Is my Dad talking crap?
Discussion
Now, as I have discussed before on these pages, I want to buy a Mk1 MR2. I've spotted a 1990 G-Reg example with 84,000 miles on the clock for £1400 on autotrader.
So I ran the idea past my parents tonight, and my Dad reckons I'd need a full workshop to run a car like that, becuase its 14 years old, and he reckons everything on it will be on the point of failure. Now, I've read in several places that they're nice, reliable little cars, they just have rust issues on the rear arches and front cross-member.
So, to return to the point, is my Dad talking crap, and should I buy one?
So I ran the idea past my parents tonight, and my Dad reckons I'd need a full workshop to run a car like that, becuase its 14 years old, and he reckons everything on it will be on the point of failure. Now, I've read in several places that they're nice, reliable little cars, they just have rust issues on the rear arches and front cross-member.
So, to return to the point, is my Dad talking crap, and should I buy one?
Exactly what I thought. Obviously, any car of that age is going to have certain rust issues, but I'm prepared to deal with that. I think it's the mechanical side of it that he's more worried about. I've told him to read the buying guide in this months Retro Cars, but I don't think he will
Your dad talks sense, I'm afraid.
A 14 year old car is likely to have lots of potential problems and it would be naive to think you could run such a car without either being on first name terms with your local mechanic or being handy with a spanner yourself. I gather the mid-engine setup makes these cars challenging to work on too.
But then I gather that when they do work, they're jolly good fun, and when it comes to buying cars, the head rarely triumphs over the heart if you're a true PHer.
A 14 year old car is likely to have lots of potential problems and it would be naive to think you could run such a car without either being on first name terms with your local mechanic or being handy with a spanner yourself. I gather the mid-engine setup makes these cars challenging to work on too.
But then I gather that when they do work, they're jolly good fun, and when it comes to buying cars, the head rarely triumphs over the heart if you're a true PHer.
Err it's Japanese!!!!!!
It won't break down if its been serviced properly, so long as you have new plugs, leads, oil, everthing is as it should be & it basically wont go wrong.
Just don't buy one thats had 5 owners or more, that always spells trouble.
Good ones have usually been well looked after.
It won't break down if its been serviced properly, so long as you have new plugs, leads, oil, everthing is as it should be & it basically wont go wrong.
Just don't buy one thats had 5 owners or more, that always spells trouble.
Good ones have usually been well looked after.
I'd say your old man is talking poo.
I bought a c reg MR2 last year, with 135000 on the clock, and it got thrashed on a daily basis, and never missed a beat. And when i say thrashed, i mean ragged all the way to Le Mans, HUUUUUUUGE burnouts in Arnarge, then ragged home again, plus i took it to Santa pod a few times aswell.
The only thing i did was change the cambelt, and the fuel filter (which are easy jobs to do yourself, or cheap ones for a garage if you aren't too confident with the spanners).
I sold it at the end of the summer and it was fine.
Toyotas are very well screwed together mechanically, the only weak points are rust as mentioned above, the sychro' on 2nd can be weak, and some of them jump out of 5th gear. The engine is bombproof.
Just make sure you test drive lots before you buy. Get a good one, and you'll never look back.
>> Edited by 400sedave on Wednesday 3rd March 21:41
I bought a c reg MR2 last year, with 135000 on the clock, and it got thrashed on a daily basis, and never missed a beat. And when i say thrashed, i mean ragged all the way to Le Mans, HUUUUUUUGE burnouts in Arnarge, then ragged home again, plus i took it to Santa pod a few times aswell.
The only thing i did was change the cambelt, and the fuel filter (which are easy jobs to do yourself, or cheap ones for a garage if you aren't too confident with the spanners).
I sold it at the end of the summer and it was fine.
Toyotas are very well screwed together mechanically, the only weak points are rust as mentioned above, the sychro' on 2nd can be weak, and some of them jump out of 5th gear. The engine is bombproof.
Just make sure you test drive lots before you buy. Get a good one, and you'll never look back.
