New To Mr2's, Looking To Get One

[Steve-O 2006]

Hi,

Currently I have a 1991 Merc 190E and Im looking at buying an MR2 Mk2 (The nicest looking shape of the 3 :) ). I will be going for a Non turbo for now unless I find a cheap insurance company that will allow me to insure a turbo but have a few questions first -

Whos the best insurance company to go with as Im only 19 and not many insurance companies will allow me to insure one (Tried 10 already and most say Im too young or want to charge me a rediculous price of £2,753 to insure a standard Non Turbo MR2.) Will be trying Adrian Flux next as they are suposed to be cheap.

I have herd that some of the Non Turbo's have a different engine in with a much lower bhp compaired to the other, how do you tell the difference of the 2 if this is true?

Whats the most common faults to look out for when going to see / test drive one?

I noticed on a web site that it said to have a clutch or cam belt changed that the whole engine needs taken out, is this true?

Is their much difference in the UK Version Non Turbo and a Imported Non turbo?

What year is best to go with and whats the difference in the years?

And any other little hints and tips if you can think of any :D

Thanks

---EDIT---

Forgot to say, I will be going for a T-Bar model :)

[TheNissanMan]

welcome aboard matey and great choice of car, think all of the answers to your q's are on the stickies in the mr2 section, if you have any queries after reading them best ask the ones that aren't answered, just saves everyone repeating their posts :D

[Steve-O 2006]

thanks, will have a read tomorrow when I get home from work (to tired right now ;) ).

I wish insurance companies relised that most under 21's are careful sensible drivers!! Its proving difficult to get a quote. Tried Adrian Flux but they were closed. Might just have to get my mum to insure it and go on her insurance as a named driver to make it cheaper.

Cheapest I have found for me on my own is £2,498. Most expensive I found was £4,567. I then put my mums details in and it would cost her £298 Fully Comp to insure it on her own (and that was through one of them expensive companies)!!! The Max I will pay for insurance is £800 I think.. I will try some more tomorrow.

[gump2000]

thanks, will have a read tomorrow when I get home from work (to tired right now ;) ).

I wish insurance companies relised that most under 21's are careful sensible drivers!! Its proving difficult to get a quote. Tried Adrian Flux but they were closed. Might just have to get my mum to insure it and go on her insurance as a named driver to make it cheaper.

Cheapest I have found for me on my own is £2,498. Most expensive I found was £4,567. I then put my mums details in and it would cost her £298 Fully Comp to insure it on her own (and that was through one of them expensive companies)!!! The Max I will pay for insurance is £800 I think.. I will try some more tomorrow.

hi mate it costs me 560 to insure mine i've only got 2 years no claims but i'm 23 so that might work in my favour. i'm with elephant.co.uk. also add a female on to it as a named driver it will knock some off your policy. try that.

[Steve-O 2006]

tried elephant and they wanted something like £2000+

Looks like the dream of owning an MR2 will have to go on hold for a year or 2 unless I want to spend silly money insuring one :(

Its my age thats affecting it and making the price high. They said once Im 21 it will be much cheaper. Will just have to stick with the Merc 190E for now :).

well, Ill be back, See you all in a year or so (or maybe sooner If I manage to find a good quote)... Cant wait to be a MR2 Owner!!! :D

[GIDDLEPIN]

That's tough about the insurance Steve, wait till you get to be an old fart like me and they pay you to drive cars (well almost ;) )

You don't have to dissapear from the forums because you haven't got a car, stick around you can still join in and learn all sorts of stuff.

Les

[Steve-O 2006]

yea, Im going to stick around and check back once or twice a week to have a look around :D

[jaxx]

randomly with elephant.com its cheaper for me to insure a turbo than it is an NA ;) check it out

and as gump says, drop a female on there (mum, sister, gf etc...) our lass knocks around 200quid off mine :o and shes fully sorted if she ever needs to take it anywhere :)

[brownie1977]

I have a 93 MR2 GTS TURBO T-BAR. I have had my mine for 2 years and I can honestly say its the best car I have ever driven and at 0-60 in 5.27secs and a top end of 160mph, in a straight line it is a force to be reckoned with. However, the non turbos are still a fantastic drive and demand more from you than the shi*ty 4 wheel drive rally (subaru etc) cars which are too easy to drive and give you nothing in return! Sorry for whaffling but I love MR2 MKII's. I would advise you to look at Admiral for insurance or Bell which are a company owned by Admiral. I am 28 with 6 years no claims and pay a £327 fully comp and they are pretty good for young drivers too!

