944/mr2-t

[ol' dirty]

Has anyone got any past history with these cars? Im after something for the weekend as the summer is drawing closer

[wadgebeast]

Had a mk1 MR2 for a couple of years. Or are you after the larger but more wallowy mk2?? If it's the latter, go for the newest you can get - they sorted the suspension to make it behave more like the sharper Mk1.

If it's a play car, get something without a roof...... you won't regret it.

[ol' dirty]

was looking at a mk1 but thought i would like the more powerful turbo...
On the other hand I thought reliability would be a problem...thats were the porsche comes in.

[splodge s4]

I had an H reg MR2 about 7 years ago, UK car, if i remember its only imports that are turbo, there were no official UK turbo cars, i could be wrong though. They are fun, comfy driving position & nice flick it gear shift. It handled well enough, not fantastic but good enough. It would go through atleast 2, sometimes 3 sets of rear tyres for one set of fronts though, the roadster i had afterwards wore all 4 tyres at the same rate.

I didnt have any probs with it at all, I px'ed it for the roadster at the dealer, apparantly just at the right time, they sold it on with a full toyota warranty & a month or so later the clutch went along with the head gasket!

I was even in the MR2 drivers club, odd group, nice guys but i remember some of them wouldnt drive their Mk1s with about 120,000 miles (so worth about £500) to the meet as they didnt want to put any more miles on the clock... but its a driving club!

[wadgebeast]

My mate had a mark 2 turbo (they are all imports). Blew some of the tubing into the turbo and had to pay through the neck to get it sorted. Needed expensive rubber to keep it on the road, but at least they'd tweaked the suspension a bit to make it turn it better.

Quick cars, probably quicker than the porsche.

Still think you should get something without a roof! Enjoy the summer sunshine, it's going to be a scorcher.

[Moose.]

If you get an MR2, make bloody sure it's got good service history. Here's the sump of my brother's one after a few months of him using it:


which are from the big end shells:


You really don't want to have to do an engine swap on an MR2! Hate to think what a garage would have charged.

[yellowvette]

The MR2 turbos are definately all imports, they weren't sold here officially. That said, Toyota made an official statement some time ago that they will support and service all Toyotas' whether official UK cars or not. The engine in the turbo is the same as used in the Celica turbo (GT4 I think) which was sold here, so the dealers and specialists will know the engine. I did some research on these a few years ago when I was looking to buy one, but I ended up with a Nissan 300ZX twin-turbo. I did test drive both a non-turbo and a turbo MR2 and have to say the turbo is far better. The non-turbo felt a bit slow to me, but the turbo was seriously rapid. Same 0-60 times as the 300ZXTT, around 5.5 secs. My research also suggested that they are tough and reliable if looked after properly.
As for the 944 - I've never liked them myself, but it's all down to personal preference.

[mechsympathy]

Moose. said:

If you get an MR2, make bloody sure it's got good service history. Here's the sump of my brother's one after a few months of him using it:

Did he use it for chocolate fondues?

Edited by mechsympathy on Monday 8th January 16:31

[dkl]

I've got a 944S which I use all winter. Great cars to drive, build quality is amazingly good for a 17 year old car.
Usual things when looking but I would get it checked over, you should be able to offset the cost of the inspection by knocking the price down with the results!
S2 is probably the one to buy (about 5K will get you a good one) but they are hard to modify. The newer turbos (about 6-7K)put out 250bhp but are very easy to adapt to 300-330 which makes a very cheap car for that sort of oommph.
Bodies are starting to rot and sills are about 1K each to have put right properly.
Would I have another - oh yes but with a bit more go.

Edited by dkl on Monday 8th January 20:15

[Bomber Denton]

I have has two 944s and I love them to bits, my first one was about 10 yrs ago and that was an early 2.5 Lux and my second which I sold last year was an S (16V)
Fantastic build qualty, not quick but very rewarding on the twisties due to the near neutral weight distribution (gearbox in back).

Make sure you keep an eye on the balance belts and enjoy

[ol' dirty]

Thanks for all the info, TBH the bit about the MR2 is a little scary! I am not allowed to spend any more money on cars till we get this year out of the way, so thats that idea gone!
However- I am allowed to have a car to commute (shes so understanding)

Once the poogeot has been sold I will have a little over 2k to spend on a toy.
I have been racking my brain for ideas but cant seem to come up with anything that ticks all the boxes!

So, I thought I would ask on here for your ideas on the best toy for 2k

[S2 Giles]

A friend of mine has just bought an MG ZS 2.5 V6 for 2500 ish. For your budget you'd have to get one with some miles on it but they are so cheap due to the demise of MG Rover.

It pulls really well & sounds great too. His is on a Y plate i think, so a newish car for the dosh.

I'll think about alternatives for you.....

[S2 Giles]

Ol'dirty

Shooting from the hip.... how about

Fiat Coupe Turbo
VW Golf VR6
VW Girly Golf Convertible 1995 (73k miles) £2000
Renault Clio Williams (110k tho)
Fiat Barchetta
Mustang 3.8 V6 - bland shape version tho
MGF with 125k on it
Volvo T5 if you have sprogs
Vauxhall Calibra V6

STOP THE PRESS.......IVE FOUND YOU A CAR
TVR 280i FHC wedge in nice condition (1984 with 90k)for £1850

Any good ?

[S2 Giles]

By the way

944 are great, 944 turbo are superb

MR2 turbo's eat clutches and turbo's - another friend of mine ran an import business and stopped importing MR2 turbo's due to them being fragile. Normal MR2's are good fun tho.

[negative creep]

isn't the 2.5 944 better than the 2.7? Are any ofd the non turbo or S2 models remotely quick?

[ol' dirty]

S2 Giles said:

Ol'dirty

Shooting from the hip.... how about

Fiat Coupe Turbo
VW Golf VR6
VW Girly Golf Convertible 1995 (73k miles) £2000
Renault Clio Williams (110k tho)
Fiat Barchetta
Mustang 3.8 V6 - bland shape version tho
MGF with 125k on it
Volvo T5 if you have sprogs
Vauxhall Calibra V6

STOP THE PRESS.......IVE FOUND YOU A CAR
TVR 280i FHC wedge in nice condition (1984 with 90k)for £1850

Any good ?

Had a fiat coupe Turbo looking into again

Golf Gti already had one
Clio Sport-00 had one

Barchetta a little on the slow side + left hookers only,

MGF thought about (not sure on image + working on engine-Is it hood off to change plugs?),

T5 - tempted by the 5 cylinder sound!

Calibra V6...image again.... Apologies if you have one of these cars, its all IMO of course!

The Tiv sounds interesting, where did you see it mate?
Also I have seen the zs', I remeber Vicky Butler Henderson raving on about it on Top Gear

Edited by ol' dirty on Wednesday 10th January 18:32

[ol' dirty]

Was it the Red one in classifieds?

Edited by ol' dirty on Wednesday 10th January 18:39

[S2 Giles]

Check out the classifieds on this very site.

Goto TVR, Wedges
theres a nice 350i convertible with the V8 for £2500 and the FHC is 1850

FYI - on classifieds, do a search (tabsa at top) for anything 1500-2000