Where have all the MR2s gone?
Discussion
I can see a fair number of SW20s for sale here
that's an aggregator site so there is some duplication and some will have sold, but still look to be quite a few cars around.
Fundamentally though they are old cars and are vulnerable to rust and crashes, and to a lesser extent engines expiring due to abuse/poor servicing. Then because they've been at bargain basement prices for ages, they aren't worth repairing when they need major repairs so get scrapped.
Edit - made link unformatted as the double-underscores within it were being mangled by PH forum code.
https://www.newsnow.co.uk/classifieds/cars-vans-for-sale/toyota-mr2?s=price-desc&motoring__model_year_from=1990&motoring__model_year_to=1998
that's an aggregator site so there is some duplication and some will have sold, but still look to be quite a few cars around.
Fundamentally though they are old cars and are vulnerable to rust and crashes, and to a lesser extent engines expiring due to abuse/poor servicing. Then because they've been at bargain basement prices for ages, they aren't worth repairing when they need major repairs so get scrapped.
Edit - made link unformatted as the double-underscores within it were being mangled by PH forum code.
Edited by samoht on Monday 11th January 11:41
It's a mixture of rust killing cars and prices are high so people aren't selling them. They are keeping hold of them waiting to get into silly money.
Last summer I were looking to get a Mk2 MR2 but found that people were wanting silly money for a Rev1/2/3 non turbo which were practically rust buckets. They were wanting over £2000 for a car that needed rear arches and subframes repair/replacing. A good non turbo were around £3500-£5000 depending on Rev1-5. I'm sure I remember seeing a Rev5 £6000 with 100k miles on it as well but it were very clean.
I ended up getting a Mk3 instead. Yes it's not the quickest or the best looking MR2 but it's really fun. Bought mine as a project so it's rough but it's not rotten.
If you are after a light sports car then the Mk3 is great. Don't get me wrong the practicality side is shocking but the are is built for driving not carrying stuff. If you can find one with a hard top you've got £1000 there. One thing for sure is I can't wait for the spring so I can do a little work on the car and drive it some more.
Last summer I were looking to get a Mk2 MR2 but found that people were wanting silly money for a Rev1/2/3 non turbo which were practically rust buckets. They were wanting over £2000 for a car that needed rear arches and subframes repair/replacing. A good non turbo were around £3500-£5000 depending on Rev1-5. I'm sure I remember seeing a Rev5 £6000 with 100k miles on it as well but it were very clean.
I ended up getting a Mk3 instead. Yes it's not the quickest or the best looking MR2 but it's really fun. Bought mine as a project so it's rough but it's not rotten.
If you are after a light sports car then the Mk3 is great. Don't get me wrong the practicality side is shocking but the are is built for driving not carrying stuff. If you can find one with a hard top you've got £1000 there. One thing for sure is I can't wait for the spring so I can do a little work on the car and drive it some more.
Interesting. Thanks.
Most on that Newsnow site are sold or no longer available.
I've had my Rev 4 for ever. Still looks nice superficially but a few problems are starting to crop up.
Just checking out the market to see if I could / should replace it or keep spending money on it.
I'll probably just keep on dithering and doing enough to get it though an MOT until it becomes unsustainable.
There used to be loads for sale in the £100s but not any more. Finding a good UK car without nasty wheels and bodykits is becoming harder.
Most on that Newsnow site are sold or no longer available.
I've had my Rev 4 for ever. Still looks nice superficially but a few problems are starting to crop up.
Just checking out the market to see if I could / should replace it or keep spending money on it.
I'll probably just keep on dithering and doing enough to get it though an MOT until it becomes unsustainable.
There used to be loads for sale in the £100s but not any more. Finding a good UK car without nasty wheels and bodykits is becoming harder.
I suspect many have been broken for parts, are sat under car covers on driveways or are just dead - those that aren't are either in the hands of enthusiasts unwilling to part with them, command a tidy sum because the sellers know there aren't many around now or need a lot of work doing.
I'd love another MK2 Turbo but I can't see it ever happening now.
If you have a Mk2 MR2 then definitely keep it. Even if you don't do anything with it. They are going up in value all the time.
I bought my Mk3 roadster really cheap as I know that they will go up in value as well. Planning on keeping it until petrol is non existent.
If you want to buy a MK2 save up for a Turbo or if you can source the BEAMS engine one or 94/95 reg as they had the most power from the 2.0l (IIRC 178bhp).
I bought my Mk3 roadster really cheap as I know that they will go up in value as well. Planning on keeping it until petrol is non existent.
