Upgrade to an MR2, opinions?

[James2593]

I'm currently driving a shed of a 2000 corsa mainly due to insurance cost and that it's peanuts to run. But I want something faster, near enough red lining in 1st and 2nd with my foot welded to the floor through 1st 2nd and 3rd on even medium length motorway slip roads is becoming tedious.

I'm looking at an n/a MR2 MK2 preferably Rev 3+, mainly due to it being RWD and having over 100bhp more than the current car, faster too. Above all, it's more fun. Being a student, practicality is quite low at the priorities so I don't mind only having 2 seats not the biggest boot in the world.

The question is; will it be viable to run? As (with all things) the obstacle is cost. I'm working part time bringing home around £300-£450 a month, plus a little extra from other odd jobs (all legit ). I have savings which will pay for the car and the added insurance cost to swap the car on the policy. i'll have around 1k-1.5k of savings left after car and insurance is paid. Elephant (i'm not naming and shaming so I presume naming the company is allowed, apologies if it's not) want just over 1k extra to change the car (policy runs out in march 2014). I'd consider this expensive, but i'm semi prepared to pay it.

However, i'm looking at moving in with my girlfriend in the next few months and don't want to live incredibly conservatively just to run a better car.

I'm 20, had licence for 2 and a half years and 2 years NCB. Got 3 points for an SP50.

Basically, do I;

- Wait until the corsa dies, which may be a long time, i've had it a year and a half and it's never let me down. Pretty much owes me nothing, apart from consumables and servicing items. It's on 86k miles, had it since 65k and bought it for £100.

- Sod the financial implications and buy an MR2

- Wait until March when the policy runs out and have a lower insurance cost due to (touch wood) having racked up 3 years NCB. Doing this will also allow me to assess my finances better as i'll probably be living with the GF then.

Sorry for the long post, but needed to get as much info as possible in. Oh, I do around 15k miles PA.

TL;DR - Want a faster car, is it worth spending what would be considered a large proportion of savings on it?

[beeblebrox]

James2593 said:

- Sod the financial implications and buy an MR2

I think you answered your own question!

[danjama]

Buy the mr2.

Mine has cost me no more than my 2005 1.4 Fiesta to run.

It will be a massive thrill over your Corsa and make you smile every drive.

And yes, I love mine.

Head to mr2oc and imoc for lots of knowledge and advice. Ready up and find what to look for.

Might be worth getting a refund on your current policy and getting the 2 on a classic policy though. If the refund is crap, i would probably wait until the policy has run out as they will rape you to change mid term.

Gratuitous photo of her good side.


Biscuit factory by danjama, on Flickr

Edited by danjama on Monday 24th June 18:03

[Jim the Sunderer]

You have to buy one of these with both eyes open, there's some proper dogs out there nowadays.

[300bhp/ton]

The MR2 is a nice car and quicker than many will give it credit for. Should be fairly ok to run but there are risks as with any car. Personally I'd look for a Rev 1 as it should offer up a sharper drive than the later Revs.

[James2593]

Thanks all for the responses. I've just looked at classic insurance but all that I have looked at require all drivers to be over 21. They're also limited mileage, usually around 7.5k which isn't suitable. I'll keep looking though.

I'll have to see what level of refund I will get by cancelling the policy, i'm only losing that plus 3 and a bit months of no claims.

300bhp/ton said:

The MR2 is a nice car and quicker than many will give it credit for. Should be fairly ok to run but there are risks as with any car. Personally I'd look for a Rev 1 as it should offer up a sharper drive than the later Revs.

I though Rev 1 and 2 produced lower BHP? Think it's 158 off the top of my head.

[danjama]

James2593 said:

I though Rev 1 and 2 produced lower BHP? Think it's 158 off the top of my head.

Correct but the geometry was supposed to be more 'sporty' and they were slightly lighter as minus power steering.

At the age these cars are at, if you find one on original suspension it will probably be sloppy anyway. Buy on condition and budget, IE a mint Rev1 over a rough Rev3. But the rev3 seems to be the sweet point for budget/condition at the moment.

It should be easy to tell a car that has been looked after. It will have honest bodywork and a stable idle speed when warm. A staggered wheel setup with good tyres is also a sign of someone who cares.

This looks a bargain.

http://www.imoc.co.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17220...

[chris7676]

danjama said:

Correct but the geometry was supposed to be more 'sporty' and they were slightly lighter as minus power steering.

AFAIK they all had power steering (my rev1 turbo had an electric pump in the front).
And it was mostly the smaller wheels / tyres that made them bit crazy rather than sporty.

[james_gt3rs]

At 15k miles, the fuel cost will be noticeable. If the Corsa does 40mpg it will cost you around £2000 per year, if the MR2 does 30mpg it will cost closer to £3000. Add in the road tax, cost of tyres, and insurance etc. You'll have to do the sums and see if you can justify it!

