MR2 buying guidance please

[TameRacingDriver]

Mr2Mike said:

I never managed to get very close to 30mpg from my Rev2 Turbo. Even on long motorway trips the best I saw was about 27, and it used to return about 25-26mpg on my normal commute.

Agreed. Find it hard to believe an NA is less economical.

[Jalo1548]

Good or bad news depending on how you see it haha. He was adamant it was well worth 2.2k with awful weathered front tyres, using clear silicone on the tbar seal (I don't even...) and no service history after his ownership. The car mechanically however was PERFECT. No rust at all, started from cold easily and from warm, held voltage right and the interior was spot on. Exterior felt a little sad for itself too. The BC coilivers also had camber adjustment and the ride was really nice. Gearbox was mint, clutch was good too no idea why he mentioned it.

I walked away after thinking I need to weight up my options, and I don't think the BC coilivers and induction kit etc swung it for me, always implies the wrong kind of driver for me. As close to original for me please. I'm not saying I didn't like the car, I just think uncategorised it was worth the asking price, but to the right buyer who wants the extras it is probably just the right car.

The search goes on! One I love the look of is unfortunately in NI, but it looks like it might not be worth the trip! All I know is after using that dinky gear knob, 4 inches off the floor and feeling the rear end kick out a little this car is for me!

[Mr2Mike]

Jalo1548 said:

The search goes on! One I love the look of is unfortunately in NI, but it looks like it might not be worth the trip! All I know is after using that dinky gear knob, 4 inches off the floor and feeling the rear end kick out a little this car is for me!

They do feel quite special (in a good way) when you are sat inside, it's quite an involving driving position if that makes sense.

[Ved]

Thought about saving up a bit more and importing one?

[Shnev91]

Just a little more input from my experiance with my MR2. If I'm going down a hill in a low gear for engine braking/exhausting and then at the bottom of the hill I floor it I get a fair bit of smoke out of the pipes. Been told this is Valve stem seals. Not the easiest of things to repair and it seems to have happened to others. Something you might want to check when you look at your next one. Worth looking down the spark plug wells too. Oil can collect in the wells if the rocker cover gasket is gone.

Thats some issues I've encountered anyway.

I've also refurbished all my calipers as they were all siezed. Parts for this are cheap and its fairly easy to do yourself.