lookin at a 2 (from the inside out)

[m42tyger]

hi!

i'm looking into buying a 2. it's a black 91 in good body shape, 180k on the original engine, supposedly clean title (so says the dealer, i haven't looked into it personally - - yet).

i took it for a spin today. what do you make of this:

1) accelerating in any gear, it hesitates when it hits about 4250 rpm (making this number up - it was always midway between 4 and 4500).

2) the brakes were.. ahem... crap. the e-brake didn't work at all, but i was really surprised the regular brakes were so poor.

3) neither the power windows nor the power locks worked. there were some loose wires in the engine bay, the dealer said it was for the aftermarket stereo system which also didn't work.

4) there was some oil spray on the engine. i couldn't locate the leak. it didn't look new, but it didn't look years old either. anything that has a habit of cracking/popping on this engine?

wear and tear of a normal 15 year old car, i'd say, but overall this was MUCH better than the last one i looked at. (can you say 'salvaged'??)

the dealership wants $4000 for it, i was thinking more like $3000 tops.

any thoughts?


ps - lurker for years, first post!

[phzoinkMKII]

Don't do anything over 2500

[hmong337]

Originally Posted by m42tyger

there were some loose wires in the engine bay, the dealer said it was for the aftermarket stereo system which also didn't work.

That's a load of ****! Car stereo wires don't go past the cabin!!! That's unless somebody hooked up an amplifier in the trunk- but 99% of mr2 owners with aftermarket stereo hook up their amps in the frunk.

The car seems like a basketcase. I'd stay away unless I could get it for a decent "project car" price.

[WoRR Pyro]

For number 3, try opening the door while holding the window down button.. aka while you open it fully. If the windows start working at somepoint after you open the door it's just a cut wire in the door harness. Usually the ground wire.(Happens frequently enough)
This dealer sounds really shady imo, i'm assuming for that price it's a n/a car. Otherwise, the valve cover gasket on the 3s has a habit of working itself free and spraying oil.

[m42tyger]

ya, sorry forgot to mention it was an NA.

i went looking at a bunch of different cars today. some much cheaper, some much more expensive, some faster, some slower, but just none as good looking as a black 2. =P

[bean]

run away.

[Gairloch]

Originally Posted by m42tyger

hi!

i'm looking into buying a 2. it's a black 91 in good body shape, 180k on the original engine, supposedly clean title (so says the dealer, i haven't looked into it personally - - yet).

i took it for a spin today. what do you make of this:

1) accelerating in any gear, it hesitates when it hits about 4250 rpm (making this number up - it was always midway between 4 and 4500).

That could be a lot of different things. There's a very good chance that a tune up would resolve this.

Originally Posted by m42tyger

2) the brakes were.. ahem... crap. the e-brake didn't work at all, but i was really surprised the regular brakes were so poor.

This is likely a combination of tired out brake pads, brake fluid that has never been flushed and stretched out or disconnected e-brake cables. Fixing this probably wouldn't be all that tough but just the cables are going to run you ~$100.

Originally Posted by m42tyger

3) neither the power windows nor the power locks worked. there were some loose wires in the engine bay, the dealer said it was for the aftermarket stereo system which also didn't work.

The problem with the windows and the locks is likely to be the wiring harness running from the driver's door and the chassis. It's not that tough to fix if you're handy with a soldering iron.

The mess in the engine bay is a bit more of a concern though; there shouldn't be anything there for the stereo at all. I'd look pretty close to make sure someone didn't hack up the wiring harness. There have been some really disastrous aftermarket alarm systems show up on MR2s.

Originally Posted by m42tyger

4) there was some oil spray on the engine. i couldn't locate the leak. it didn't look new, but it didn't look years old either. anything that has a habit of cracking/popping on this engine?

Where was the oil? It's not unheard of for the distributor seal to fail and have leaks start there. The normal leaks for the 5sfe tend to be the the valve seals and sometimes the oilpan.

Originally Posted by m42tyger

wear and tear of a normal 15 year old car, i'd say, but overall this was MUCH better than the last one i looked at. (can you say 'salvaged'??)

the dealership wants $4000 for it, i was thinking more like $3000 tops.

any thoughts?


ps - lurker for years, first post!

Welcome to the club

Unless the body and the interior are perfect I wouldn't give more than $2k for this car. Making it right again is going to be a major project and is going to be a significant investment of time and money.

[Roger_Rabbit]

Originally Posted by phzoinkMKII

Don't do anything over 2500

Listen to the man above... I paid 3400.00 and is is almost at a 6000.00 investment now... I have not put 1000 miles on this thing yet...

Originally Posted by m42tyger

hi!

i'm looking into buying a 2. it's a black 91 in good body shape, 180k on the original engine, supposedly clean title (so says the dealer, i haven't looked into it personally - - yet).

i took it for a spin today. what do you make of this:

1) accelerating in any gear, it hesitates when it hits about 4250 rpm (making this number up - it was always midway between 4 and 4500). I dont know about MR2's but in RX-7's this indicates a grounding issue...

2) the brakes were.. ahem... crap. the e-brake didn't work at all, but i was really surprised the regular brakes were so poor. Mine cost me over 100.00 to repair myself... My ebrake was okay... I replaced pads, rebuilt calipers and re-machined the rotors...

3) neither the power windows nor the power locks worked. there were some loose wires in the engine bay, the dealer said it was for the aftermarket stereo system which also didn't work. That is awesome... If you engine likes to listen to the stereo, maybe it will listen to you too... Just kidding... Do these wires appear to go to the trunk... If not forget it... It has nothing to do with the stereo... They may have had a CD changer in the trunk... Thats about all I can think of... Also... If the wrong jackass put/removed a stereo system in the car, you will probably have to clean up his crap... I pulled a ball of wires bigger than me out of my car and had to splice probably 100+ wires inside the car because of the damage done by one of the previous owners... Sadly, I am still finding crap... I replaced the entire interior and I am still finding crap...
4) there was some oil spray on the engine. i couldn't locate the leak. it didn't look new, but it didn't look years old either. anything that has a habit of cracking/popping on this engine? This is probably the valve cover gasket... About a 45.00 investment... I have not replaced mine yet but have the parts to do so...

wear and tear of a normal 15 year old car, i'd say, but overall this was MUCH better than the last one i looked at. (can you say 'salvaged'??) I have an '89 RX-7 sitting in my driveway with much less problems and they are supposed to be prone to problems... I said this when I married my wife that is 8 years younger than me and I will say it again... Age dont mean SH!T...

the dealership wants $4000 for it, i was thinking more like $3000 tops. I am not saying it is not worth buying... Just think about the cost if you where to have to do these repairs on your other car and double it... Then subtract that off of what you have to spend... Thats what this car is worth to you... If I could do it all over again, I would not have paid more than 1000.00 for mine...

any thoughts?


ps - lurker for years, first post!

I am rambling... Probably cause I had a bit to drink... But listen... I bought my car cause it was love at first sight... It was like a bulldog puppy... So ugly its cute... The guy lied through his teethe about work that was done on it and now I am doing that work... It sounds like you are in for the same ride... Just take in to consideration how much you have to fix it up, and pay according to that... If you are in the DFW area, talk to Artur... He is in this forum somewhere... He is an honest guy that will hook you up with a decent car for a decent price.... If you go with the ugly duckling, he will hook you up with parts for a very good price...

I am done... I have saidd enough...

[PHOENIX]

My suggestion, walk away.

You can find an MR2 in your price range i bet within in the next month, and in better condition if you keep up on browsing the mr2board, craigslist, and Toyota MR2 Classifieds!