,

And welcome to the forum, I am in a similar situation expect I have choosen the type of MR2 I want ive got me Ins ready I just av to get shot of me existing car first.

i would say rev3+ tbar turbo have alook at this link it should tell you what to look for

http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/modules.php?name=Kn...dge_Base&cid=12

←

Yo Jon,

Whats the score with the link as each time i try it keeps telling me its forbiden???

Dave

←

oops sorry yeah you have to be members.did u get the link i pm'd you the other day?

nothing wrong with n/a's they are cheaper to run and still quick quite, i just want something more powerfull now , with the n/a you dont get alot of horses for the money you put in.

read up about the revs as much as you can, try and look at some, if u are around essex or hampshire (essex weekends/hampshire mid week) i would be willing to show you my mine

Edited November 13, 2004 by jdbecks

[dudeone]

Hi Daz,

And welcome to the forum, I am in a similar situation expect I have choosen the type of MR2 I want ive got me Ins ready I just av to get shot of me existing car first.

i would say rev3+ tbar turbo have alook at this link it should tell you what to look for

http://www.mr2oc.co.uk/modules.php?name=Kn...dge_Base&cid=12

←

Yo Jon,

Whats the score with the link as each time i try it keeps telling me its forbiden???

Dave

←

oops sorry yeah you have to be members.did u get the link i pm'd you the other day?

nothing wrong with n/a's they are cheaper to run and still quick quite, i just want something more powerfull now , with the n/a you dont get alot of horses for the money you put in.

read up about the revs as much as you can, try and look at some, if u are around essex or hampshire mid week i would be willing to show you my mine

←

Hi Jon,

Thanx mate yeh I did I did mean to let you know and say thanx but I got side tracked looking, I have just joined the other MR2 club which also looks good.

Thanx again.

Dave

[BlueMR2]

And with regards to what car you should look for.. firstly can you tell us if you are after a Natrually Aspirated ot a Turbo..?

The Turbo model was never released here in the UK and so can only be bought as an import.

←

Im not sure which model really? What are the main differences between them both? Im a complete newbie when it come to the MR2 so people's thoughts and idea's would be greatly appreciated!!

←

Also if u want help looking at a few give me a shout...as im not too far from you...

[daz_mcneill]

:D Thanks for all the info!

Im gonna try and ring my insurance when I finally have a spare second, which isnt very often now with the new job!! Slave drivers!!

What things should I be wary of with an import? I try to buy a car with as much service history etc as possible and im presuming that there wont be much with an import.

I know im definately getting the T-bar model, its just a cast of n/a or turbo. I think it may just me n/a for the moment, and then possibly upgrade to a turbo (i can always swap over any external mods that are added).

I dont really intend on upgrading the engine (apart from induction kit and zorst).

What flaws do MR2's have? ie what is likely to break? With my previous metro and clio its usually been just about everything!! also what are repair costs like? well parts mainly, as my dads mate is a mechanic so i dont really pay too much for labour.

As for any car offers I dont quite have the money at hand yet, just got to wait for the loan to be accepted (which will prob take a few weeks).

Really looking forward to buying the car tho, there's a guy in rochdale with a lovely gleaming red mr2 tbar. He's only done a few subtle mods (18's, lowered and tinted windows) but the car looks amazing!

Im just a poser at heart!!

[jdbecks]

if u get an n/a u could get a uk model that way u will have full service history...jap models will have aircon etc...they have more extras as standard

but if u go tbar who needs air con ;)

reliability is top notch these cars were 20k+ when new..no rust etc

as for parts it depends wat geos wrong and who u get it from...ive only needed a caliper and pads and it was £80 including vat for the caliper

[dawolf]

You will get a pretty mint rev 3 for 5 grand. It's up to you but it may be best to go for the N/A as I've heard the turbo can be a handful to drive if you're not used to it. Remember the MR2 is mid-engined and RWD and with all that power it's easy to lose control, especially in the wet. Add to that insurance and fuel costs too.

I've owned my N/A for 4 months, it's pretty quick and has taught me how the MR2 drives and handles. Next year I hope to upgrade to a turbo though.