If you want to buy a MK2 save up for a Turbo or if you can source the BEAMS engine one or 94/95 reg as they had the most power from the 2.0l (IIRC 178bhp).
Yeah my ideal MR2 would be a Rev 4 turbo T Bar but that looks like a standard UK car and has red paint that doesn't fade.
Trouble is all turbos are imports and most seem to have dubious body kits and aftermarket wheels on them.
I'd probably settle for a Blue turbo that hasn't been modified.
Trouble is all turbos are imports and most seem to have dubious body kits and aftermarket wheels on them.
I'd probably settle for a Blue turbo that hasn't been modified.
MR2's are in a funny in-between at the moment.
As people have said, rust has killed them or trees, as a lot of them get crashed. If they survived that, most have been ruined by mechanical and cosmetic modifications. I'd argue it's the most abused 90s Japanese car.
I own a very clean near stand turbo rev 3 car that I've advertised at the top of the market because there just isn't a comparable car available.
However people just don't seem to be interested. They seem to want a modified one for 1/2 the price in a dubious condition and a heinous body kit. The price they expect seems to be about 5 years behind current sale prices.
I've had countless people telling me they can get a decent rev 3 turbo for £3k whilst half decent NA cars are advertised for £5k.
As people have said, rust has killed them or trees, as a lot of them get crashed. If they survived that, most have been ruined by mechanical and cosmetic modifications. I'd argue it's the most abused 90s Japanese car.
I own a very clean near stand turbo rev 3 car that I've advertised at the top of the market because there just isn't a comparable car available.
However people just don't seem to be interested. They seem to want a modified one for 1/2 the price in a dubious condition and a heinous body kit. The price they expect seems to be about 5 years behind current sale prices.
I've had countless people telling me they can get a decent rev 3 turbo for £3k whilst half decent NA cars are advertised for £5k.
I had a tubby for 11 years which I sold 2.5 years ago. I sold it to a guy from Germany who imported them. I was something along the lines of the 120th that he had imported! They are hard to come by on the continent as they are rhd.
They haven't got the cult status as they didn't feature in fast and furious. The values have risen but nowhere near the skylines etc and I don't think they will do. Mine was starting to show rust signs, had just cost me a small fortune and I knew it would start costing even more to address the rust, certainly more than the appreciation.
Great cars but as you say they've been crushed crashed exported etc...
They haven't got the cult status as they didn't feature in fast and furious. The values have risen but nowhere near the skylines etc and I don't think they will do. Mine was starting to show rust signs, had just cost me a small fortune and I knew it would start costing even more to address the rust, certainly more than the appreciation.
Great cars but as you say they've been crushed crashed exported etc...
t wing on it? +££££££White-Noise said:
I had a tubby for 11 years which I sold 2.5 years ago. I sold it to a guy from Germany who imported them. I was something along the lines of the 120th that he had imported! They are hard to come by on the continent as they are rhd.
.
Interesting. Did they not make many in LHD or did Germany not get many? I know they were getting expensive towards the end of production due to exchange rates and newer Boxster and Elise coming out. Losing 120 from UK is a big drop..
I sold my previous Rev 3 turbo to a guy in Germany, maybe it was the same guy!
I had it converted to LPG with the gas tank in place of the spare tire in the frunk. It got the equivalent of about 40-45 mpg with that. Apparently the MR2 community thought it was abomination and hated it haha.
I had it converted to LPG with the gas tank in place of the spare tire in the frunk. It got the equivalent of about 40-45 mpg with that. Apparently the MR2 community thought it was abomination and hated it haha.
Agent57 said:
White-Noise said:
I had a tubby for 11 years which I sold 2.5 years ago. I sold it to a guy from Germany who imported them. I was something along the lines of the 120th that he had imported! They are hard to come by on the continent as they are rhd.
.
Interesting. Did they not make many in LHD or did Germany not get many? I know they were getting expensive towards the end of production due to exchange rates and newer Boxster and Elise coming out. Losing 120 from UK is a big drop..
Agent57 said:
Interesting. Did they not make many in LHD or did Germany not get many? I know they were getting expensive towards the end of production due to exchange rates and newer Boxster and Elise coming out. Losing 120 from UK is a big drop.
They did the LHD turbo for the US market alongside a 2.2 5S-FE engine but prices over there were always really strong because they stopped selling them in '96 (I think). The only Sard MC8-R popped up on my Instagram feed the other month, I bet that's worth a pretty penny.
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