Buying Guide

[Martyn]

Hi all

I`ve been lurking around in the background on here for a while but not posted much, but i`m finally looking at purchasing a MR2 is there a buyers guide on here as to what to look for etc ?

Cheers Martyn

[Anonymous]

Afraid not but most of what you need to know is here:     l viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21983 l

[Martyn]

Afraid not but most of what you need to know is here:     l viewtopic.php?f=9&t=21983 l

Cheers for that   s:D s:D   also where are the chassis numbers located ?

[chopper]

The VIN number should be on a plate in the engine bay in the top left as you look form the back

Some buying tips would be

Run it till its good and hot and make sure its ticking over at about 800 revs any lower and you have an issue
Make sure you try and get a 6 speed with an LSD if you can (dont that there word for it check it has LSD)
Look for smoke of any type when hot and when cold there should be none
Make sure the oil is good if its really bad and way over due a change its not good as these lumps hate any oil issues so good clean oil is what you want to see
Double check the soft top all over for ware or start of rips and that it go's up and down with out any issues or "ears"
Listen for a whine from the gears when engine breaking mostly in the 2nd and 3rd they take a lot of strain and a whine is bad news
Make sure there are no oil leaks at all any were
Make sure there is no noise coming for the power steering pump up fount they go and are dear also sound crap when sitting in traffic
Make sure there is no body damage don't for get to check along the bottom as these MR's are low and easy to miss
Make sure it comes with a hard top, stand and a cover is also good and it should have one
Blip the throttle while you hand is near the tail pipe and listen for a little back fire this is bad if it has one
Have a look around the rocker cover head area for corrosion as they can get bad and will cause issue of dirt getting in when servicing if nothing elese  
Try and avoid one that its tail pipe heat shealds are rusty or two far gone as they can very hard to get of if they are
Gear change should be smooth and clean
Make sure you rev it up past 6000rpm and listen for bad noises and there should be way more power above 4000rpm
When its ticking over listen for a ticking and rattling as this is also bad if its random its not to bad but needs fixing if its constant its very bad
Look out for corrosion on the wheels they seem to go bad quickly and look crap when they do

Then all the normal stuff
No white gunk in the oil fill cap, no gunk in the coolant (make sure its not to smelly as this should be changes regularly and often is'ent done when it should be)
Look for any play in the steering and as you drive there should be no wobble at any speed
Check all for wheels buy hand for play in any direction there should be none
Check the ABS works

That's all I can think of for now I'm sure others have more to check to get the best out of your cash
one thing to note is there are JAP versions and EU versions the JAP versions will be harder to get fault codes for but I much prefer the cleaner badges they have they don't have the Toyota badge on the back or the front just MR-S on the back and a MID-SHIP bade on the front which I think is cooler but be careful if it is a JAP your looking at they can be clocked and also a bit trickier to fix if you get error code popping up

One last point id say is go for a silver if you can or if not a black in good nick some of the other colours are a little silly and you will feel better in a more resell-bile colour like that.

[dcod]

Make sure there is no noise coming for the power steering pump up fount they go and are dear also sound crap when sitting in traffic

Great advice there but the power steering pump makes a wine anyway. It's one way of making sure it's working.

[Stephster]

Good comprehensive advice, but don't worry too much about ears as they are very easily rectified.

[loadswine]

Also, it should be noted that not all 2s came with a hardtop. Personal choice of whether you want one or not really.

[mrzwei]

All I would add to that is make sure that all of the warning lights etc (on the rev counter iirc) come on when you turn the ignition on, and go off when you start the car (handbrake excepted but particularly the 'check engine' light). If it's the semi-automatic SMT gearbox, then ask again.

[Stephster]

Check that all tyres are the same and a good brand. Mismatched tyres on the car mean that you are going to have to replace the lot to be safe and to get good handling, and also that the car has more than likely been unloved.
A full service history will give you reassurance that it has been looked after. These cars are particularly sensitive to not having their oil changed regularly, and without a regular service this is unlikely. Similarly ask the owner about oil usage of the engine - of course this will depend on an honest answer - avoid if it is starting to use a lot of oil as this is a sign of serious trouble ahead.
Check the cubbie holes behind the seat for dampness or even whole swimming pools - this usually indicates the drains are blocked which is an easy fix, but could also be something more serious.

[Martyn]

Thanks for all the advice guys very helpfull, when ever i go to look at a car i always take my mate who is a mechanic & perfectionest   s:D s:D  (he can spot a dent or bad paint work from a mile away)
Got an appointment on sunday to go view an 06 plate sable grey, AC, leather, 46000 miles  2 owners FSH

[dcod]

Thanks for all the advice guys very helpfull, when ever i go to look at a car i always take my mate who is a mechanic & perfectionest   s:D s:D  (he can spot a dent or bad paint work from a mile away)
Got an appointment on sunday to go view an 06 plate sable grey, AC, leather, 46000 miles  2 owners FSH

Sounds promising. Good luck. As said before, I think the most important thing is regular oil changes.

