RE: SOTW: Mk2 Toyota MR2
Discussion
For those who believe the motoring press - watch this video....MR2 (Rev3 Turbo) Vs RX7 Vs Skyline GTR Vs Supra Vs NSX at Tsukuba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFEi-0Rx6J0
The MR2 Rev3 Turbo is fast and handles really well compared to these other cars that are more widely lauded.
The result of the video? MR2 shoots off the line into the lead and stays there until the end.
what the hell - pic w
e time.........
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFEi-0Rx6J0
The MR2 Rev3 Turbo is fast and handles really well compared to these other cars that are more widely lauded.
The result of the video? MR2 shoots off the line into the lead and stays there until the end.
what the hell - pic w
e time.........J4CKO said:
I don't get the obsession with mileage on a 20 year old car, were people meant to stash them awayin case you wanted it later on ?
I would be ignoring almost completely the odometer and looking at the invoices for work done, the state of the body and how it drives and not a fairly arbitrary and often plain wrong mileage reading.
Ok on a car up to what, five years old it has more relevance but on something this old you buy on condition, I really don't trust mileages, cant imagine for instance there are many low mileage 3 series BMW's out there from private dealers, clocking is rife, in fact this may have lost 60k at some point in its life as well.
I know someone who justifies a change of car as it has 60k on and rejects possible replacements due to it having covered the epic distance of 35,000 miles.
All MR2's will probably be a little baggy by now, if that bothers you don't buy a twenty year old car.
There are loads of ruined ones of these out there, this looks quite good, as long as the interior isnt a whiffy old bin, the body is good and it drives ok then I dotn see an issue.
This.^^^I would be ignoring almost completely the odometer and looking at the invoices for work done, the state of the body and how it drives and not a fairly arbitrary and often plain wrong mileage reading.
Ok on a car up to what, five years old it has more relevance but on something this old you buy on condition, I really don't trust mileages, cant imagine for instance there are many low mileage 3 series BMW's out there from private dealers, clocking is rife, in fact this may have lost 60k at some point in its life as well.
I know someone who justifies a change of car as it has 60k on and rejects possible replacements due to it having covered the epic distance of 35,000 miles.
All MR2's will probably be a little baggy by now, if that bothers you don't buy a twenty year old car.
There are loads of ruined ones of these out there, this looks quite good, as long as the interior isnt a whiffy old bin, the body is good and it drives ok then I dotn see an issue.
I'm selling mine right now so some self-interest in this article ;-). The advice to go for a rev3+ is not necessarily a great idea. They have more HP, but a lot of added safety features made them heavier, and therefore a little bit slower than the rev 1/2. Of course, the rev 1 was what gave it the reputation, and then the rev 2 calmed it down somewhat (still easy to get out of shape if you don't pay attention!). In terms of reliability, nothing has gone wrong with mine at all, apart from a radiator leak. It's nearly 20 years old, so that's not bad for 6 years of driving it.
thewheelman said:
Driven several versions of both MX5 & MR2, can't say the MR2 came close to the handling precision of the MX5.
The MK2 MR2 was widely mocked due to its handling, where as the MX5 is globally known as a drivers car.
Watch the video I posted above and let us know what you think.....The MK2 MR2 was widely mocked due to its handling, where as the MX5 is globally known as a drivers car.
The MX5 was mocked for years as a girls car and has now (finally) been recognised as a great sportscar. Just goes to show that the general man on the street knows nothing about cars and they can be given unfair reputations.
Zircon said:
For those who believe the motoring press - watch this video....MR2 (Rev3 Turbo) Vs RX7 Vs Skyline GTR Vs Supra Vs NSX at Tsukuba
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFEi-0Rx6J0
The MR2 Rev3 Turbo is fast and handles really well compared to these other cars that are more widely lauded.
The result of the video? MR2 shoots off the line into the lead and stays there until the end.
what the hell - pic we time.........
love it, that is real life Gran Turismo 4 !http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFEi-0Rx6J0
The MR2 Rev3 Turbo is fast and handles really well compared to these other cars that are more widely lauded.
The result of the video? MR2 shoots off the line into the lead and stays there until the end.
what the hell - pic w
e time.........Not 5, as that was a dissapointment...
angusc43 said:
Krikkit said:
One for the bad parking thread?
The Mrs's MR2 and her current MX5 and my Cayman (all bought brand new) all exhibited exactly that 'characteristic'; I've always assumed it to be 'what paint can do' given either a 'plastic' or metal background and/or bumpers being sprayed not attached and/or the way the junction is detailed, therefore catches the light.
The Mk1 & Mk2 MR2s were great cars and way more special than any 'hot hatch' of the time; had no affection whatsoever for the Mk3 as I thought it's design was truly retrograde/underwhelming compared to it's predecessors.
Zircon said:
thewheelman said:
Driven several versions of both MX5 & MR2, can't say the MR2 came close to the handling precision of the MX5.
The MK2 MR2 was widely mocked due to its handling, where as the MX5 is globally known as a drivers car.
Watch the video I posted above and let us know what you think.....The MK2 MR2 was widely mocked due to its handling, where as the MX5 is globally known as a drivers car.
