mr2 buying jitters...need confidence

after reading the threads here,
I started searching for a used mr2.

I found one.
91 turbo, 91,000 miles all stock clean title.
Asking price at dealership is 6K.

also saw a 91 300zx with 112K miles for 5,500.
private party says it has minor paint blemishes.

finally,
saw a rx7 3rd gen w/ 70k for 13.2K at a dealer.

I want something fast yet won't burn a huge hole in my pocket.

I know the rx-7 is not a good choice in this case,
but for that price, is it worth it?

I'm also a little wary of the mileage on the mr2.

Basically, just looking for gut feelings on this one.
Are any of these choices a good deal?

well, in my opinion, any of those cars can be made extremely fast. firstly, is the 300zx a twin turbo or an NA 3.0? either way, i think you are comparing apples to oranges to bananas. though they are all RWD, one is a 2.0T, one is (hopefully) and 3.0TT, and the other is a 1.3TT rotary. each engine is a good choice in its own right. the mr2 would probably be better for road racing and the 300zx would probably be better for dragging. ive seen the rx-7 succeed in both, as they have good weight distribution and can be made to rev past 12,000RPM with near limitless HP, but that comes at a price. $13,200 to be exact. if you want the fastest of those three cars, you have to ask can you, for 6-7 grand make the MR2 or the 300zx faster than the RX-7 for the same price? my guess is yes, but its essentially your choice.

$6k for a turbo MR2 with 91,000 miles is a good deal. I just sold a 2 owner 91 turbo with 150,000 for that same amount. I have owned about 25 MR2's all together. There are a few things to look out for but most of these are very minor. They come stock with 200hp. The older used ones still seem to have very close to that figure. Getting 250hp out of them is pretty easy and cheap. A manual boost controller will get you to 225hp. A K&N style air filter is worth about 10hp and an exhaust system will net another 15hp. After that you are close to maxing out the stock CT-26 turbocharger. Depending on your budget you can upgrade the CT-26 for about $550 (worth about 30 more hp) or start looking to real turbos like T3/T4 kits or TD06 kits ($1500-$2300) that will support over 400hp. Several other tings will need to be upgraded along the way to reach 400hp, but assuming the engine has not been overheated severly in its life the rods, pistons, head gasket etc should be able to handle 400 horsepower.

Aaron
http://www.atsracing.net

thanks guys for the posts.

really appreciate the advice.

if all goes well, you'll be seeing

me in this forum a whole lot more.

All of those cars are badass...IMO I would go with the MR2 since I am low on funds...but if I had major bucks, I would go with the RX7...cuz its so rare, only prob is that its rotary so its gonna have reliability issues & I heard they break down at 80,000 miles cuz of something with the seals. The Mr2 is the next rare car. GO with That.

plus, when you run a lot of HP and high revs on the rotary engine, the turbine's tips start to wear down which is equivalent to having a hole down the middle of your piston, which means rebuild time...

a 91k Miles MKII Turbo for 6 grand?!? Where, I'll buy a 2nd one for that price, i got my 93 w/ 150k miles for 4500 and i thought THAT was a steal...

91k Miles is NOTHING on an MR2 if it was taken care of, thats practically a new engine...

MR2 most definitely...toyota is known for its bullet proof engines, so you'll have no prob handling lots of horses...the RX-7 would be my second choice, because of the 50/50 weight distribution and smooth delivery of power with a hell of a redline, but yet reliability is the issue with rotaries...and 300zx's suck, they have a lot of power but they are bloated....they weigh a ton so all that power aint gonna help.

hey knas? where did you find that mr2?


I was just wondering what you guys thought about this. I found a 1991 MR2 Turbo, 5speed, the guy wants around $8100.

Kelly Blue Book at BEST is $5500. I really don't want to spend more than $6500. What do you guys think? Do these MR2's usually sell for much more than the KBB price?

Thanks a lot for any help. Also, what kind of stuff should I look out for in used MR2s? Any common faults?

By the way, does anybody know anything about the reliability of the 90-96 300ZX. I've heard that it doesn't last very long.

KBB is pretty far off on the values of these cars. In some markets 91 turbos are still close to $10,000. Drive one and you will understand. NADA, KBB, Edmunds, etc are all based on feedback from auto dealers. Most dealers don't sell MR2's anymore. They are old enough that 99% of the MR2 transactions are between individuals who do not report to the NADA, etc. NADA simply applies a standard Toyota depreciation based on more popular models like the Camry and on original MSRP. Basicaly what is the car worth to you? What other mid engine two seat turbocharged car can you buy in the world today....

Aaron

considering this thread is stil somewhat alive
i thought I would update the general public.

First off,
kbb is a rough estimate of the value of cars in general.
Dealers don't worry about kbb.
They look at the Market Value of the car or street price.

In the case of the mr2, that means *usually* 8K+ for something under 120k miles.

So when I saw this deal,
I jumped on it.

However, I jumped without consulting my bank.
And when I was about to be handed the keys, my loan
got denied. To make the day even sweeter, I had do drive
back 150 miles to seattle in my 91 tercel that had it's window cracked on the 150 mile drive GOING to the dealer.

(In the words of Peter Gunz)
But that's life.
You should learn how to treat her.

My advice to anyone seeking any car in general,
is if you're serious about buying,
have the money set aside ahead of time.

Then, just watch the sweet deals fall in your lap.

You know what they say, if you will it....

Concidering the age of the mr2 91000 miles is really good. I have been searching for one for about a year now and have found very few w/ that many or fewer miles for that price. If it is in good cosmetic condition also go for the mr2

yeah it sucks i've been lookin for one for what seems like forever and i found a hell of a deal a 92' turbo w/ 92k miles w/ ABS female owned exc. condition etc. for 4600!! damn so the ad was printed the same day i called the guy and the next day he called back and said some one allready had the 1st rights to the car n the next day it was sold... sucks!! i nearly cried.

a few things to do on a test drive though:

if it's a 91 especially, make sure it shifts smoothly. no grinding is good grinding. 91's are notorious for this.

ask if they have service records. when i bought mine, the previous owner handed me a file about 1/2" thick with every maintenence record/part bought for the car. makes it real easy to determine what needs to be done.

check the cold driveability. don't let them warm it up first. start it and take it for a spin. make sure it doesn't hesitate (another common problem). just stay out of boost until you're up to temp.

check the underside of the doors (towards the front wheels) for rust. it's not very noticeable, and most sellers will tell you it has no rust just because you can't see it.

wiggle the wheels and check for loose wheel bearings/balljoints.

crawl under the car and make sure the endlinks/tie rods are not bent.

that's all i can think of. just check out everything thoroughly so there wont be any surprises when you get the car home.