Rev 1 MK2 MR2 advice

Repta

Repta

Repta

Soldato
Joined
30 Jul 2008
Posts
4,765
Location
Surrey
Hi,

Been looking to buy my first car, was looking at the typical fiesta/clio etc but came across a MK2 MR2 in budget. Turns insurance is cheaper than a fiesta, tax and mpg don't bother me so in my head i makes sense to go check it out. Just a few questions really to anyone thats owned one:

What are servicing costs like and how regular?
Anything major that tends to go wrong?
What things should i take a close look at when i view it?

Its a MR2 GT T-Bar 2.0

Thanks Rhys
 
all i would say is unless you are mechanical minded and dont mind getting dirty dnt bother, got a rev 3 t -bar and what a pain in the arse they are to work on, engines out for the 3rd time now, the electrics ( mainly the alarm) are a pain also.

back hend happy in the damp, not ideal for a new driver.. if you did get 1, by some sand to put in the boot.
 
I got my MK2 MR2 Rev 5 (I think!) for the same reasons as you're considering one: they're fun, cheap to insure and not anywhere near as uneconomical as you'd expect. Mine has been brilliant so far - I paid £1000 for it, have taken it to a couple of trackdays and put around 7k miles on it and nothing whatsoever has gone wrong. Servicing can be done anywhere - I just get my mechanic friend to do it, and they're apparently fairly easy to work on.

When looking at one, check the sills and arches for rust, check the T-bar doesn't leak and the obvious stuff like clutch, engine noises etc etc. Other than that there's not much I can think of.

Edit: I experienced the complete opposite of Leigh - unless you put crap tyres on the rear they're incredibly planted in the damp and if anything have a tendency to understeer. If you fancy some oversteer fun, swap the front and rear wheels, but make sure you're VERY confident on how to correct a slide first!
 
Most of the Mk2's on the road now will either have very tired suspension, or will already have had most of it replaced. Worn drop links are very common, causing rattling over bumps but also check ARB bushes, top mounts, wishbone bushes, bottom ball joints, dampers, track rod ends etc.

Sticking calipers are common, as are partially seized handbrake cables caused by water ingress. These make the handbrake pretty useless under normal circumstances, and can cause the handbrake to seize on when it freezes.

If it has air-con make sure it works, since the condenser is very vulnerable to stones. Check the condition of the radiator as well.

Make sure it has decent tyres. The Rev1 should have 14" wheels, but many end up with Halford special cheap alloys and budget tyres, absolutely not what you want on a mid engined car which can be quite tricky at the limit.

If it has a T-bar roof, check of rattles, squeaks when driving and any evidence of leaks. Door windows often seal badly and cause wind noise, but can be improved by adjusting the window runners.

The body is galvanised, so any significant rust on panels is quite likely to be cause by previous accident damage.

Check when the timing belt is due, it's not the easiest of jobs to replace (though easier than the Turbo version).

EDIT: The Rev2+ MR2's do have a tendency to understeer, especially in the wet. This was deliberately engineered in after the Rev1 proved to be a bit of a liability in some peoples hands. The Rev1 does not have the same tendancy to understeer, and once it lets go you need to be very quick to control it.
 
Last edited:
leigh_boy said:
all i would say is unless you are mechanical minded and dont mind getting dirty dnt bother, got a rev 3 t -bar and what a pain in the arse they are to work on, engines out for the 3rd time now, the electrics ( mainly the alarm) are a pain also.

back hend happy in the damp, not ideal for a new driver.. if you did get 1, by some sand to put in the boot.
Click to expand...


Moving the weight bias further back would make things worse rather than better.

Why is your engine out for the third time? The 3S-GE is generally pretty tough, though running it low on oil will very quickly kill the bottom end.
 
Dogbreath said:
EDIT: The Rev2+ MR2's do have a tendency to understeer, especially in the wet. This was deliberately engineered in after the Rev1 proved to be a bit of a liability in some peoples hands. The Rev1 does not have the same tendancy to understeer, and once it lets go you need to be very quick to control it.
Click to expand...

