Advice

[ad_car_08]

Hi all,

So as you may or may not know, I'm trying to source myself a low cost '2 for infrequent driving (company car will be my daily driver) and occasional track day use.
Scouring the 'net last night, while being bored infront of the TV, I found a half decent looking MR2 for £500ono, not too far from me. The description tells me it's low mileage, Cat D (which initially fills me with dread..but I've never investigated this area before), the seller states they've fitted a new wheel hub and front wing, and that the car is on the temporary wheel as one of the wheels has a slow puncture.
The seller tells me it's still available, and apparently he bought it as a donor vehicle (scrounged a silver hard top off the blue car  s:? :? s:?    s:?: :?: s:?:  ) but found it was nicer than he thought and decided to sell it on instead. I went to see it this morning to check it out in person...

The car itself looked fairly OK, and before he fired it up, I checked all the levels and for mayo under the oil filler cap. All seemed bob on. With a booster pack, fired up straight away, no problem, no clouds, no white smoke, nothing of concern. As far as the seller was aware, the precats were still in tact. Sounded sweet to my untrained ear; I seemed to remember my first MR2R sounded slightly sewing machine'esque, but I didn't know any better back then.... ended up with the big ends going/sounding like a diesel engine. If I'm to believe the odometer is correct, and is the original engine (which I've no reason to believe it isn't), it's only covered 42ish thousand miles on an X reg  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

Ticking boxes so far...

So the chap acquired the car via a trade auction - hasn't got the v5 or any service history...things start to get a bit   s:? :? s:?  in my minds eye - but perhaps all very normal?? I'm not sure? Maybe you could tell me?
He reiterates that it's a Cat D as someone has bashed the kerb, which accounts for the major kerb rash on the drivers side alloy wheel, and why he changed the hub and fitted a 2nd hand replacement front wing....but interestingly, it's the passenger side wheel that's been changed for the temporary wheel. In my overactive mind, I'm linking the slow puncture to the accident damage, but I guess it could be something as innocent as the rim corroding (which we all know is a common issue) and not forming a seal around the tyre??
When I opened the drivers door to give the steering wheel a turn, the front wing caught the drivers door, which the seller defended was due to him not lining the wing up properly. Again, my suspicious mind is telling me the chassis is out of wack...but again, it could just need correctly aligning!?   s:| :| s:|  

It's been a good while since I've been near an MR2R - with the bonnet up, is it normal to hear the power steering pump whine slightly while doing its thing when you turn the steering wheel? or can it get a bit noisy if the Steering UJ isn't sufficiently lubricated? The UJ didn't look rusty, but then it didn't look greased up. Maybe the pump is on it's way out? ...at this point I'm starting to feel a little disheartened and wondering whether it's going to take a wodge of cash to put right.

Back to the front of the car, with the bonnet open, the seller openly points out some deformation near to the radiator mounts(?), the rubber bushes holding the radiator appear to be stretched/pushed backwards, and where you would secure the bottom of the front bumper, there's a clear gap where some metalwork would need pulling back into position. I seem to remember the workshop technicians  at work doing something very similar for a customer when they had a slight mishap in their Jazz, which leads me to believe it's nothing major....but how do I know there's not any serious damage done to the chassis?   s:? :? s:?  
Am I right in thinking the A/C radiator is the most external of the two radiators? That looked in a bad way too, but then I'm not too fussed about A/C, and was going to remove it anyway.

Finally, I was curious about the rear bumper not hanging flush with the rear quarter panels (evenly spaced gap between bottom of rear wing and top of rear bumper where the two meet, as if the bumper had just dropped a bit) despite the accident damage being to the front drivers corner? Could there be more damage than disclosed/known, or again, is there a perfectly innocent reason for it? I pointed it out to the seller, but he didn't exactly give me a reason for why it was like that.


Apologies for droaning on and creating quite an essay   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  but would really appreciate the forum's opinions on the above.
I'm not looking for a minter, but neither do I want to buy a money pit. Effectively I'm just going to strip it out and have some fun with it on track days, and have the odd pootle about when it's sunny and I have a day off (both of which are few and far between   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  ), which is why i don't really want to spend a lot of money on getting a particularly good example.
The fact the engine appears to be particularly low mileage is what's really grabbing me in honesty, but the fact stuff has to be bent back out isn't doing my nervous nelly side many favours   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  

Thanks in advance for any pearls of wisdom

[shnazzle]

My initial reaction is, stay away.
CatD can be perfectly ok as these cars are written for VERY easily due to their low market value.
But panels not lining up, spare being on the other side, this that and the other thing it seems this should have been a CatC, which I would stay away from.

As for the low mileage, let me tell you a tale of a Toyota Celica I once bought with an engine that was rebuilt by Toyota a mere 30k ago.
The engine was destroyed. Thoroughly and utterly unusably destroyed. So while the block was 30k old... Ish... It had been abused for every mile of the most 30k. I ended up just binning it and taking the cash loss.

So, as said by much wiser members on here before; if it doesn't feel right, it isn't right

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[Ardent]

I did not want to be the first to rain on your parade.
but gut says. Walk away.

[JoeCool]

Never ever buy a car without a V5 present.

Much less a crashed one.

There are better cars out there even for £500. Mine had a broken engine but wasn't crashed and had a V5! And there was a nice blue one that wnt for £375 on the forum last week!!

Keep looking, what you need will come up.

[beavisrules]

sounds like a bag of poo.
V5 missing is first concern.  there's no legit reason not to have one , except to hide that it says other engine/VIN or cant even get one as it was a salvage only..
 Could be a money pit , but then all mr2's are, even the good ones.

