reliability of the mk II these days?

i've searched around the forum, but i haven't seen much about reliability, so i've been wondering. how reliable is the mkII mr2? all the ones in my area (san diego), for sale are at about 150k miles. are they still good to go for at least another 70,000?

i've heard of people swapping in like...lexus es300 engines. which engine swaps are the most popular and around how much do they cost? will it increase the life of the car if i find an engine with low mileage? will it increase performance?

is there anything that i should check before buying any mr2? any problem points?

and last question...i'm not gonna be disappointed or anything, right? people have fun with these cars, stock, right? i mean, it seems like a really fun car. that's the main reason i would buy it. and all this reliability stuff...sorta matters a lot as i wouldn't have a lot of money to fix anything.

thanks

-Mike

With ANY used car, it all depends on how it was taken care of.

I bought Hyde (1991 turbo MR2) with 180,000 miles on him for a mere $1750.00. He was bone stock and the previous owner was religeous about oil changes.

I assumed it would blow up the first time I raced it.
That was 4 years ago (and four race seasons!) on that same engine. I managed to get 440 rwhp out of it and it was still running strong (but with a blown headgasket) when we took it out this winter for the new engine.

Any used car is going to have risks. The older they are and the more mileage they have, the more likely you are going to have to do some mainenance and repairs.

I plan on buying a 91 MR2 Turbo, I have done some research on the car, but nothing big. I came up with a list of things that I think I'm going to need to replace or check out as soon as I get the car. Personally I wouldn't expect a lot of performance from a stock 3sgte that’s 14 years old with 120,000 miles on it. But if you compared it to other motors that Toyota has manufactured, you will see that’s they also will last a long time, if there taken care of right. I'd say the only way you will be disappointed is if expect a lot out of this thing as soon as you get it. That’s just my opinion.

Personally I wouldn't expect a lot of performance from a stock 3sgte that’s 14 years old with 120,000 miles on it.

Why not?

Oil leaks, loose vacuum tubes, blown gaskets, corroded wiring harness, bad plugs, or plug wires, residue building up in the throttle body, etc. I’m not saying that all those will apply, I’d just consider them. I personally wouldn’t drive the car as hard as I want, I would take it easy until I get a tune up or a full check up.

Fair enough ... agreed :)

I think if you buy one that was well maintained you should not have any worries in building up some healthy HP ;)