My first MR2 questions

SpeedRacer · 06-24-2007, 04:58 PM

Hi there fellows, this is the first time I post on this forum, but I've been researching the wonderfull MR2 cars for about 8 months now. I have learned a lot about these cars since I started reading these forums. My MR2 affair started
while I was working at a Toyota dealership and one of the mechanics had just
finished working on one. As he was pulling out, I asked him if I could take it outside and park the car for him. The car was a turbo model, and as I was rolling
out slowly from the garage, I was thinking how nice this car was. I felt tempted to go out on a test drive, but didn't wanna risk getting fired because I did not have clearance to do that. However, I drove it around the parking lot, and it was love at first drive! The boost was sweet, and the handling the best I've ever experience. After that encounter, I just knew I had to get one, it became my dream car. I've been looking around, but haven't found an MR2 Turbo that I can afford yet, but I have recently bumped into an Mk1 that's for sale which I took for a test drive and got to like very much. It is an 88 NA model, and it's not
nearly as fast as the MK2 turbo, but I thought it could be a good investment in my emotional health because it is a very enjoyable little car. The car only has 50k miles which is hard to find for an 88, automatic tranny (which I plan to swap with a manual later on) minimal rust on the right rear fender which is no big deal, front end is shimmy, specially when applying the brakes, most likely due to warped rotors that I intend to replace anyway along with brake pads. The engine starts right up, but I will do a compression test anyway to be safe. The asking price for the car is $2,000 dollars, which I think is a good deal, but there's just one thing that annoys me, and I wanna make sure is not a major issue; the steering wheel looks like it's bent/tilted to the left, and I wanna know what you guys think. The steering column has horizontal tilt adjustment, but I did not see an adjustment lever for the vertical tilt of the steering wheel. I hope this is not a big deal, and don't want it to stop me from having this car, but I'm curious to why is the steering wheel facing me at an angle. I checked the carfax report for accidents and it came out clean.
I've been researching the net for recalls or TSB's, but have not found anything related. Does any of you guys know of any problems about bent steering wheels or columns? can the comlumn vertical angle be adjusted?
Thank you very much to all in the MR2 community who contribute to these forums, I greatly appreciate your help, and hope to join the MR2 owner's club soon.

Johnny

Mista 2 · 06-24-2007, 11:42 PM

first of all welcome to the board. i dont know if you have done this before but with most cars auto to manual conversions area pain in the a$$ and even more so if parts are hard to come by. is this car a left hand drive or right hand drive?in my right hand drive the wheel is offset to the left, as for being bent to the left is it all the time or only when the wheels are driving straight (ie as you rotate the wheel does it change angle?)

Mista 2
Jordan

SpeedRacer · 06-25-2007, 07:38 PM

Thanks for the prompt response Mista 2. The car is a left hand drive. The wheel is always offset to the left even when I turn it around the other way, therefore I don't think is the steering wheel that's bent but probably the column, or maybe that's the way they are designed. Once I get the car I will look at the column bolts the see if they have some play for adjustment. You are right about the conversion to manual. I might just keep the auto for a while until I get hungry for more excitement. I was reading in the owner's manual that is is ok to downshift using the automatic as long as I stay within certain speed ranges, so I guess it might be possible to have some fun drifting with an auto by downshifting to 2nd gear. I will try it out to see how it goes and take it from there.

damr2king · 06-25-2007, 09:57 PM

I would talk him down , tell him its an auto and very few people want an auto mr2

lsgheero · 06-26-2007, 10:32 AM

i would offer a starting price of 1,500 because the steering might need fixed and because its an auto. plus its an older car and if the suspension hasnt been regularly maintained then its not gonna be cheap to repair that either (i think all 4 shocks are like $400 and thats going cheap) plus brakes rotors, ect.

SpeedRacer · 06-26-2007, 08:26 PM

Thanks for all your input guys. I am now thinking about walking away from this deal altoghether. I know manual is the way to go with these cars and getting an automatic would be like waste because most of the fun factor would be gone, but I was willing to settle for an auto because these cars are very hard to find and I've been wanting to get one for a while now. It also turns out that the car has the check engine light on, which the seller said that it was due to an 02 sensor that he was going to fix for me before I take the car. So I called him today and he mentioned that the reason the light is on is because the engine was replaced recently and I just need to drive it for awhile and then the light would go off by itself. I am not buying that BS story, so I am going to go back there and tell him I will not pay the agreed price unless the problem with the CEL is fixed like we agreed, or I would take the risk of buying it with the light on if he lowers the price by at least $800.
I'll see how that works out, but whatever the outcome I can say that I can make a most educated decision now thanks to these forums and all of you that contribute your knowledge. Meanwhile, if anyone out there knows of an 88-89 MR2 for sale please let me know, preferably supercharged.

Mista 2 · 06-27-2007, 06:57 AM

i think it would be a good idea to walk away because if you really want a manual then you will never be happy with an auto. i have seen friends try to drift auto cars and it is harder than manuals too + MR2's having the engine in the back make it hard enough already to drift.

