buying an mr2 and need feedback

I have read and searched the forums, but I really need more resources and more feed back from people here. I am a newbie to mr2's and duno much. But I am looking forward to my buy. The only problem is finding the right car right now. I have my eyes on Turbo and NA, but which would be better. I have found some turbo's but they want atleast double and in some cases, triple for what the car is actually worth. Now, I wouldn't mind paying more than what the car is worth, but double is just out of the question.

Should I stick with the NA and do an engine swap (from NA to turbo). Or should I just get the high priced, high mileaged Turbo.

What would be the cons if I did do a swap from NA to turbo? Would there still be things that I'll be missing out on?

If anyone has any other suggestion? Maybe get NA and go over to JDM swap. Wouldn't I be missing out on the Turbo then though?
Im driving myself nuts haha. need to get car by the end of july.

And high mileage meaning anything over 100k.

Thankyou for reading this, and if anyone has any resources of any kind, It'll be helpful and well thanked. Peace~

Oh, and if someone's near New Jersey area and is selling their cars. Hit me up. Thanks again.

What is your budget?

how old are you?

when you say 2 or 3 time the worth of the car, are you going by KBB value ? cause that is really low compared to what the public will pay for a turbo mr2

Definitely ;I

I'm in the military and i have money to spend. I have a few cars that I'm looking at, but I am wondering what would be the best way to go.

There's a 116k mile 93 turbo asking for about 9500 dollars. I can afford that but there's other cars half the price that are NA. Should I stick with the Turbo? or should i just do a swap to turbo and then work my way from there? I just want a daily driven / semi-fast car for now. Until I get back from the desert, I won't be hitting the streets too much.

Oh and from what I hear, this guy is telling me that the car is in great shape. Engine was swapped from a 45K mile mr2 that was totalled in a collision accident. Alot of the parts were cryoed, tranny was replaced and the only problem was that there was a fender bender on the passenger side (which i don't care much about). The car has been sitting in his garage for about a year and he's looking forward to get rid of it. It sounds like a great deal to me, I would like some info about the NA, and what I can do to NA MR2's. I will be test driving the car next week and hopefully i'll get some more info.
Any thoughts of what might be better? Swap to turbo? or stick with the buy.

first off... if you want fast in a straight line, don't look at the NA.

If you don't like headaches with engine swaps... don't look at the NA.

If you plan to mod the car for speed... don't look at the NA.

If you plan to autoX a LOT and want to be competative, look at the na, but get one as stock as possible and don't change anything.


9500 seems like a little much, but 5000-12000 are what i usually see for prices in phoenix.

What part of the country/world are you in? that will affect price as well.

Well, I'm stationed in McGuire AFB, New Jersey right now, and I'm not looking into all that AutoX stuff, I just want to have a street car for now. The car is in not too far from here, but what he's done to the car seems like a good deal to me, plus i can try to get him to lower the prices if needed.
If i get the NA, i will eventually turbo swap it but it seems like if I get the turbo, it'll be cheaper in the long run. So I'll have to talk with the guy and figure something out.

Oh and this is not one of those type of cases where what if i did this and what if...wutever, cases. I'm serious about buying a car and hopefully by the end of July, i'll have one sitting in my garage.

i live an was willing to pay 11,000 for mine.... but the guy took 8500 because i picked it up quick and had cash in hand so 95000 isn't bad if its in good condition

ok... i ment 9500 cause 95000 would get you a NSX

Yeah, i would pay 9500, i can drop it a lil bit but not much. I'll have to see what the credit union here says. But Im not sure they'll finance the whole car. might have to pick some out of my own pocket. What I also might have to do is stick with NA, that will hold me up a bit in the streets but I'll manage with a NA for now i guess.

Most places won't finance a car older than eight years :\

That was a major problem for me. Good luck

What do you guys feel about a high mileage MR2? Is that something that's expected, considering this car's been around for awhile. I just need to know how stable the MR2's are at 150k miles, give or take some. Any one have some knowledge about this?

it really depends how the car was treated .... mine's was in amazing condition ... and the guy bought a turbotimer along time ago.... mine has 140,000 miles on it and pulls hard.... jekyl has over 200,000 miles and hes pushing over 300rwhp and 20 psi so there pretty reliable but again... if someone beat the piss out of it anything could be possible

True, the guy tells me that he had plans for it but it doesn't seem as though he raced it because the car doesn't have, if any at all, aftermarket upgrades. He has rebuilt the tranny and engine. He had a friend total his mr2 and swapped turbo's and a few other stuff. So it'll be a good deal, just gota go tomorrow and see what i can ask from the credit union! haha. thanks again.

got my mr2 turbo for 1500 :P, but if it has been sitting in the grage for a year pluse make sure all the gaskets are ok, sitting with out getting run will allow the gaskets to dry out and crack in places, will lead to an early problems with leaks and lots of other stuff

take it for a ride but im sure you know that

Oh yeah, I'm going to test drive. First let the thing idle for a bit, and then pop the hood. see if anything leaks, make him give a lil gas and then take it for a spin. I'ma do a few runs and stuff, but nothing i wouldn't do to a car that's been sitting in the garage for a year. He drove it around a few times but I think I've been a bit unclear. sorry. I meant that he hasn't traveled far with it, just for a few local and close-by errands and stuff. Around the block pretty much. But yeah, I'll know what to do :). Thanx once again, wish me luck on the loan!! peace~

rev the car after idle from the back by turning the throttle body or pushing down the throttle cable... this will allow you to see if anything leaks under load .... also recheck it after the test drive.... good luck

Thanx a lot yo, I'll have an answer from the bank tuesday, damn holidays, always gota ruine it for me lol. N e ways, i'll let you guys know what happens, peace~

Bad news, they won't finance anything 10 years or older, sux. I guess i'm going to have to find out about 240sx's (my next choice)

yo look for the S14.5 (s fourteen and a half) the just like s14 but the have to more agressive front ends

My second choice would have been a 2.5 RS..


swapped with an EJ257 :naughty:

so many SR20DET 240's driving around now, It's almost weird not to hear a blow off valve when you see one drive by