Good post but I can't agree with this, none of my mr2's or my father's had any tendency to under steer in the wet, rev 2, rev 3 na and turbo all wanted to step out if you overstepped the mark. Saggy suspension may make it understeer though

Drive it appropriately ( I.e slowly) in the wet and I'll never be an issue even with the rev 1 - tbh though I can see no good reason to buy a rev 1 now with the price of the rev 3+
 
leigh_boy said:
all i would say is unless you are mechanical minded and dont mind getting dirty dnt bother, got a rev 3 t -bar and what a pain in the arse they are to work on, engines out for the 3rd time now, the electrics ( mainly the alarm) are a pain also.

back hend happy in the damp, not ideal for a new driver.. if you did get 1, by some sand to put in the boot.
Click to expand...

Thats my main worry, hapy to work on it myself but I can imagine access can be challenging at times.

Probably should have worded my post better, been driving 6 years but this will be the first car i actually own.

geekman said:
I got my MK2 MR2 Rev 5 (I think!) for the same reasons as you're considering one: they're fun, cheap to insure and not anywhere near as uneconomical as you'd expect. Mine has been brilliant so far - I paid £1000 for it, have taken it to a couple of trackdays and put around 7k miles on it and nothing whatsoever has gone wrong. Servicing can be done anywhere - I just get my mechanic friend to do it, and they're apparently fairly easy to work on.

When looking at one, check the sills and arches for rust, check the T-bar doesn't leak and the obvious stuff like clutch, engine noises etc etc. Other than that there's not much I can think of.
Click to expand...

Thanks, sounds like all the standard stuff really.

Dogbreath said:
Most of the Mk2's on the road now will either have very tired suspension, or will already have had most of it replaced. Worn drop links are very common, causing rattling over bumps but also check ARB bushes, top mounts, wishbone bushes, bottom ball joints, dampers, track rod ends etc.

Sticking calipers are common, as are partially seized handbrake cables caused by water ingress. These make the handbrake pretty useless under normal circumstances, and can cause the handbrake to seize on when it freezes.

If it has air-con make sure it works, since the condenser is very vulnerable to stones. Check the condition of the radiator as well.

Make sure it has decent tyres. The Rev1 should have 14" wheels, but many end up with Halford special cheap alloys and budget tyres, absolutely not what you want on a mid engined car which can be quite tricky at the limit.

If it has a T-bar roof, check of rattles, squeaks when driving and any evidence of leaks. Door windows often seal badly and cause wind noise, but can be improved by adjusting the window runners.

The body is galvanised, so any significant rust on panels is quite likely to be cause by previous accident damage.

Check when the timing belt is due, it's not the easiest of jobs to replace (though easier than the Turbo version).
Click to expand...

Thanks gives me a good idea what to look out for. Apparently got full service history and a folder of receipts, so will give me a good idea whats been done
 
Last edited:
rodenal said:
Drive it appropriately ( I.e slowly) in the wet and I'll never be an issue even with the rev 1 - tbh though I can see no good reason to buy a rev 1 now with the price of the rev 3+
Click to expand...

Unfortunately living in Northern Ireland limits my choice hugely. When looking at ~£1000 cars going over to the mainland really isn't an option due to cost.
 
Even though a rev 1 would now be scrap money over here?

1k will buy you a nice rev 3 these days. They're worth pennies and as mentioned above almost all are really starting to rot ( regardless of the galvied comment, which i cant remember tbh but ive seen so many rotten ones that show no signs of accident damage) so as new a car as possible really helps.
 
Last edited:
rodenal said:
Even though a rev 1 would now be scrap money over here?

1k will buy you a nice rev 3 these days. They're worth pennies and as mentioned above almost all are really starting to rot ( regardless of the galvied comment, which i cant remember tbh but ive seen so many rotten ones that show no signs of accident damage) so as new a car as possible really helps.
Click to expand...

Im keeping my eye on autotrader, gumtree and pistonheads, any where else i should look?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom