MR2 Opinion?

[itsibarra]

Hey All,

I came upon this car the other day, and found it to be very tempting to possibly pull the trigger. I've always wanted a 2nd gen MR2, and from what I know, it's pretty rare to find one that's unmolested + low mileage. Gonna try to test drive it this week, and see it up close and personal.

From what the owner said:
-1991 MR2 base w/ T-top. (I'm guessing the 2.2L 5S-FE)
-53,000 miles
-Selling because the owner has had 2 back surgeries, making it impractical.
-$3500 OBO

Anyways, here's a few pics. What you guys/gals think?

[hmong337]

Probably the best smiles-per-dollar car you can spend your money on. Looks clean. I'd buy it!

[Atropine]

I had 2 first-gen MR2's (AW-11)

If Toyota was to ever make an updated version of the MR2...I would probably buy it.

The non-turbo version of the SW20...isn't exactly fast. But the motor is bomb proof OR sourcing a turbo engine isn't exactly hard to do.

Also some people put certain V-6 Camry engine in them.

Hit the MR2 Forums...lotta great info there.

If the car is clean and it has a legit 50k miles (beware of just a new gauge cluster)...then I think 3500 is a good price.

[WesleyG]

These are great cars, I actually own a mk3 spyder with a 2zzge swap. Best bang for buck

[f0rge]

That price is pretty reasonable especially if the mileage is accurate. It seems cheap because the turbos obviously command more dollars.

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by f0rge

That price is pretty reasonable especially if the mileage is accurate. It seems cheap because the turbos obviously command more dollars.

Turbo's are nice but these days, it's near impossible to find one that hasn't been beat to an inch of its life or pony up for a mint one. Having owned two sw20's in the past ten years (a 93 turbo and my current car which started off as a 91 na), I strongly believe you're best to go with the cleanest shell. Clean shells are usually non-turbos since they see half the stress as their turbo counterparts due to being powered by a Camry 5sfe. Drop a gen3 3sgte into the car and you've got yourself a pretty capable car. Having owned all three iterations of mr2 engines (usdm gen2 3sgte, gen3 3sgte, and 5sfe) there's no questioning the gen3 is the winner. Again, I'd much rather start with a clean non-turbo than a potentially problematic and stress out turbo chassis.

$0.02 from an mr2 owner.

[MrBlaze-65]

I own a 91 turbo and I love it, very raw driving experience. Coincidentally the twins are very much like a MR2 but more driver friendly. Even parking them next to each other in my driveway they compliment one another.

[King Tut]

No turbo no care.

[strat61caster]

More fun to drive slow cars fast than fast cars slow.

Honestly for what it's being advertised as the price seems low, look for any lingering issues that come with any used car and imo crash damage. If it's everything it's being advertised as, it is one weekend of meticulous detailing, caring, and routine maintenance away from being well worth >$5k to someone who's into it. Everything that follows assumes it's truly an accident free, decently maintained (regular oil changes, replaced filters, inside isn't moldy or leaky) car that just needs a bit of love to be a solid 8 or 9/10.

Same year turbos of better condition and same mileage are easily >$10k, even with ~130 horses I'll take a guess that at $3500 this thing will win the smiles/$ comparison. Of course armchair quarterbacks will say how wrong I am and that the non-turbo is no better than a backwards camry with less space to work in, but if this thing is advertised on the internet you won't get the chance to test drive it this weekend.

I'd also implore you to be patient with it before slapping a turbo or V6 in it, a couple weeks ago my mind was blown by a '91 Miata that was driven balls to the wall, similar hp a bit lighter and I knew there was no way I would grow bored of it without several days worth of flogging. We all think we're pretty good drivers, take an on-ramp over freeway speeds and hear the tires protest a bit and we think we've hit the coveted 10/10ths of the car's capabilities.

15 minutes in that Miata showed me I'm probably at best 6 or 7/10.

tl;dr if it's as clean as it looks it's a good deal, but it could easily be hiding something nightmarish and not be worth half of what's being asked.

[itsibarra]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

More fun to drive slow cars fast than fast cars slow.

.....

tl;dr if it's as clean as it looks it's a good deal, but it could easily be hiding something nightmarish and not be worth half of what's being asked.

Thanks for all the info! The car is parked about 6 miles away from me, and I've already seen it in person since I found it whilst driving by.. (I snapped these photos). As for turbo/swap I think i'd keep it stock and like you touched upon, keep it clean and just enjoy the 5SFE for a bit.

[MrBlaze-65]

if you autocross, the NA models are competitive in it's class where as the turbo models... not so much.

[serialk11r]

Looks pretty good to me. It's slow, but what car from that era isn't (besides a Supra or NSX or something), and at that price you can't really complain.

With 53k miles, the car is probably mostly still fresh-ish and if you really like it you can do an engine swap, and have an awesome car. I know V6 swaps are common but don't drop the idea of an I4, a newer aluminum engine would drop a bunch of weight of the back end and give you a seriously nimble car. I personally dislike the 3S-GTE because it's way too heavy for the power you get.

[RoadKillGrill]

Originally Posted by Atropine

I had 2 first-gen MR2's (AW-11)

If Toyota was to ever make an updated version of the MR2...I would probably buy it.

I still own two MK1s, every time I think about selling them just driving them makes me forget that.

They are a blast to drive and pretty low maintinance, I dumped more cash in repairs for my '99 Ford SHO (transmission, exhaust fell off, brake lines broke TWICE!) then it cost to buy and maintain a MR2 for 5 years.

Ya I'd love Toyota to make another MR2.. in the meantime the FRS is pretty fun car.

[NWFRS]

That's about what I paid several years ago for my '92 MR2 with 200k miles.

Mine was also bone stock, right down to the steel wheels. The paint was very clean and the car had black leather upholstery. Wonderful car. Great driving position. That 2.2 makes amazing torque and sounds really good. Staggered wheels can be a pain, I replaced all mine with 15" Konig Z-ins.

A few things to check before you buy:
Carpets behind the seats for mold from leaky T-tops.
The coolant for corrosion due to neglect, it's a weird cooling system.
The plastics under the front of the car, people tend to bottom them out.
Throttle for responsiveness. The throttle cable is in two pieces and long, gets gummy easily.