About to buy an MR2 Turbo - opinions
Discussion
Well, MAYBE about to buy an MR2 turbo.
The car in question is G reg, white, standard (other than the wheels - which are very nice), it's been converted to MPH (hence presumably delimited) and is advertised privately for £2,200 with tax and MOT till July. It's covered a little over 60,000 miles.
I'll be going to look at it today and subject to it looking/sounding/driving ok I'll arrange a loan during the week.
The car is local to me so I know that the same bloke has owned it for about 6 years (becuase I've been dribbling over it since I was in school). Through a friend of a friend I also know that he's getting an import Impreza Turbo (stage 7), which is apparently why he's selling it.
So the questions to you guys;
Does it sound too cheap to be true? I've been reading on here and you're all talking about £5-8k for one. I've seen them on Autotrader for this sort of cash but I obviously don't know what condition they're in.
Am I insane? I'm 23, full no claims and no incidents or points. Will I be able to insure it? I live in London so it'll hardly leave the drive, but that's not the point. I've been trying to get quotes all day but haven't found a site that works yet.
What should I look for? What will tell me if it's knackered? I test-drove an NA version a while back and it was obviously dying, (trouble getting 2nd & 4th gear, smoke from the engine bay etc) but is there anything more subtle?
Any opinions much appreciated!
The car in question is G reg, white, standard (other than the wheels - which are very nice), it's been converted to MPH (hence presumably delimited) and is advertised privately for £2,200 with tax and MOT till July. It's covered a little over 60,000 miles.
I'll be going to look at it today and subject to it looking/sounding/driving ok I'll arrange a loan during the week.
The car is local to me so I know that the same bloke has owned it for about 6 years (becuase I've been dribbling over it since I was in school). Through a friend of a friend I also know that he's getting an import Impreza Turbo (stage 7), which is apparently why he's selling it.
So the questions to you guys;
Does it sound too cheap to be true? I've been reading on here and you're all talking about £5-8k for one. I've seen them on Autotrader for this sort of cash but I obviously don't know what condition they're in.
Am I insane? I'm 23, full no claims and no incidents or points. Will I be able to insure it? I live in London so it'll hardly leave the drive, but that's not the point. I've been trying to get quotes all day but haven't found a site that works yet.
What should I look for? What will tell me if it's knackered? I test-drove an NA version a while back and it was obviously dying, (trouble getting 2nd & 4th gear, smoke from the engine bay etc) but is there anything more subtle?
Any opinions much appreciated!
Ah, damn, I could have done with that before I went round to see it but nevermind, I'll check next time.
The car was nice, a couple of stone chips was about all that's wrong with the body (and a rubber bung around the ariel that's missing). The targa top showed signs of leakage, the rubber wasn't split though and he said the vaseline trick works.
There wasn't any smoke at all out of it, the idle was smooth, though the Mongoose exhaust
(which he forgot to mention) could have masked any unfriendly sounds. The engine bay was clean and the whole car seemed well looked after.
I took it for a drive over some pretty bumpy roads and it didn't seem to mind at all, no odd noises or anything. It does 'follow the road' a bit but the tyres are pretty low profile so that's no suprise.
The temp gauge was normal; the boost gauge didn't do anything wierd, and what it was saying was verified by the noise from the turbine (though I didn't know exactly what to look for so I may be mistaken).
The turbo certainly sounded healthy, there was a nice crisp whistle. I've heard old, worn turbos before and this sounded nothing like those. He said something about it being a 40mm turbo by the way instead of a 35, does that mean anything to you guys?
There was some sign of tampering with the air-mass meter, he said the previous owner had tweaked it to give some more torque. Sounded plausible but I don't know much about these things.
The thing that really struck me about the car was it's gearing. I never seemed to be in second. As soon as you left first it felt ready for 3rd. That might just be the power I guess. My current car will hit 60 in second, this felt like it'd blow up at 45, but that's probably my imagination - there's no way it's ratios could change is there?
There was no other suggestion of a gearbox problem, the shifts were smooth, accurate and clean.
The question I really want answered is this - it felt a lot faster than the NA version I've driven, but frankly I was expecting more. It had a healthy push and could make my stomach feel funny, but a friend of mine has a Rover 820 Turbo, and that can re-arrange your face; despite weighing about 700 tons.
It was definately faster than my current car (which does 0-60 in about 7) but still...
Certainly not slow, but certainly not gut-wrenching. Perhaps it's the big wheels? Any MR2 bearing PHers in London who'd like to offer a quick comparrison?
In summary it looks like a good buy to me (and my Dad who was with me). It's just had the air-con regassed, two new front tyres (reasonable rears) all the brakes are good, it's had a new handbrake cable MOT till July and taxed.
Short of anyone here finding a fault with what I've written (and if I can insure it), I'm buying it.
The car was nice, a couple of stone chips was about all that's wrong with the body (and a rubber bung around the ariel that's missing). The targa top showed signs of leakage, the rubber wasn't split though and he said the vaseline trick works.