[CDP]

300bhp/ton said:

The MR2 is a nice car and quicker than many will give it credit for. Should be fairly ok to run but there are risks as with any car. Personally I'd look for a Rev 1 as it should offer up a sharper drive than the later Revs.

The Rev1 came with a few bugs which were ironed out in latter editions. I'd avoid - besides they're now all 20 years old.

Check state of radiator, front to rear pipes, gear linkage, brakes (on rev. 1). All known trouble spots that can be costly.

[300bhp/ton]

CDP said:

The Rev1 came with a few bugs which were ironed out in latter editions. I'd avoid - besides they're now all 20 years old.

In truth I'd buy any year, and base it on condition.

That said I do still believe the Rev 1 is the one to have, it had more precise turnin and handling. The only reason this was changed was due to over hyping a media article where some numpty reported crashed one and blamed the car.

As for age, well even the youngest is old enough to suffer the same issues as the oldest ones and vice versa.

[CDP]

300bhp/ton said:

CDP said:

The Rev1 came with a few bugs which were ironed out in latter editions. I'd avoid - besides they're now all 20 years old.

In truth I'd buy any year, and base it on condition.

That said I do still believe the Rev 1 is the one to have, it had more precise turnin and handling. The only reason this was changed was due to over hyping a media article where some numpty reported crashed one and blamed the car.

As for age, well even the youngest is old enough to suffer the same issues as the oldest ones and vice versa.

Admittedly it was about year 2000 to 2001 but my Rev 1 was capable of racking up massive bills. Mostly dealing with design faults. The brakes were woefully underspeced and would overheat quite easily resulting in jammed calipers, ruined rotors and pads. That would happen a couple of times per year. Gearlinkage failed (twice), steering faults, suspension issues (understandable given the state of the roads round here), alternator faults and total engine failure.

The engine issues are more common in rev. 1 cars (I knew 4 other people with failed MR2s, we were sitting round the table one lunchbreak at work discussing where to get engines from) due to cooling problems.

[Devil2575]

James2593 said:

I'm 20, had licence for 2 and a half years and 2 years NCB. Got 3 points for an SP50.

- Want a faster car,

Hmmm...

Personally i'd wait a while.

[slipstream 1985]

have you checked the difference in insurance from the N/A to the turbo...? its not alot, just saying

[Ug_lee]

Devil2575 said:

Hmmm...

Personally i'd wait a while.

I'd echo that sentiment too. For the money you earn and miles you do you'll end up with a dog rough example that will give you no end of bother.
When the Mk2 is in fine fettle and you are on top of everything it is a great car. But unfortunately the majority of them have been run by people in a similar situation to yourselves where they have to run them on a shoe string. Just look in the classifieds, there is some real horrors out there now.

If you HAVE to have one, then to me the Rev2 n/a is the one I'd go for. The engine feels much torquier rather than the later units. However real world difference is absolutely nil.
The Rev2 had the uprated brakes and compared to later revs seems to benefit from better quality carpets, soundproofing possibly even the steel that is used in the shell and some components too!

[RedAndy]

I'd say avoid MR2 based on your age/NCD/points. They are quite expensive to insure. Try something more off the wall instead... something still fun, faster than what you have, yet insurance friendly.

...I'm thinking Primera GT - don't knock it til you've tried it

323 TDi
Almera 2.2DCi
Ford Puma

[danjama]

Has anyone said MX5 yet?

[samdale]

slipstream 1985 said:

have you checked the difference in insurance from the N/A to the turbo...? its not alot, just saying

Depends on your age I guess? I bought mine at 23 and a turbo was c.175% of the cost to insure my n/a.

I'd definitely go with a later Rev though OP. A friends rev 1 feels notably slower than my rev 5 and both seem to be running as well as they should.

Depending on how you drive it my mpg has been up to 37 on a run and in the 20's if you give it some. However unless I give it a really hard time I rarely see below 30 mpg.

Only trouble I've had is seized callipers. If it happens, stop asap to save your discs. One seized and was replaced, another seized which I managed to get home and free off and it's been fine since.

[Slow]

RedAndy said:

I'd say avoid MR2 based on your age/NCD/points. They are quite expensive to insure. Try something more off the wall instead... something still fun, faster than what you have, yet insurance friendly.

...I'm thinking Primera GT - don't knock it til you've tried it

323 TDi
Almera 2.2DCi
Ford Puma

Just ran quotes for myself but made myself 19 (4 months away).
With 1 years no claims licence for a year and a half.

Mr2 na - £800 insurance
Mr2 turbo - £850

[LasseV]

For the first rwd car, i'm not sure if the mr2 turbo is the right one.. N/a for sure, but is the turbo too handful?