Hello!

[Teccy_ben]

howdy all, just joined the forum, im looking buying an MR2 early next year and was wondering if i could get some advice? ive got about £2k to spend, will this get me a decent MK2 model (ie not the soap box model but the rounder one)? anyways as i will only have 3 years NCB i will be looking at a uk, non turbo, 2ltr one, what are the performance figures for one of these? as these cars are getting a bit older now, how is the reliability and cost of parts, plus running costs ie mpg?

any help on these above subjects would be great

Cheers

Ben

[daktari]

Howdy Ben. Welcome to TOC.

You`ll do a lot worse than an mr2. Legendary Toyota reliability. Good performers. Have a look in the stickies at the top of the mr2 forum. Should give you all the info you need regarding performance etc. Shop around for insurance, there are some good deals to be had. Especially if you go down the classic policy route. 2K should get you something pretty decent. Make sure you get one with service history though. Try AUTO TRADER Happy hunting.

[pizza boy]

For that money you'll be lookin at a rev1/2 NA! Which is available from 1989-1993ish! Good news here is that they are actually better to drive than the later rev3+ NAs. rev 1/2 NA = more usable torque, lighter weight and shorter ratio box mmm basically its quicker! To 60 mid 7sec range. mpg hmmm..my m8 gets about 90 miles to the tenner On the downside you'll be lookin at high milers mostly due to thier age...but BUUUT remember if maintained itll be better than a thrashed 1997 example with 40k. Loads an looooads of cruddy examples about so hope you find the right one. Really you should be lookin to spend 3k on a top example...remember itll save you the headaches of an "average" condition car. Good luck!

[Teccy_ben]

thanks for the advice guys, although 2k is my top limit, im not worried about having an older car as long as it is in good nick, even with high miles (my current car has 113k and runs sweet as a nut)

im gonna hhave a look around for insurance quotes as in an ideal world i would like to have turbo but only being 21 and having 3 years NCB my options are pretty limited by insurance cost..

rev1/2 NA

what exactly does that mean? lol i would ideally like the mk2 as i really dont want the boxier versions 9no offence i just think they look too dated)

cheers

Ben

[Jesus]

Welcome to the forum mate. :)

[Teccy_ben]

well i got a quote for a T bar which is only £100 more, but i dont quite know what a T bar is, is that the turbo version?

cheers

Ben

[urotsukidoji_badassdemon]

Where about IS Poole mate? Is that down south or up north??

[tooyoung]

South Coast. Next to Bournemouth!!!

[dudeone]

Hi and welcome fella

T-Bar glass roof

[Teccy_ben]

cool so no performance difference in a T bar then :)

yeah bournemouth south coast :)

are all mr2 turbos imports?

[midmotorsteve]

all turbos are imports, you don't want one. That is if your budget to buy the car is 2k, on a turbo you'd be looking at close to 2k per year to insure it.

[Teccy_ben]

yeah thats what i thought, ive always liked the shape of an mr2 :) has it got a boot being a mid engine car? do you guys have meets in the south at all?

[midmotorsteve]

boot is bigger than your ave hatch back behind the engine, it swallows a monthly tesco shop for the girlfriend and I easily.

[ricomr2]

MR2 has fairly decent boot behind the engine and the front can be used for flat items or small bags.

Ps. Welcome to TOC mate

[Teccy_ben]

thanks for the warm welcome, cant wait to get out car shopping! whats the cost of parts on these compared to you avaargae car?

[Stu8]

Welcome to the club, enjoy your stay ;)

Parts are expensive for Turbo's but that is to be expected as they do need to be imported

[Karma Supra]

I have had my uk N/a t top since april now, the car has a full toyota service history and has done just under 150K miles and still drives and looks like new, so far the only maintenance has been new front disks and pads, in 5k miles I've not even had to top up the oil (tho I'll change it soon for the sake of maintenance).

I can get 320 miles to a tank if driving to conserve, and a tank costs me about 35-40 to full up.

The only thing I can fault the car on is feeling like it needs another top gear, and being noisy on the motorway.. apart from that its spot on!!!

Wach out for the red and yellow ones, the paint fades and once its faded a certain amount, no amount of compound of T cut will bring it back!!!!

[pizza boy]

Read the stickies teccy..you dont sound sure on what rev1/2 etc means. The mk2 had five "makeovers" from 1989 when it was released till 1998ish when they stopped production. Read this link setup by Bibbs :

Different revisions

remeber your lookin for rev1s or rev2s in the mk2 mr2.

[Teccy_ben]

thanks very much for the info, im in no rush to buy one at the mo so i can wait for the right one to come along, and if it has a noisy engine (good noisy lol) the better, (im used to it driving a my94 impreza with full decat lol)

[Teccy_ben]

looks like i will be after a rev 2 if i can get hold of one, are they reall ythat sketchy in the rain? never been in a rear wheel drive car apart from a TVR and thats jsut sketchy in all weather lol

[Rookey]

(im used to it driving a my94 impreza with full decat lol)

←

Nice choice :)

looks like i will be after a rev 2 if i can get hold of one, are they reall ythat sketchy in the rain? never been in a rear wheel drive car apart from a TVR and thats jsut sketchy in all weather lol

←

The back slips on all 2's mate, even in my 3S-FE economy 121Bhp model! :P

With 2k to spend you'd probably be looking at a rev1, but there are benefits between all revisions...

Welcome by the way :D

[Teccy_ben]

thanks :)

hhm i think im gonna get what im given lol, i can always modify lol

do you have any meets in south at all? perhaps i could come along and have a gander and chat :)

Ben

[Rookey]

We have a meet in Reading, quite big normally...

[Teccy_ben]

really? do you have quite a few different makes there? there is always a big scooby meet in reading (i havnt made it yet due to living in dorset)

[pizza boy]

Nice scoob! glug glug glug! Ill have ya in my tubby mind!