There wasn't any smoke at all out of it, the idle was smooth, though the Mongoose exhaust
(which he forgot to mention) could have masked any unfriendly sounds. The engine bay was clean and the whole car seemed well looked after. I took it for a drive over some pretty bumpy roads and it didn't seem to mind at all, no odd noises or anything. It does 'follow the road' a bit but the tyres are pretty low profile so that's no suprise.
The temp gauge was normal; the boost gauge didn't do anything wierd, and what it was saying was verified by the noise from the turbine (though I didn't know exactly what to look for so I may be mistaken).
The turbo certainly sounded healthy, there was a nice crisp whistle. I've heard old, worn turbos before and this sounded nothing like those. He said something about it being a 40mm turbo by the way instead of a 35, does that mean anything to you guys?
There was some sign of tampering with the air-mass meter, he said the previous owner had tweaked it to give some more torque. Sounded plausible but I don't know much about these things.
The thing that really struck me about the car was it's gearing. I never seemed to be in second. As soon as you left first it felt ready for 3rd. That might just be the power I guess. My current car will hit 60 in second, this felt like it'd blow up at 45, but that's probably my imagination - there's no way it's ratios could change is there?
There was no other suggestion of a gearbox problem, the shifts were smooth, accurate and clean.
The question I really want answered is this - it felt a lot faster than the NA version I've driven, but frankly I was expecting more. It had a healthy push and could make my stomach feel funny, but a friend of mine has a Rover 820 Turbo, and that can re-arrange your face; despite weighing about 700 tons.
It was definately faster than my current car (which does 0-60 in about 7) but still...
Certainly not slow, but certainly not gut-wrenching. Perhaps it's the big wheels? Any MR2 bearing PHers in London who'd like to offer a quick comparrison?
In summary it looks like a good buy to me (and my Dad who was with me). It's just had the air-con regassed, two new front tyres (reasonable rears) all the brakes are good, it's had a new handbrake cable MOT till July and taxed.
Short of anyone here finding a fault with what I've written (and if I can insure it), I'm buying it.
Um... How embarrasing.
I've been all over the IMOC, the interweb and Adrian Flux looking for quotes. Cheapest so far is a rather fetching £1,200 with an £800 excess.
I knew it'd be steep but that would bankrupt me if I have a prang.
I'd budgeted for £1100 + about a 500 excess, which if I'm honest was rather more than was sensible. Looks like I'll have to wait till I hit 25.
In the mean time I'll re-focus my search on a UK spec non-turbo.
Thanks for the offer of a ride out Gazboy, I'd love to take it up, but
a) it'd ruin my enjoyment of a non-turbo car
b) you'd have to get a court order to remove me from the passenger seat!
Having read the other coments on here I'm starting to wonder about the health of the one I looked at anyway.
It was definately warm when I drove it (though it wasn't when I first arrived and he started it). The short second gear may have been my imagination but there was NO WAY it'd do over 70 in second.
I can't understand why that is, but on the budget I have I can't afford to take the risk...
I'll get back to you all when I find a decent non-turbo.
Cheers guys!
Al. ( disappointed )
I've been all over the IMOC, the interweb and Adrian Flux looking for quotes. Cheapest so far is a rather fetching £1,200 with an £800 excess.
I knew it'd be steep but that would bankrupt me if I have a prang.
I'd budgeted for £1100 + about a 500 excess, which if I'm honest was rather more than was sensible. Looks like I'll have to wait till I hit 25.
In the mean time I'll re-focus my search on a UK spec non-turbo.
Thanks for the offer of a ride out Gazboy, I'd love to take it up, but
a) it'd ruin my enjoyment of a non-turbo car
b) you'd have to get a court order to remove me from the passenger seat!
Having read the other coments on here I'm starting to wonder about the health of the one I looked at anyway.
It was definately warm when I drove it (though it wasn't when I first arrived and he started it). The short second gear may have been my imagination but there was NO WAY it'd do over 70 in second.
I can't understand why that is, but on the budget I have I can't afford to take the risk...
I'll get back to you all when I find a decent non-turbo.
Cheers guys!
Al. ( disappointed )
admiral said:
Sorry!
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They always say this. So do elephant.
MrFlibbles said:
This is very unfair - I'm gone ten minutes (in a cloud of depression - having failed to net an MRT of my very own) and now I come back to find EVERYONE buying them!
Sorry about that old bean, if its any concellation, its AWESOME!
The consolation factor of that remark can be expressed using the following mathematical expression:
Was not expecting to see this here!
Well, I am indeed in an MR2 at present, but it's not related to the ones above.
It has had its problems. Quite a few of them in fact. Getting there slowly & steadily though. Another couple of paydays and it should be a-ok.
Hoping to have it track ready by March.
Well, I am indeed in an MR2 at present, but it's not related to the ones above.
It has had its problems. Quite a few of them in fact. Getting there slowly & steadily though. Another couple of paydays and it should be a-ok.
Hoping to have it track ready by March.
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