Purchasing a 2000 MR2 (Need help!)

[gzrecoil]

Hey all,

First time to the forums. I'm currently in the process of negotiation with the dealership on a 2000 MR2.

Miles: 60k
Asking price: $10,900

There are "sport tires" on the car, and for some reason the tread on the tires are all worn differently. Could this be a major issue?

There are a bunch of knicks and small dents, nothing major or too noticeable.

The trunk release latch did not work, however the dealership is fixing it tomorrow.

Also, after test driving I smelled a sort of burnt rubber smell emitting from the car, I was standing towards the front of the car on the side when I smelled it.

I am going to try to get the dealership down to $9,500. Do you think the quoted price, or what I'm trying to haggle down to are good prices? I can't tell how well the car was taken care of, the tires are messed up, the damage on the outside of the car seems normal. The engine and the clutch seem pretty powerful, but the issues above kind of worried me a little bit.

Please, if any insight reply to this post. I know I am new to these forums, but I'm sure a lot of you know a hell of a lot more about cars then I do. I'll be checking by frequently tomorrow as I am going tomorrow night.

Adios

[Gairloch]

I would start by taking it to an independent mechanic to have it inspected.

[Ben]

Based on the info above, I am guessing that this is not a certified used car? The MRS tends to have tire wear issues (base on my dealership experience) mainly because 1) the tires don't get rotated because they are staggered 2) the previous owner(s) probably didn't do a whole lot of alignments (recommended once a year)

If you smell a burning smell - bug the salesman about it. Bug him until it is fixed because he will have to get it taken care of if he expects a sale. And tell him to throw in a set of tires.

[phzoinkMKII]

I thought the MRS has the same size tires all the way around

[supunna_picta]

Stock MR2 Spyders have staggered tires. In 2000 they were 15's but the rears were wider. I had never experienced abnormal tire wear on either of my spyders so it probably needs an alignment.

I would be more concerned about the smell of burning rubber - perhaps check the muffler/heat shields out back, may need to remove the upper black one to see better - something must be touching.

With the 2000s there was some concern with select vehicles having pre-cat failure - there's another post to reference in here from lbridges I think - I'll try to dig it up if he doesn't post. This is a big one to look for because the failure is catastrophic and the mileage on that engine is prime candidate. But I repeat, it was a small percentage of cars affected. Can you verify if that's the orig engine?

Didn't realize you were at the front when you smelled the plastic. What are the tire sizes? maybe somethings rubbing - could you hear anything abnormal while driving?

[lbridges]

Thanks for the plug supunna picta.

Here's one reference to the topic of pre-cat failures.

Common MR2 problems?

As mentioned, the 2000/2001/2002 model years had 15s all around. 15X6 wheels up front, and 15X6.5 wheels in back. Front tire size should be 185X55X15 and rear at 205X50X15. Toyo T1R is one of the few reasonably priced OEM sizes. I have them on my car and they work well. For serious street & autoX you might stick with Falken Azenis 205X50X15 all around, but they aren't as good in the rain (by reports, I've never driven on them). The 2003 & later models had 16s out back with 215X45X16 (IIRC).

Finally, rubber burning up front would be a serious concern to me. Aside from some sort of tire rubbing, I don't know of anything up there that could cause a burning smell except electrical problems. Either way, if it's up front, I wouldn't buy until I KNEW what was causing the problem.

[gzrecoil]

They replaced a belt the day after I asked about the smell and the smell went away. They also replaced the trunk/engine bay release cable, and shift knob. I'm working on getting the price down now, I don't want to pay more then 9500. If they can't do that or better I'll walk. I am kind of excited though. I hate the waiting game you have to do with dealerships...

[Timon]

That's just another reason to do a good old fashion private sale. Though it does depend, either one can turn out bad for you.

Good luck with getting the price down, what you want it for seems reasonable, but the dealership may try to push it back up with the work they did.

[gzrecoil]

This car has had some paint work¸ but no body damage
according the former customer
There are two minor leaks¸ at the timing chain and valve covers
since we are selling the car as is we are not repairing those
2 items.

Plus the tires are pretty worn, and there is no spare.

[supunna_picta]

Originally Posted by gzrecoil

This car has had some paint work¸ but no body damage
according the former customer
There are two minor leaks¸ at the timing chain and valve covers
since we are selling the car as is we are not repairing those
2 items.

Plus the tires are pretty worn, and there is no spare.

The dealer is saying this?

I would probably walk away and keep looking. If you are very picky about the car you buy, you usually don't regret it. This one sounds like it has some work lined up before you can enjoy it trouble free.

[gzrecoil]

My mechanic said between $500-700 for those repairs as a total. I hope it wouldn't be any higher then that though. I was thinking if I could get it in the low 9's that I could just put that money towards repairs up front.

Would those specific damages mean the car was trashed by the old owner?

I do really like the car don't get me wrong. Just lotsss of questions to ask before purchasing one used.

[supunna_picta]

It's good to ask questions and be critical - better now than thinking of it afterwards...

60k miles - Low mileage makes me wonder about the engine, the belt issue, and the leaks. Shouldn't have any of those issues with a 60k engine. Then the whole pre-cat issue...

Probably needs alignment and new tires

Trunk release issue, dents and nicks in the car, I'd expect things like that on something 8 years old.

Paint work? Where? I'd really dig around for body damage. Unless it was keyed and repainted for that. Check for overspray too, kind of lets you know if the prev. owner was a cheapa$$ or not, thus cheap on other things in the car.

The previous owner didn't take care of their car IMO, but I am pretty anal about car care. Dunno - when i bought used I went through a private owner so I imagine that you just don't know about the previous owner(s) for sure when a sales guy tells you stuff.

Is the car posted online? What kind of dealership? Did you check the vin for history? Any pics?

ps. stand firm on your price and leverage the repairs including the alignment and tires. If they sense your excitement they will hold out til you break.

[gzrecoil]

Yep posted on ebay motors

Auction# 120238950499.

I sent them an ebay message not telling them it was me, they said the reserve was $10,900. That's crazy. I haven't talked to the saleman since tuesday, if he doesn't call I guess I'm not making a deal. I don't think they want to sell it for less then 10,900 but I won't pay more then 9-9500.

The first auction ended tuesday and the highest bid was 7600, they still won't work on a better price. LoL.

[Leader]

I bought my 2002 MR2 in January. I looked at 3 ranging from 10 to 13 K. I bought the 13 K one as it only had 38,000 miles on it. All three were perfect with no issues. I would keep looking. Be patient.