When buying a MKII there are a few things to look out for. Check all the disks and pads because replacing all round can cost up to or even beyond £350. Ensure that the motors on the lights don't make a grinding sound when switched on and off. Check that there has been a cambelt and axel belt change before the 60000 mile point (again this is a pretty expensive job). Make sure there are no clunking sounds when steering at a low speed as this could indicate a worn shocker. The T-Bars do tend to leak but this can be rectified buy applying black sillicon to the leak area which will cost you no more than £5 from Halfords. If the leaks are extreme then a full sealant replacement will cost at least £60. Check for adverse wear on the inside edge of the tyres. This can indicate a misbalance in the camber alignement which can only be corrected by a Toyota dealer. Check the spark leads and make sure they are changed every 20000 miles. A new set will set you back around £75. Check out MR2DC.com for a good buyers advice, stats and what to look out for. The only real differences between a import and UK spec MR2 MKII is the obvious square number plate, the rear grill is raised which looks much better than the UK flat version, the engine will be restricted to either 125MPH or 150MPH if it is coming from Japan, and if it contains a CD player then you will have to have a bandwidth extender put onto it to gain all the UK radio stations or simply buy a new one. Most insurance companies will also add a few quid on top of their policy for a import and a lot wont even insure you so if you are going to get a non turbo then you ae better off getting a UK spec one. I hope this all helps

[Bobby-H]

Check the spark leads and make sure they are changed every 20000 miles. A new set will set you back around £75.

That might be a bit of overkill. At £75 a set, I'd just replace them when they go wrong - they should last longer than 20000 miles.

[Steve-O 2006]

a good thing with me waiting till Im 21 is that I will have alot more money to spend on one and by the Time Im 21 I will be able to insure a Turbo at a Reasonable price as well :D

Thanks for the tips :)

[brownie1977]

I see what you are saying mate but if you want to get the best perfomance then £75 every 20000 miles aint much to shed out really. Theres nothing worse than your motor miss-firing when pushed over the 6000 rpm.

[Steve-O 2006]

£75 every 20,000 miles is quite good considering I wil only be doing 4,000 miles Max a year :)

[Lou-Lou]

Get one!

I've just (finally) got myself the 2.0 Turbo.. scares the **** out of me, but it's great.

Also.. I'm poor as hell now.. can't afford the insurance, tax is stupid, but nevermind eh! But it's worth it! I'll just never be able to afford to go out.. again.. ever..

[CoRoLLa_KiD]

I'm 19 and just got UK n/a.. best car i've driven, absolutely love it!

Insurance is just under a grand with RAC.. might be worth a try?

[Steve-O 2006]

I'm 19 and just got UK n/a.. best car i've driven, absolutely love it!

Insurance is just under a grand with RAC.. might be worth a try?

Nice... Is that with any No Claims discount??

[chris23]

Hiya. I was with Norwich union direct who were cheapest for me last year at about £1050, this year they quoted me £1290 with another years no claims ;) how does that work??

Eventually after loads of quotes i found Bell (part of admiral group) came out cheapest at £850. Oh by the way im 22 and got a 1991 MR2 t bar n/a. Fully comp with 2 years NCB i didnt think that was too bad.

[CoRoLLa_KiD]

I'm 19 and just got UK n/a.. best car i've driven, absolutely love it!

Insurance is just under a grand with RAC.. might be worth a try?

Nice... Is that with any No Claims discount??

Just 1 years :)

[MattTodd]

Hey there,

Back when I went to try and get an MR2, as I was also 19 at the time, I could consistently get quotes of around £900 under my own name, with no no-claims, with elephant.co.uk, BUT, only on a UK model car. The cheapest quote I got for an import was £4,300. Go figure! Hope you find one you want mate!

Matt