>> Edited by 400sedave on Wednesday 3rd March 21:41
Your dad has a valid point, however it is based on cars of the 60's and 70's maybe - not the 90's (guessing). In saying that, I sold my BMW to my data and its now 10 years old. It is starting to
suffer from old age - battery, alternator, suspension bushes, electric window motor etc. Nothing major, but constant maintanence required. The only thing you need to worry about on the MR2 is any failure
requiring an engine out job - try one of the MR2 boards to gauge opinion on how often this happens (cam belt maybe ?)
suffer from old age - battery, alternator, suspension bushes, electric window motor etc. Nothing major, but constant maintanence required. The only thing you need to worry about on the MR2 is any failure
requiring an engine out job - try one of the MR2 boards to gauge opinion on how often this happens (cam belt maybe ?)
I had various problems with mine over 4 years/40k.
New water pump - fiddly as hell to do.
New head gasket - garage job.
Big end went - replaced the engine, one hell of a weekend.
5th gear selector went - Garage job, lasted 11 months, fixed under warranty, lasted 13 months
And the T-bar roof leaked.
Bizarrely mine had almost no rust
I imagine the cambelt change would be a pig as it's tight as a ticks winky in the engine bay.
After all this I still have vague regrets about selling it - it was brilliant.
New water pump - fiddly as hell to do.
New head gasket - garage job.
Big end went - replaced the engine, one hell of a weekend.
5th gear selector went - Garage job, lasted 11 months, fixed under warranty, lasted 13 months
And the T-bar roof leaked.
Bizarrely mine had almost no rust
I imagine the cambelt change would be a pig as it's tight as a ticks winky in the engine bay.
After all this I still have vague regrets about selling it - it was brilliant.
The plan at the moment is:
Strip the interior completely, bung in a pair of racing seats and harnesses
Bit of and induction kit, exhaust, Koni adjustable shocks with fast road/track springs, track day mentalist tyres or even used slicks.
We've added it up and we reckon we can do that, including a decent MR2, for about £2800. Seems a cracking idea to me
Strip the interior completely, bung in a pair of racing seats and harnesses
Bit of and induction kit, exhaust, Koni adjustable shocks with fast road/track springs, track day mentalist tyres or even used slicks.
We've added it up and we reckon we can do that, including a decent MR2, for about £2800. Seems a cracking idea to me
Its a Dad thing, they all say that!
if you told him you were getting an old volvo* he'd probably say "thats a bit dull!"
Had a Celica for 9 years (bewtween me and my brother).
Serviced it ourselves the whole time with one problem that involved a garage.
All the Jap stuff is good for reliability.
*replace "Volvo" with any car manufacturer you think is dull. Dont flame me, you are wasting your time. I dont care!
if you told him you were getting an old volvo* he'd probably say "thats a bit dull!"
Had a Celica for 9 years (bewtween me and my brother).
Serviced it ourselves the whole time with one problem that involved a garage.
All the Jap stuff is good for reliability.
*replace "Volvo" with any car manufacturer you think is dull. Dont flame me, you are wasting your time. I dont care!
Well his current argument is that the metal is 14 years old and it'll be knackered. To be fair he is a very skilled metal worker, but I've researched this to death and I can't see any major bills lurking if I buy carefully and look after it. And if it's a track car then rust won't be quite the issue it could be if it was my daily driver. The more I think about it the more tempted I am.
Car: £1300 (give or take a couple of hundred quid either way)
Fully adjustable koni dampers and 35mm drop fast road springs: £600-£700 fitted
Blitz induction kit: £139
Mongoose stainless steel exhaust: £290
Brakes: £400 ish
That little lot comes to £2729, taking some prices as ballpark figures. That's split between two people, so it's a pretty affordable way of doing trackdays to me. It's a Mk1 MR2, not a Mk2
Fully adjustable koni dampers and 35mm drop fast road springs: £600-£700 fitted
Blitz induction kit: £139
Mongoose stainless steel exhaust: £290
Brakes: £400 ish
That little lot comes to £2729, taking some prices as ballpark figures. That's split between two people, so it's a pretty affordable way of doing trackdays to me. It's a Mk1 MR2, not a Mk2
The DJ 27 said:
Bugger, the car we were looking at has been sold. I have a feeling this is going to be a long search
Tell me about it!
you gotta be quick.
BTW, buy the brakes before the other mods.
Edited: and dont forget the helmet and insurance
>> Edited by DustyC on Tuesday 9th March 17:25
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