06-24-2007, 04:58 PM	#1 (permalink)
SpeedRacer No Skills Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	My first MR2 questions Hi there fellows, this is the first time I post on this forum, but I've been researching the wonderfull MR2 cars for about 8 months now. I have learned a lot about these cars since I started reading these forums. My MR2 affair started while I was working at a Toyota dealership and one of the mechanics had just finished working on one. As he was pulling out, I asked him if I could take it outside and park the car for him. The car was a turbo model, and as I was rolling out slowly from the garage, I was thinking how nice this car was. I felt tempted to go out on a test drive, but didn't wanna risk getting fired because I did not have clearance to do that. However, I drove it around the parking lot, and it was love at first drive! The boost was sweet, and the handling the best I've ever experience. After that encounter, I just knew I had to get one, it became my dream car. I've been looking around, but haven't found an MR2 Turbo that I can afford yet, but I have recently bumped into an Mk1 that's for sale which I took for a test drive and got to like very much. It is an 88 NA model, and it's not nearly as fast as the MK2 turbo, but I thought it could be a good investment in my emotional health because it is a very enjoyable little car. The car only has 50k miles which is hard to find for an 88, automatic tranny (which I plan to swap with a manual later on) minimal rust on the right rear fender which is no big deal, front end is shimmy, specially when applying the brakes, most likely due to warped rotors that I intend to replace anyway along with brake pads. The engine starts right up, but I will do a compression test anyway to be safe. The asking price for the car is $2,000 dollars, which I think is a good deal, but there's just one thing that annoys me, and I wanna make sure is not a major issue; the steering wheel looks like it's bent/tilted to the left, and I wanna know what you guys think. The steering column has horizontal tilt adjustment, but I did not see an adjustment lever for the vertical tilt of the steering wheel. I hope this is not a big deal, and don't want it to stop me from having this car, but I'm curious to why is the steering wheel facing me at an angle. I checked the carfax report for accidents and it came out clean. I've been researching the net for recalls or TSB's, but have not found anything related. Does any of you guys know of any problems about bent steering wheels or columns? can the comlumn vertical angle be adjusted? Thank you very much to all in the MR2 community who contribute to these forums, I greatly appreciate your help, and hope to join the MR2 owner's club soon. Johnny

06-25-2007, 09:57 PM	#4 (permalink)
damr2king No Skills Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: WA/usa Posts: 10 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	a little more than i would pay for an auto I would talk him down , tell him its an auto and very few people want an auto mr2 Last edited by damr2king; 06-26-2007 at 05:13 PM..

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06-24-2007, 11:42 PM	#2 (permalink)
Mista 2 Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 461 Thanks: 16 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	first of all welcome to the board. i dont know if you have done this before but with most cars auto to manual conversions area pain in the a$$ and even more so if parts are hard to come by. is this car a left hand drive or right hand drive?in my right hand drive the wheel is offset to the left, as for being bent to the left is it all the time or only when the wheels are driving straight (ie as you rotate the wheel does it change angle?) Mista 2 Jordan

06-25-2007, 07:38 PM	#3 (permalink)
SpeedRacer No Skills Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Thanks for the prompt response Mista 2. The car is a left hand drive. The wheel is always offset to the left even when I turn it around the other way, therefore I don't think is the steering wheel that's bent but probably the column, or maybe that's the way they are designed. Once I get the car I will look at the column bolts the see if they have some play for adjustment. You are right about the conversion to manual. I might just keep the auto for a while until I get hungry for more excitement. I was reading in the owner's manual that is is ok to downshift using the automatic as long as I stay within certain speed ranges, so I guess it might be possible to have some fun drifting with an auto by downshifting to 2nd gear. I will try it out to see how it goes and take it from there.

06-26-2007, 10:32 AM	#5 (permalink)
lsgheero RAR! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 698 Thanks: 9 Thanked 28 Times in 28 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	i would offer a starting price of 1,500 because the steering might need fixed and because its an auto. plus its an older car and if the suspension hasnt been regularly maintained then its not gonna be cheap to repair that either (i think all 4 shocks are like $400 and thats going cheap) plus brakes rotors, ect.

06-26-2007, 08:26 PM	#6 (permalink)
SpeedRacer No Skills Join Date: Sep 2006 Posts: 4 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Thanks for all your input guys. I am now thinking about walking away from this deal altoghether. I know manual is the way to go with these cars and getting an automatic would be like waste because most of the fun factor would be gone, but I was willing to settle for an auto because these cars are very hard to find and I've been wanting to get one for a while now. It also turns out that the car has the check engine light on, which the seller said that it was due to an 02 sensor that he was going to fix for me before I take the car. So I called him today and he mentioned that the reason the light is on is because the engine was replaced recently and I just need to drive it for awhile and then the light would go off by itself. I am not buying that BS story, so I am going to go back there and tell him I will not pay the agreed price unless the problem with the CEL is fixed like we agreed, or I would take the risk of buying it with the light on if he lowers the price by at least $800. I'll see how that works out, but whatever the outcome I can say that I can make a most educated decision now thanks to these forums and all of you that contribute your knowledge. Meanwhile, if anyone out there knows of an 88-89 MR2 for sale please let me know, preferably supercharged.

06-27-2007, 06:57 AM	#7 (permalink)
Mista 2 Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 461 Thanks: 16 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	i think it would be a good idea to walk away because if you really want a manual then you will never be happy with an auto. i have seen friends try to drift auto cars and it is harder than manuals too + MR2's having the engine in the back make it hard enough already to drift.