MR2 (UK mk2) - Decent first car?

[MazingerZ]

Always been an admirer of these, and now that I can finally drive (I'm 31!) I was thinking of picking one up as a first car.

Good idea; or daft? Anything else I should be looking at (pretty tight budget of £3000)?

[Sam1990]

If insurance isn't an issue then I'd say go for it providing you don't need 4 seats, luggace space is generous for a car of its type and plenty of cabin storage to match. It will obviously have completely different handling characteristics compared to the car your learned in but I don't need to tell you that as at 31 I'm sure you won't be the typical new driver menace. £3000 will get you an absolute minter UK MK2, possibly rev 4 or even 5. Rev 3 upwards is the way forward as you'll gain the extra power as well as the revised handling making it less prone to sharp lift-off oversteer.

Reliability wise they are pretty solid if servicing schedules are kept up, suspension may be a little tired by now but at that price you'll be buying towards the higher end of the market so they should be pretty clean. Rust is the main thing to look for, arches, sills, bottom of drivers door being common but have a good look underneath as it may not always be visible. Running costs are reasonable from what I've read, my turbo can be fairly good on fuel if kept off boost so I'm sure the NA will be better.

Congrats on passing the test and enjoy the car if you do go ahead.

[MazingerZ]

Thanks for the info and advice.

I've got no kids, so back seat space is a non-issue for me and I'm certainly won't be wrapping around any trees, new driver-style at this age (well, I hope not anyway!).

Time to start the hunt for a good one.

[psychoR1]

Not sure where you are based but as said £3k would get you a mint Rev5 mk2. Take a look on the imoc website - always a few for sale on there. You can insure as a classic - I use classic line for mine and would reccomended them. As already said the mk2 is very practical for a 2 seater.

[MazingerZ]

Based in Herts/North London, but I'd travel for a good one.

[psychoR1]

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/2013...

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16717...

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=16949...

4 options for you there - the 2 from IMOC look the best to me but take a look.

Make sure you look at the IMOC site. Main things to check on these at this price point is rust in particualr on the cills, clutch and cambelt Note its a none interference engine tho'.

Happy to answer any questions - Mine was just over shed budget but has since had wheels and a turbo conversion pic below:

[Liamsaid]

The problem you'll have getting one of these as a first car is that everything you drive afterwards will feel dull and not as special, unless you spend big money on your next car.

The other thing is even the youngest Mk2 is getting on a bit now, so you'll need to be prepared to get your hands dirty on the little jobs that any car of its age will need.

On the whole, they are great. I've had my UK Rev3 T-bar for 6 years and still love it.

[MazingerZ]

Thanks for the links.

Is high mileage much of an issue with these? I guess a well serviced high miler, is better than a poorly maintained low miler?

[psychoR1]

They're pretty simple and robust. Higher mileage = more suspension ware but engines rarely fail.
Plenty have done over 150k some over 200k.
You need to buy on condition.
There's a good specialist called pacific works near Luton.

[MazingerZ]

This is all great stuff. Thanks a lot.

I'm up to my nuts in work for the next week, but hopefully should be able to take a week out after that to view some cars and do a bit of reading up.

[Mr MXT]

How about something like an e36 BMW to get use to RWD, before throwing mid engined characteristics into the mix too?

[MazingerZ]

I certainly wouldn't be against the idea.

[psychoR1]

I wouldn't say that an mr2 is any trickier to drive than an rw drive car and certainly as a package it feels more like a sports car than a BM coupe.

[_Al_]

psychoR1 said:

I wouldn't say that an mr2 is any trickier to drive than an rw drive car and certainly as a package it feels more like a sports car than a BM coupe.

Much though I love my MR2s I wouldn't argue with the idea of something else RWD as a "break in". That said, I went straight into MR2s myself and that seems to be working out Ok.


OP- I'm in Enfield so if you want a look around one and a talk through the common problems drop me a PM...

[psychoR1]

In Hertford with mine but as a turbo not so user friendly....

[MazingerZ]

I dropped snotrag on imoc a message about his Rev.5, so we'll see how that goes - it looks a good one.

[Kateg28]

psychoR1 said:

In Hertford with mine but as a turbo not so user friendly....

Will look out for you. Wave if you see me!

I am no help to the OP as I have a mk1.

[SonicShadow]

3K gives you the pick of late UK NA's with plenty of change.

I don't see the problem with it as a first car if thats what you want - they are mechanically simple for the most part, making it easy to self maintain if you want to, or just to learn basic things like service items, brake changes etc. Yes, if you poke it the wrong way you'll have a bad time, but the same will happen in any car without electronics to let you get away with bad driving.

I've had mine for 2 and a bit years now (first car was a 1.2 Corsa C), and its been awesome, got me through winter without killing me (contrary to popular belief!):



It has enough space for a long weekend away for two, and with some creative packaging, you can transport all manner of things with it:





Everything to watch out for has been said already really - bear in mind even the youngest of them out there are going to be 13-14 years old now - expect some rust, expect things to be worn, expect to carry out preventative maintenance!

[MazingerZ]

haha, see I knew they were practical.

Love the wheels on the top pic.

[psychoR1]

MazingerZ said:

I dropped snotrag on imoc a message about his Rev.5, so we'll see how that goes - it looks a good one.

I think he may also be on here with same user name and the car is known which us a plus.