[Ardent]

Could be a money pit , but then all mr2's are, even the good ones.

Have to agree with that.
But nice when it's want to vs have to.

[mrzwei]

As others have said, don't make a move without the V5.

[Bernie]

Steer clear too many issues & no V5 = money pit

[mrzwei]

As others have said, don't make a move without the V5.

Having said that, this is worth a look:

 m https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 030815.pdf m

(Just noticed I've made 3000 posts, now without my beloved 2! What is it about this forum?  Does this mean I can now access the for sale bit   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  ).

[ad_car_08]

In my heart of hearts I knew this would be the case, and the fact that not one person has said anything in favour/for it, speaks volumes.
Thank you very very much for your opinions

[Bernie]

As others have said, don't make a move without the V5.

Having said that, this is worth a look:

 m https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 030815.pdf m

(Just noticed I've made 3000 posts, now without my beloved 2! What is it about this forum?  Does this mean I can now access the for sale bit   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:  ).

Yep go and buy another !!!

[Eastsoutheast]

If it had suffered chasis damage I would expect it to be a CAT C not D. Lack of V5 would definitely deter me but the other issues could be nothing more than adjustments.

[JoeCool]

As others have said, don't make a move without the V5.

Having said that, this is worth a look:

 m https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... 030815.pdf m

THe point being that you let the seller do that before they sell the car, like any legitimate seller would.

Without a V5 you have no idea if the car is stolen, rung, cloned, written off, cut n shut, borrowed, anything really. At least with a V5 you can begin your document checks (including a full HI check even on a £500 banger) from some point of reference. Without it, you simply have no idea what you're looking at or if the 'seller' has any business selling it.

[redcarblackhorse]

Never ever buy a car without a V5 present.

Much less a crashed one.

There are better cars out there even for £500. Mine had a broken engine but wasn't crashed and had a V5! And there was a nice blue one that wnt for £375 on the forum last week!!

Keep looking, what you need will come up.

2nd that!

[MR TWO]

V5 missing is first concern.  there's no legit reason not to have one , except to hide that it says other engine/VIN or cant even get one as it was a salvage only..

Couldn't agree more. No V5 = no sale.

[mrzwei]

THe point being that you let the seller do that before they sell the car, like any legitimate seller would.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you but the point is that the V5 is nothing to do with ownership, it is about who is the registered keeper of the vehicle.
I'm frankly surprised that there is a form  that enables you to register as the keeper without the V5c. My interpretation is that you just have to wait four weeks.

The Yanks I think have the 'pink slip' which proves you are the owner.

I would never buy without the V5C.

[JoeCool]

THe point being that you let the seller do that before they sell the car, like any legitimate seller would.

Don't get me wrong, I agree with you but the point is that the V5 is nothing to do with ownership, it is about who is the registered keeper of the vehicle.
I'm frankly surprised that there is a form  that enables you to register as the keeper without the V5c. My interpretation is that you just have to wait four weeks.

I know that - but to all intents and purposes it is the only piece of paperwork a seller can present that will convince me that they have any right to sell the vehicle. And even then I get a bit sneaky and cautious about checks.

A car without a V5 is scrap and nothing more in my eyes and it's a massive red flag if any seller can't present one, or shifts the onus of obtaining one onto a prospective buyer!

[The Other Stu]

If you buy from an auction, cars often don't come with V5s.
They're repos, or grabbed by the police and impounded due to non-payment of tax etc (although they crush most of these under about £5k IIRC)
Or someone has part-exed and can't find the V5.

However, if someone wants to sell on from an auction, the least they could do was apply for a V5.

FWIW, you can't simply apply and hey presto, it's there. If you apply for a V5, they write to the previous owner to let them know that someone's applied for the V5. It gives them the opportunity in case someone is trying a fast-one on.

As someone pointed out above, the V5C is not like a Pink Slip in the US.

[ad_car_08]

If it had suffered chasis damage I would expect it to be a CAT C not D. Lack of V5 would definitely deter me but the other issues could be nothing more than adjustments.

That's what I was thinking.. But I guess if it doesn't feel right, I shouldn't go ahead.
I text the seller earlier thanking him for his time and to let him know I'm out. He said he was surprised I thought the chassis integrity was in question, and surprised I didn't snap it up!  s:? :? s:?

[CrazySX]

As said above check out the car thoroughly. If you don't know what you are looking at then take someone who does. If you think there is a risk, make him an offer that would mitigate the risk.

As for the V5, as long as you get a written invoice for the sale it's no biggy. Does he have any documentation for the car? I would want to do an MOT check on it to see if it's a genuine 42k miler as that is the saving grace. If not then just leave it. Something else always comes up.

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[James and his MR2]

I would have been all over that for £400. If it stolen then obviously your paying for nothing as it going to get taken away. I did just buy a mr2 without a v5, just the v5c/2, I got a sale receipt and a picture of his ID, paid by bank transfer, and he showed me part of his purchase recepit.
 
If those bushes on the radiator are pushed back(maybe also the pipe on the right was kinked?) but nothing more from "ahem" experience you can pull it back out, did you check the crash bar?

Power steering pump whirled on my old mr2 for my 2 year ownership and did once pack in but I fixed it with a hammer  s:D s:D  Used ones are about 100 pounds on ebay

If it doesn't work out you ca always brake it down for more than 500, sounds like it can be bought for less than that too!

[Smcknighty]

Or sell it again for a similar amount probably


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[Thetroublemaker]

If you have HPI'd it and the chassis numbers come up the same and its not showing as stolen (you can also call the police and have them run the VIN) then it would probably be safe to proceed.