[Martyn]

The car i`m looking at has a FSH & i asked about the servicing intervals, it`s been serviced about every 10,000 miles

[Anonymous]

Looks like youll be forking out quite a bit for that one. Well worth looking at a warranty. Some good deals on line should enable you to reduce the risk for a small % of the asking price.

[chopper]

That sound like a nice beast

Id love to own such a new new one in that color as well over here in Ireland ive never seen one they dont seem to have any over the age of 04 plates

But make sure its a good n as the guys said your looking at a good few notes for one like that and you want to make sure its tight

[uktotty]

Good comprehensive advice, but don't worry too much about ears as they are very easily rectified.

Depends what caused it, my ears cannot be fixed and neither can those of other members where the softtop is ripped inside.

[Stephster]

Good comprehensive advice, but don't worry too much about ears as they are very easily rectified.

Depends what caused it, my ears cannot be fixed and neither can those of other members where the softtop is ripped inside.

Is it worth losing out on a bargain over it though ? My strap is fully functional, but for some reason too loose. Ears personally, don't bother me but if they do you can easily just tuck them in by hand.

[uktotty]

fair comment, but if you have ears then you may have a ripped soft-top, a new soft-top is £2500 so worth checking what caused it.

[spit]

Worth noting that we've occasionally seen '2s without VIN plates in the engine bay   s:? :? s:?  . If there isn't one in there, look beneath the windscreen under the wiper plastics for chassis info.

[MelBee42]

fair comment, but if you have ears then you may have a ripped soft-top, a new soft-top is £2500 so worth checking what caused it.

Christ, I'll sell you mine and use tarpaulin and gaffa tape instead if you'd give me £2.5k for it!!!   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[K T M Rider]

blimey, 18 replies and no mention of CELs or Pre-cats?   s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

(EDIT - just spotted Bryan's Link   s:lol: :lol: s:lol: )

Every Roadie should come with an O2 socket & code reader in the glovebox as standard   s:) s:)  , but then that would deny Mr T. the opportunity to fleece new owners for their hard - earned to perform the simple tasks that these tools are for.   s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

If you are definitely buying a Roadie, well worth investing in one of each of these items before you go and view any.

O2 socket (admittedly not every owner is going to be happy about you wielding one of these on his car - but if you go away and read up on pre -cats you can then decide for yourself whether you want to still buy the vehicle or go and find a seller who is more amenable).

If your seller is amenable, remove O2 sensors (can be difficult - if the thread is really tight and WD40 / nut gas doesn't ease it probably better to leave well alone) and shine a torch through the sensor holes to check the pre-cat matrix which should look nice and flat and uniform.

In truth, I reckon pre -cat degradation is rarer than reading this forum can lead you to believe (I de pre-catted both of my cars, the first of which was a 97k miles unloved oil burner and in both cases the pre - cats looked perfect prior to removal).

Particularly on a Face - lift removing them is more a peace of mind thing then anything else I reckon (unless it burns oil).

Code readers are readily available on Ebay for around £20.

On viewing the car make SURE that the CEL illuminates when ignition key is turned (unscrupulous sellers have been known to disconnect them to hide a fault) and that it goes off once the engine is running. If it remain illuminated  - read the code and go from there (you should get a book of codes with the code reader) 9 times out of 10 it will probably be an O2 sensor - A cheap and simple fix but a great bargaining point.

If the light goes out, still attach the code reader as you can have a pending fault in the ECU that won't light the CEL.

fair comment, but if you have ears then you may have a ripped soft-top, a new soft-top is £2500 so worth checking what caused it.

Back in the real world brand new (non Mr. T.) hoods are available on Ebay for £612.

Alot of great advice from chopper, but think the colour advice is plain wrong actually. Spent 4 months over the summer watching the s/h market (on Autotrader and Ebay) and Silver facelift cars were regularly priced lower than any of the other colours suggesting they are harder, not easier to sell. Not hard to work out why that might be - on Autotrader around HALF the cars available are Silver !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[OldMan]

It's aimed at Yanks, but you may find it useful none-the-less.
http://spyderchat.com/forums/showthread.php?45167-Used-Spyder-Buyer-s-Guide

[Martyn]

Thanks guys, should keep my mate busy looking over the car while i strick a deal lol

[Stephster]

Of course KTM is just biased about colour...  s;) s;) . He likes his bright red !
However, as much as I like silver ( it's my fave actually ) he is right about them being the most common colour. Just go with the colour you like best.

[Martyn]

How do u know if it`s it fitted with a slip diff is there codes on the vin ?

[mrzwei]

I think if it is an EU supplied car then it will have an LSD. If it is an American or Jap MRS then it may or may not have. I'm sure the vin would identify it but whether or not anyone knows the code letter I don't know. Someone recently posted a way of physically checking but not of much use on the sellers driveway methinks.   s:D s:D   I bow to superiour knowledge on this, someone may shoot that down