The MX5 was mocked for years as a girls car and has now (finally) been recognised as a great sportscar. Just goes to show that the general man on the street knows nothing about cars and they can be given unfair reputations.
Zircon said:
Watch the video I posted above and let us know what you think.....
The MX5 was mocked for years as a girls car and has now (finally) been recognised as a great sportscar. Just goes to show that the general man on the street knows nothing about cars and they can be given unfair reputations.
When I was looking at replacing my NA MR2, I drove quite a few Japanese turbo jobbies. 200sx, RX7, and so on, as well as some MX5's, bit none of them felt anywhere near as precise and the Mr2. The MX5 was more hooliganesque, certainly. Getting the arse out was fairly easy, but hustling through corners I felt it was just too 'squishy' if that made any sense? The MR2 I had just owned felt far better to me, (as I prefer a precise car, rather than a tail happy one, like the 200sx I drove). The MX5 was mocked for years as a girls car and has now (finally) been recognised as a great sportscar. Just goes to show that the general man on the street knows nothing about cars and they can be given unfair reputations.
So, albeit subjective, the MR2 was the more precise, and the MX5 the more slidable.
I worked for a Toyota dealer when the Rev2 came out. The boss always had one as his demo and we used to use them as runabouts. Always found them tricky when lifting off mid-bend, but otherwise fairly decent handling if you knew what to expect.
Our young recently qualified mechanic at the time took a box-fresh one out after PDI'ing it and he drove back 10 minutes later with a telegraph-pole shaped dent in the nearside door, bad enough that the inner door trim was 2 inches from the centre console! We had to prise the poor lads' fingers off the steering wheel. He was a lucky sod apart from the rollocking from the manager. He learnt about new tyres and country roads the hard way.
Our young recently qualified mechanic at the time took a box-fresh one out after PDI'ing it and he drove back 10 minutes later with a telegraph-pole shaped dent in the nearside door, bad enough that the inner door trim was 2 inches from the centre console! We had to prise the poor lads' fingers off the steering wheel. He was a lucky sod apart from the rollocking from the manager. He learnt about new tyres and country roads the hard way.
splitpin said:
Uncle John said:
Such a shame Toyota don't make cars like this anymore though....
+1 
MR2, Celica & Supra all stood together in the showroom - great times!
Toyota boss: 'Our cars should be fun to drive'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/motoring/motor-shows/to...
newdogg06 said:
I worked for a Toyota dealer when the Rev2 came out. The boss always had one as his demo and we used to use them as runabouts. Always found them tricky when lifting off mid-bend, but otherwise fairly decent handling if you knew what to expect.
If you do that in any MR car, you are going to have a bad time.
Frimley111R said:
Its not the engine thats the issue, its everything else that also has 185k of wear and tear.
He's right. An engine lasting that long isn't that unusual anymore and provided the oil and belts have been done reasonably regularly, I wouldn't be concerned. But every other part having covered that distance is a concern. Think suspension bushes, shocks, gearbox, wheel bearings, even consumables like the clutch that won't be it's first but still might need replacement. Even the seats and interior trimmings, hell - anything. It's all worn.None of this is the end of the world (/car), but it does mean it's not necessarily as much of a bargain as it seems.
Despite all of this, I still think buying high-mileage-good-condition is a clever way to scoop a bargain that might scare others off. I know people with <30k mileage cars that are totally ruined, just by poor maintenance and bad driving!! So I guess details and receipts are what this needs.
Incidentally, my MX5 is 22 years old, but it's only done <90k just because a lot of previous owners were 'Sunday drivers' and didn't use it much. It happens more with sports cars.
SimonSaid said:
He's right. An engine lasting that long isn't that unusual anymore and provided the oil and belts have been done reasonably regularly, I wouldn't be concerned. But every other part having covered that distance is a concern. Think suspension bushes, shocks, gearbox, wheel bearings, even consumables like the clutch that won't be it's first but still might need replacement. Even the seats and interior trimmings, hell - anything. It's all worn.
None of this is the end of the world (/car), but it does mean it's not necessarily as much of a bargain as it seems.
Despite all of this, I still think buying high-mileage-good-condition is a clever way to scoop a bargain that might scare others off. I know people with <30k mileage cars that are totally ruined, just by poor maintenance and bad driving!! So I guess details and receipts are what this needs.
Depends what has been replaced, basically if bushes, dampers, wheel bearings etc degrade too much the car wont get an MOT and they will be replaced, I doubt very much of the suspension is as it left the factory.None of this is the end of the world (/car), but it does mean it's not necessarily as much of a bargain as it seems.
Despite all of this, I still think buying high-mileage-good-condition is a clever way to scoop a bargain that might scare others off. I know people with <30k mileage cars that are totally ruined, just by poor maintenance and bad driving!! So I guess details and receipts are what this needs.
My thinking is that if something works, eg the gearbox goes in all the gears and doesnt make any undue noise then its all good.
A car is an average of its parts, its condition, you see it and make a call on what needs doing, if it is too much to be worth it then look at the next one, seek out cars where the owner has already been down this route and at 20 years/185k I expect it has had a fair amount of attention, basically try to reap the benefit of someone elses time and money.
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