used mr2?

[Seanman]

I was thinking of buying this 1988 MR2 Supercharged, and the price looked ok at $2,500. But I was thinking, is there anything I should know about used MR2s and how is their reliability?

 

[PS]

Reliability is outstanding. Great cars indeed, check with Azuremen, he has 2 of them. He can certainly help you out on pretty much anything you want to know about Toyota's, and everything you want to know about MR2's.

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

I'm lookin' into buying one myself. I'm planning on a slightly older one, though, and non-supercharged. (85-86 weigh slightly less, handle a little bit better)

 

[Delirious]

just dont plan to drive it in wet weather or go on a trip anywhere with more than 1 person (unless you plan on sleeping in the car or you consider yourself a spartan of today)

 

[Drifting Thunda]

There's a black first gen MR-2 5-speed across the street from me that hasn't moved in years and I was thinking of making an offer for it. Seems like they'd be fun cars in all weather.

 

[Azuremen]

They are very reliable cars. Any maintance they require as they get into the miles is not hard. However, if the gas pump is seized (only happens if they sit stored forever), its a pain to replace.

For $2500, that could be a hell of a deal. I would need some more info though, notably milage and body condition. The 4A-GZE is a well built engine, with forged internals. I'd certainly get that pending a few things (like if it has windows ). The supercharged are hard to find cars... I haven't seen one yet myself, but I own two 87 NAs and my friends have another 3...

Takumi Fujiwara... avoid the 85-86 MR2s. Different weaker tranny (C50), with a massive issues of warped brake rotors. Also, the hand brake lever is in a much better place on the 87 ups. Additionally, the 87 up have smaller diameter steering wheels. Finally, the engine is setup differently in the 85-86 models, with a little less power (if I recall correclty)

Here is a link with a great deal of information regarding these wonderful cars... take a look at it if you are interested.

http://shell.deru.com/~sgn1/AW11/AW11.htm
For thsoe just interested in changes over the years..
http://shell.deru.com/~sgn1/AW11/Changes.htm


My personal experiance with them grows alot every day. I have two under constuction right now. Here is the link...
https://www.gtplanet.net/forum/showthread.php?t=61409

They do suffer from the legendary snap oversteer, which can be quite alarming at first. Eventually, you learn to deal with it and even enjoy it Make for some very nice rotation in turns. The high revving of the engine is something else you must get use to. You don't have much power below 4500 RPMs, so you need to want to rev that engine. Also pay attention to the water temp and what not. They can suffer from over heating due to the piping.. but thats only if you are driving the hell outta it on a hot day pretty much...

Space wise.. yeah, its a pain in the ass. If you leave the spare tire in, you shouldn't bother with the front trunk at all really... maybe an emergency kit there. The rear trunk might fit a golf bag... and thats about it. I could stuff my coat behind the seats, and you could maybe fit a small sub mounted in a truck box. My sub is built into a custom housing in the glove box, with the amp under the passenger seat.

How do they fair in the weather? Fine. I drove my tuned one on snow with the semi slicks on it. Not the smartest idea, and I changed over to some "all season" tires shortly after the freak snow storm. The car does get sideways, yes. When this happens, you must learn not to mash the gas nor to just left off it, or even worse, mash the brakes. Quite a bit of fun once you get use to it.

I'm taking my black one out to the track this weekend, so I can give more talking on it. First race of the season, so that should be interesting.

 

[Drifting Thunda]

I hope the one across the street is '87-up hehe...

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Ah, I'd been reading that the earlier ones were the way to go for N/A. Intention is for the car to be a weekend and track car, not a daily driver unless I really feel like driving it.

 

[Azuremen]

Well, just look over that sight. I personally would prefer an 87 up, just because of the tranny upgrade and the interior revisions. The rotors thing isn't too much of an issue if you plan to replace the brake system anyhow. Handling differences are entirely suspension, so upgrade that (Ground Control Coilovers with Tokico Illumina for me) and say bye bye to issues. Both versions of the NA still have snap oversteer. My understanding is they really worked to make it less snap happy and more predictable...

 

[Takumi Fujiwara]

Suspension upgrades are defenitely on the list for me. What do you suggest as a good non-agressive, shock / spring setup? My 240 was crazy on the street, very stiff and unforgiving. I want to keep the fun, tossable, feeling the stock car has, just a bit sharper, rather than turning it into something that's only a track machine. I actually preferred my 240 when the damping was softened, as the car felt more controllable and less intimidating to drive. Priority is to have a car that's fun, but fast, up in the backroads and canyons, as well as the occasional autocross and track day.

 

[Azuremen]

Well, my current setup is very harsh... with nearly a 2 inch drop (I need to bring it back up actually). My friend installed Intrax springs and KYB struts on his and that seemed to be a fair comprimise. Also, ony cost about 500 dollars with the work done by us. But then, we have the spring compressor and needed tools. It also only kept the drop to about an inch... which still makes these cars a bit low for lots of things.

 

[retsmah]

just dont plan to drive it in wet weather

...why?

$2500 for a Supercharged car sounds like a helluva deal to me The 4AGE is primarily a Corolla motor, if that makes you feel better about the reliability.

 

[Seanman]

I probably will buy it, but the guy lives in my neighborhood and there's a lot of seniors so no competion on the offers. It looks so good in red and is in very good condition, but one more thing, how the gas mileage since the gas prices are so expensive here in LA.

 

[Azuremen]

Around 29 to 30 MPG. Clutch driven supercharger disengages for normal driving, then engages when you want to get up and go.

Do you plan to do any mods to the car?

 

[Seanman]

Maybe, but I don't want to do anything big for fear of damaging the 17 year old engine...