Buying An Mr2

[Scott106Rallye]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to buy an MR2 tomorrow and was after a bit of advice.

I am after a black 2l GT, all of the ones i have found for sale seem to be the GT-Limited. Being 21 my insurance company aren't too keen on this version.

What are the fundemental differences between the uk spec and the jap import ?

And is there any easy way to tell the difference between them ??

Thanks for any help

Scott

[iblis]

Hello everyone,

I am looking to buy an MR2 tomorrow and was after a bit of advice.

I am after a black 2l GT, all of the ones i have found for sale seem to be the GT-Limited. Being 21 my insurance company aren't too keen on this version.

What are the fundemental differences between the uk spec and the jap import ?

And is there any easy way to tell the difference between them ??

Thanks for any help

Scott

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the only real difference is the jap has electrically folding wing mirrors and climate control as standard :) oh, and a smaller hole for reg plate at the back! Same engine etc, even made in the same factory!

The UK ones are badges GTi-16, the !Removed! are badged G-limited

Most obvious difference is the smaller licence plate hole in the back, but that can be changed. Also the retract button on the electric mirror controls, or the 'auto' option on the air conditioning controls. Also The !Removed! have a signal flare in the footwell on the passenger side (which could be missing). There is a little rectangular light sensor on the dash on where the windscreen meets it on the passenger side, which is part of climate control, so probably not on uk models.

You tend to get stickers with jap writing on them under the engine lid and on the inside of the fuel compartment door in !Removed!. Obviously they can be removed too though. If you had the resources you could look up the chassis number,

HTH

[swales_p]

Please correct me if im wrong here, BUT if i were you id go for an english version (even tho they are the exact same car) as they seem to rust less than an import. Also, documents etc etc are easier to get.

Apart from that you chose a good motor.

[alex_93gtuk]

Scott106rallye,

Ive sent you a PM!

Alex

[iblis]

as they seem to rust less than an import.

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Have to politely disagree, I've never heard of any particular rust problems with !Removed!. They received the same rust proofing treatments in the factory as the UK models. When it rains in Japan, it really comes down

Also, documents etc etc are easier to get.

←

Well, service history is a problem with fresh imports, you can never be sure it's true. But if the car has been in the UK some time, you may have a reliable history you can check on. Most parts are the same as the UK model, excluding those things that aren't in UK cars, like the folding mirrors.

you chose a good motor. 

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I wholeheartedly agree there!!

Jap cars TEND to be lower mileage, better kept and higher spec. I would have to recommend them over the UK ones, in my experience. Insurance is an issue though. Fortunately, after much telephone conversations I got insured for the same price as a domestic N/A. :)

[knowlson]

What rev 106rallye do you have bud? I had a 1.3 years ago it's still one of the best cars I ever had

[dawolf]

Yeah great choice of car mate. Jap imports do not rust any more than UK cars, the !Removed! look after their cars and don't tend to do many miles due to strict laws and expensive insurance. Service history can be a problem, I didn't get any with my import but it's the risk I decided to take.

As said, imports have certain nice extra's such as air conditioning, folding mirrors, steering front fogs and extra subwoofer (on some). They also have different toblerone shaped repeaters and square number plates. That's about it!

[iblis]

They also have different toblerone shaped repeaters

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Doh! Missed that. Would probably be one of the more definitive differences between the two

[swales_p]

Guess i was totally wrong with the whole rust thing, i have heard people talk about this, reason being - its not the rain that makes the motor rust its the fact that us brits slap wad loads of salt on our roads and mixed with water = a rusty motor + aparently euro cars come protected against this.

If im wrong sorry

Anyway, my tubbie came across from Japan with a FSH with documents, weather its been serviced is another story mind + its only done 25000 miles!! woo hoo! wait... this could have also been tamperd with BUT at the end of the day it was in mint condition. So im happy

BUT if you wanna tubbie thats the way youve gotta go.

Cheers

[Scott106Rallye]

Hi again,

thanks a lot for all your replies.

I picked up a black 91 MR2 2 weeks ago and am looking forward to the new experience.

Going from my series 2 106 rallye, it is quite a bit different. The handling isnt quite the same :S but it is a lot "nicer" to drive.

You will probably see a lot mor eof me with annoying quesions about how to maintain it :S (sorry)

Scott

[dawolf]

Nice one mate, I had a 106 GTI before my MR2. The GTI actually felt slightly quicker when accelerating due to it's lightweight (and engine mods) and the handling was quite forgiving BUT apart from those things the MR2 is a far superior car which looks great.

[KiwiMR2]

the only real difference is the jap has electrically folding wing mirrors and climate control as standard

As said, imports have certain nice extra's such as air conditioning, folding mirrors, steering front fogs and extra subwoofer (on some).

Those are OPTIONS on a Jap MR2....definitly not standard, plenty of them don't have those, like mine for example, AC but no electric mirrors.

They also have different toblerone shaped repeaters

News to me...any pics of the difference??

Cheers

KiwiMR2

[m4rk scotland]

Hi again,

thanks a lot for all your replies.

I picked up a black 91 MR2 2 weeks ago and am looking forward to the new experience.

Going from my series 2 106 rallye, it is quite a bit different. The handling isnt quite the same :S but it is a lot "nicer" to drive.

You will probably see a lot mor eof me with annoying quesions about how to maintain it :S (sorry)

Scott

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if you dont mind me asking how much did you pay for your mr2? iv just sold my old car and im looking for exactly the same as you just bought.

[Scott106Rallye]

m4rk scotland - I paid 2.5k for mine. It is a J reg Black Uk Spec GT. Full toyota service history (100k).