purchasing an mr2 help

[theryansicle]

hey everyone. i've been looking to buy an mr2 on and off for about 2 years now, thing is i've never purchased a used car before so if you could help me out with pointers on what information to get and problems to look for before i buy an mr2 would be great.

sale*sale*sale

that is the link to one two i was looking at just because it's a local one. not much information or pictures provided. i emailed the seller for more info/pics but am hesitant to call before i know what i should be trying to find out and looking out for.

[traintech86]

wow...nice doors... i will be honest, i wouldn't even look at that car based on that. here on the east coast rust is a big problem so check the underbody. if you can get the car on a lift and check it out. check out tire wear, check out all the area where the tires meet the car. if possible i'd record a startup and post it so people can give a listen. and something that might be important is the t-tops. mine were leaky as hell and the guy told me to my face they never leaked. later on i looked where the 2 pieces of seat connect and the metal part was rusted to hell.

all in all bring a mech friend to help you out. never go alone so that you avoid getting pushed around. GL man!

[palos]

You are quite correct that the listing doesn't provide much information. A few questions to start:

What year is the car and is it normally aspirated or turbo?
What do you know about the ownership history of the car and how long have you owned it?
Is the title clear, no liens and not salvage?
Why are you selling it?
Any accidents or respraying of the paint? (Probably yes in this case and all the VIN stickers are now covered with fresh paint such that you can't easily confirm if the original body panels are on the car.)
Who did the modifications and what other modifications were done?
Do you have receipts and the service records for the car?
Five speed or automatic?
Tell me the condition of the brakes, engine, transmission, windshield, interior, etc…

You may be surprised to get detailed answers or more likely the opposite -- I'm just a girl and don't know anything about the car… It's not a car that a father looks at and thinks it would be the perfect first car for his daughter. A "boyfriend" may enter the story.

The fewer details provided, the greater the risks. Check with your insurance company about the cost of insuring a car with lambo doors.

[Sh0ty]

Check for play in the steering rack and take the car to highway speeds to check for floating or swaying. Even tire wear is also something to look for. Be sure to listen to the suspension for any clunking noises and pay attention to the dampers.

I'd be very skeptical about this particular car for a few reasons. First off, lambo doors tend to point to a ricer, they abuse cars and don't maintain them properly. Secondly, the lack of information is alarming, especially basic things like year, engine spec, and mileage. Finally, the all caps listing points to someone who lacks maturity, something you'll want in a P.O. and a seller.

Best of luck, and don't hesitate to walk away.

[theryansicle]

thanks for all your responses and help guys. the car looks nice and i may check it out. though if she can't provide me with information in detail about the car like you guys stated i'll probably just walk away from it.

what do you guys think about buying a shell and putting a new engine into it for a first two? it'd give me ample time to work on the shell alone i guess before i even get an engine for it. but i was wondering would it be hard to find a decent shell? and would it be cost efficient to do that or to just buy a two with everything but then have to take it to the shop and get it worked on.

[palos]

There are plenty of relatively inexpensive MKII MR2's that run quite well, so I would not advise buying a shell and then its component pieces at a later date.

The less you need to rely on another person's labor, the less expensive the general maintenance of the car will be. From your last post, it sounds as though you have the time, patience, willingness and perhaps ability to do body work, but that your mechanical skills are lagging. Download the BGB, purchase some used tools and learn by trying. (Having a friend with mechanical skills to offer advise wouldn't hurt either.)

Your first MR2 doesn't need to be the best one on the block. Find one in good shape, keep a budget for necessary repairs (tires, tune-ups, etc…), and don't buy one that you can't afford.

[David]

Whatever you do, don't buy that one. It's a non-turbo, and it looks like it's a 91, so 5K is way too much. Don't go for the first one you see. That's a bad mistake. For a 91 NA don't expect to pay more than 3K for one in decent condition. 3500-3700 for one in excellent condition. Like it was said before, T-tops almoost always leak. Don't over-look the small things. When I bought mine, the idle was a litlle off. So 2 days before I made a 2 hour trip to an MR2 show, I found out the timing belt was about to snap. And when I bought it, there was an odd feeling in the left front, which I thought was a bad tire, turned out being a bad tie rod ending. Before I knew it, I spent over $600 in regular maintinence that was over-looked by the previous owner. So just remember to look for the little things.

[theryansicle]

thanks for the info guys ill probably keep looking around til i find something nice. i'm in no rush

[tstoney82]

also, something that is a pretty normal thing for these cars (but can get expensive to fix) is the second and fifth gear synchros. drive the car and see how it shifts into and out of those gears. also check to make sure it stays in these gears. ive seen tons of 2s that will go into 5th, but wont stay, they pop out. ive also seen many 2s that have horrible shifts from 1st to 2nd and 3rd to 2nd due to crappy synchros.

[tstoney82]

quick question........in cali, dont you guys have plates on the front and rear of your cars?if you do, this might be a fraud.....no plates on the front.....but if not, whatever.

[theryansicle]

yeah we have plates on both ends.

[palos]

Another bit of information, which may actually be useful. If the seller provides their telephone number in their ad, google the number or search for it in the same forum that it was posted.

In a local Craig'sList ad, the person was selling his daily driver, but when I did a search by his phone number, I discovered he was selling eight cars and each and every one of them was his daily driver.

The same search analysis can be used for e-mail addresses and screen names, as well as a postings "title". Many times a screen name will be a derivative of an e-mail address. One person denied ever tracking or otherwise racing his car, but a partial of his e-mail address showed up (via Google) on another (non-MR2) forum describing his car and track results.

[traintech86]

man there are so many scammers out there! i am tryin to sell a gaming laptop on CL and all i get is gimme your info! ill pay you 150 to ship it to the northpoll! are you serious lol? does it actualy work? wow....

[theryansicle]

lmao yea i know right. so many people try to scam me too. no luck selling my gaming computer either.

[traintech86]

i am debating posting it on here lol