MRT - Fresh Import
Discussion
tuttle said:
I dont think a MPH conversion is that much (£200?)
The little electric converter boxes cost about £30-40max, & its,usually,only 3 wires to solder.-Getting the dash out may be a different story!
Fair point - that was a worse case scenario, plucked out of thin air figure!
I got my quotes off Autotraders' insurance section. Bell and (suprisingly) Asda are usually cheapest. I called Adrian flux a while back (I was 23) and they offered £1,600 but with a silly excess.
I'm now 24 and have virtually 7 yrs driving, no points and full NCB if that helps..
I'm hoping to test-drive the car today (just for the comparrison to the last one). It wasn't UK registered yesterday and had no plates, tax or MOT on it. Couldn't see that going down well with Plod so I left it.
I agree with the majority opinion on here that this wouldn't be a good buy, due to the leaky T-bar, but I'm definately going to ask this bloke to bring in a hardtop GTS for me.
This car looks pretty good, considering the low mileage, 4 good tyres, MOT and tax.
I'm certainly not afraid to fit a converter myself either.
At 3k it's cheap compared to many I've seen; it hasn't been messed with and seems to have been looked after.
If I do a search on Autotrader around Lincolnshire (where my car will spend most of it's life) cars with similar spec, but vastly higher mileages, are coming up over £1.5k more expensive.
I'm told turbos start to die around 60,000 miles if not looked after. This one is approaching that now, but at least if the worst happens I'll get in there early and stop it damaging anything else...
Does all of this sound reasonable?
I'm now 24 and have virtually 7 yrs driving, no points and full NCB if that helps..
I'm hoping to test-drive the car today (just for the comparrison to the last one). It wasn't UK registered yesterday and had no plates, tax or MOT on it. Couldn't see that going down well with Plod so I left it.
I agree with the majority opinion on here that this wouldn't be a good buy, due to the leaky T-bar, but I'm definately going to ask this bloke to bring in a hardtop GTS for me.
This car looks pretty good, considering the low mileage, 4 good tyres, MOT and tax.
I'm certainly not afraid to fit a converter myself either.
At 3k it's cheap compared to many I've seen; it hasn't been messed with and seems to have been looked after.
If I do a search on Autotrader around Lincolnshire (where my car will spend most of it's life) cars with similar spec, but vastly higher mileages, are coming up over £1.5k more expensive.
I'm told turbos start to die around 60,000 miles if not looked after. This one is approaching that now, but at least if the worst happens I'll get in there early and stop it damaging anything else...
Does all of this sound reasonable?
Gazboy said:
I've advertised it on Imoc already, but since then have decided to probably keep it until the end of september, let's see
1990 G reg GT spec Black T-bar.
70,000 miles
Apexi AVC-R and S-AFC
Intercooler
Apexi Induction Kit
Unknown lightweight jap 5 spokes (looking pretty pitted now and could do with a refurb/replace)
TRD front bumper
Departure 2 exhaust
recent discs and pads all round with new front calipers. Normal pads on back, Red stuff at front.
Not sure what price to put on it, was thinking just over 3k
Danboy/Al- this car sounds awesome, i'm off to shake the sofa incase you two don't want it...
Nope...
Very tempted indeed. Hehe.
In the region of 2k probably - It needs a few touch ups. Nothing noticable until you get up close, but still...
I bought the N/A as I didn't want to go killing myself with a tubby. I think it was the right thing to do to be honest - They can catch you out quite easily if you're not used to them. Throw some boost into the equation and I can imagine things might get a bit hairy.
If you're genuinely interested drop me a line - I might be needing to get shot of it soonish anyway!
>> Edited by DanBoy on Friday 29th July 19:59
I bought the N/A as I didn't want to go killing myself with a tubby. I think it was the right thing to do to be honest - They can catch you out quite easily if you're not used to them. Throw some boost into the equation and I can imagine things might get a bit hairy.
If you're genuinely interested drop me a line - I might be needing to get shot of it soonish anyway!
>> Edited by DanBoy on Friday 29th July 19:59
MrFlibbles said:
AL!
I honestly think that all of these horror stories about handling are unfounded. Mine is very predictable as long as you give it just a tiny bit of respect.
You genreally have to spend a fair bit on a decent one if you don't want it to break. Otherwise you buy a cheap one and keep on fixing it!
N/A MR2s are definitely not disappointing by the way. If they were I wouldn't have kept mine for two years. Only recently have I started to crave more power... And possibly more seats.
I'll second that too. As for all the extra cost, I'm not really sure it is a great deal more than the n/a. Granted you will chew up tyres a tad faster, I used to get about 6-7K out of the rears, and you can normally double that with the front, but sevicing is no more expensive, and if you do it yourself, will take you a few hours at the most.
MrFlibbles said:
I honestly think that all of these horror stories about handling are unfounded. Mine is very predictable as long as you give it just a tiny bit of respect.
First point;
I'm only after the N/A till I get off this BA
ARD training scheme and onto real money. I'd be looking to upgrade this time next year. I personally thought a 180 bhp G-Limited would be a pretty good step towards turbo ownership. Am I wrong?
Second Point;
It's not the handling that scares me - I'm fine with the concept of mid/rear engine, having learnt to drive with a combination of a kart circuit and powerful off-road buggies. My natural style on road is slow-in fast-out which works quite well from a safety point of view.
The part that scares me is the potential for massive bills. I'll be borrowing the money (in addition to my *cough* large university debt) to both buy and insure this car. A £500 turbo repair I could live with, but what if the head goes 6 months later? What if the turbo goes in a big way and takes out the rings/bores, requiring a new engine? You get the idea..
Last time I was looking at one Gaz was kind enough to describe a few 'teething problems' with his car, and this time you've posted on the rolling road thread and mentioned a possible blown turbo.
I've test driven two MR2s and both were utterly knackered.
I know these aren't typical examples, (you never hear about the thousands of them that simply work all day every day) but they're all I have to go off.
The last car I owned was an Escort converitble 1.6; that was a money pit and I spent ages regretting buying it. I'd really really really rather wait until I can blow £5k on it and live in peace...
Can we have a quick vote?
Should Alan;
a) Buy an MRT now, on borrowed cash and pray it doesn't break
b) Buy the MR2 G-Ltd and wait till he can realistically afford the MRT
c) Stick with the trusty (but 130bhp) Rover until he wins the lottery/dies of car-related boredom
Despite the Anti-MRT tirade above I am still actually torn between a & b. It is a severe case of head Vs heart & adrenaline gland. All I can promise is that I will do one or the other!
Al, the above post reads very much like my story.
I also have large uni debts, I had to borrow the money to buy the MRT. And to be fair, I can safely say that I've had my fair share of problems, and spent a fair bit of money rectifying.
Luckily, the reason i bought the 2 was to celebrate my new job, which tbh means i'm "comfortble"
If i didnt have the financial security that I have now, the 2 would probbaly have been sold.
personally, I think i could've spent my money more wisely - but thats not what PHing is about is it?
Ultimatly, if you couldn't afford to fix minor niggles then getting the car is a bad idea - however, it must be noted that the problems I've encountered could've happened to an NA car too.
I've never been in in an NA let alone driven one, so I cant really comment on them - didnt think they were 180bhp though? Thought they were more like 160?
Flibbles final thought: Escort Convertible?
I also have large uni debts, I had to borrow the money to buy the MRT. And to be fair, I can safely say that I've had my fair share of problems, and spent a fair bit of money rectifying.
Luckily, the reason i bought the 2 was to celebrate my new job, which tbh means i'm "comfortble"
If i didnt have the financial security that I have now, the 2 would probbaly have been sold.
personally, I think i could've spent my money more wisely - but thats not what PHing is about is it?
Ultimatly, if you couldn't afford to fix minor niggles then getting the car is a bad idea - however, it must be noted that the problems I've encountered could've happened to an NA car too.
I've never been in in an NA let alone driven one, so I cant really comment on them - didnt think they were 180bhp though? Thought they were more like 160?
Flibbles final thought: Escort Convertible?
MrFlibbles said:
Al, the above post reads very much like my story.
If i didnt have the financial security that I have now, the 2 would probbaly have been sold.
I have got good job security, it's just I haven't got good pay...
MrFlibbles said:
personally, I think i could've spent my money more wisely - but thats not what PHing is about is it?
No it isn't, but neither is it about a nice car that's on axle stands pending your next three paycheques...
MrFlibbles said:
Ultimatly, if you couldn't afford to fix minor niggles then getting the car is a bad idea -
I'll fix the minor ones myself. Between a few friends and I we have 25 yrs experience of fixing jap turbos. It's the terrifyingly large niggles that worry me.
MrFlibbles said:
however, it must be noted that the problems I've encountered could've happened to an NA car too.
This is true...
MrFlibbles said:
I've never been in in an NA let alone driven one, so I cant really comment on them - didnt think they were 180bhp though? Thought they were more like 160?
Most are 150bhp IIRC. I've driven several and they're crap. I've raced two of them at once on one occasion (in the mighty Rover) and minced the pair of them. Three times.
MrFlibbles said:
Flibbles final thought: Escort Convertible?
Oi!
Yeah I know. I wanted a '2 even then but the insurance crippled me.. That was the best I could do!
It has to be said, in spite of my best efforts I'm not doing a good job of talking myself out of this...
I've spent an hour looking at them now when I'm cold and wet (from a rainy day on site) and really should have gone home by now.
BTW Russ, they did do them in Carribean blue, there's two for sale in my local area... Both T-bars though.
Edited repeately due to ineptitude with keybroad.
>> Edited by _Al_ on Saturday 30th July 20:00
I'll prob get flamed to cinders for this. I have a personal theory on the minimum amount of power necessary to have some fun on the queens highway.Its is 180bhp(familiar fig?) & ~150-160lbs/ft in something the approximate size & weight of say, an Escort.
Don't think you'd be disappointed with an N/A MR2 at all.You'd be doing better than the 'tuttle theory of b*ll*x' anyhow.
Other poss advantages would include: UK models,spares from scrappies & the like & insurance co's would smile benignly upon you.
Gazboy said:
As an asiode, Dan's MR2 would murder your rover, so it's still a nice enough jump to keep the enthusiasm sky-high.
I don't doubt it would, that's why I'm interested!
Gazboy said:
if you are worried about the bills, shouldn't you be worried about the Rover too?
The rover has actually proved near-unbelievably cheap. £350 a yr to insure, normally manages over 35mpg on a run, simple DIY maintenance, very kind to its' tyres...
It has spoilt me silly in all fairness. The only problems have been a new sensor cluster and a gearbox (which I replaced myself for £250).
The only problems with it are;
*Average looks
*'Acceptable' performance
*Novelty suspension
*Distorted flywheel, causes vibration on taking up drive in 1st/reverse gear
In other words, nothing a new car couldn't fix.
Just thought I'd mention, when I first got the MR2 after my 1.6 Golf it could accelerate faster than I could think. That probably sounds daft but it's true. Doesn't feel so fast now because I'm used to it, but that's the same with any car.
>> Edited by DanBoy on Sunday 31st July 17:10
>> Edited by DanBoy on Sunday 31st July 17:10
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