dilemma! £7k roadster OR £10k roadster!?

Anonymous · March 27, 2007, 22:04

Quote from: "andy b"You dont need to spend £10K on a post-facelift car either.

My current, and second, MR2 is 2003, 19K miles, FTSH, and i only paid £7700 for it from a member on here, that was only a couple of months ago!

So all you need to do is keep a look out and you will find the right deal s:D s:D

Good luck with the hunting

:O WTf i paid 7300 for a 2001 model with 40 k s:| :| s:| NOOO!!! lol

aaronjb · March 27, 2007, 22:11

Quote from: "bobnob":O WTf i paid 7300 for a 2001 model with 40 k s:| :| s:| NOOO!!! lol

This'll cheer you up (seems to be my job today s;)

s;) ) - I paid £17k three years ago.

Now that smarts just a tad.

Still.. can't take it with you when you're gone, as they say, so as long as you enjoy it..

Anonymous · March 27, 2007, 22:14

You are one hell of an negotiater s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Anonymous · April 9, 2007, 18:27

Quote from: "aaronjb"
Quote from: "bobnob":O WTf i paid 7300 for a 2001 model with 40 k s:| :| s:| NOOO!!! lol

This'll cheer you up (seems to be my job today s;) s;) ) - I paid £17k three years ago.

Now that smarts just a tad.

Still.. can't take it with you when you're gone, as they say, so as long as you enjoy it..

and I paid 12K for a 2004 with 36K miles less than 1yr ago from a Toyota dealer!!! because I was insistant on a black with AC and red leather - silly really - not enjoying keeping the black one clean! Still got my money's worth out of the toyota warranty - new clutch, brakes, exhaust, belts (after complaining of a resonance somewhere out back)... so I am hoping it'll be a cheap second car for a couple more years, and still get 6-7K back...

s:o

s:o

Anonymous · April 10, 2007, 17:16

Interseting what you guys say about S2000 insurance.

Am vaguely thinking of upgrading to the Honda at the moment but insurance a worry

Just got a quote for £740 full comp living in the suburbs of Bristol. That's actually £100 less than the insurance of my modified mr2.

Was with elephant.co.uk.

looks like an option! BTW - I'm a 26 year old male - 4 NCB and 1 fault claim, no points (miraculously)!

scottish_turbo · April 10, 2007, 17:25

upgrade to a honda! s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

How dare you! s:wink: :wink: s:wink:

Chris_h · April 10, 2007, 20:47

I am surprised your downgrade quote is so good Simon.

I found the exact opposite - in fact the S2k was the same as an E46 M3.

Maybe it is the responsible Doc in you s:D

s:D

Anonymous · April 11, 2007, 10:06

Ha Ha ! Downgrade ! - I knew that would get someone hackles up. s:D

s:D s:D

s:D

My insurance did go down by about 10-15% when I graduated but it was also helped by turning 25. Interestingly it worked out £7 cheaper by saying I am a surgeon rather than a doctor - ?? Go figure?

Anonymous · April 14, 2007, 09:17

...i had a similar dilemma - i love the styling on the pre... but that dark grey on the newer ones had me going. in the end i got a silver pre with a Sony + sub bass (good enough for me!), low mileage, hard top, for 7k plus the most knackered Eunos Mk1 in christendom

if there's anyone on here who's owned both a post and pre facelift, how much difference does the strut / tuning etc make in terms of performance and handling? i've not ruled out a post-facelift at some point, but i do prefer the square front grille and shape of the earlier ones

i have to say the step up from my trusty old MX is startling.. the MR2 is a much more powerful and responsive car.. but i do kind of miss that 'strap a spitfire on' aspect of the MX - though that's probably down to the lower seating position.

(the new MXs are definitely made for people below 6 ft, very claustrophobic.. in my MR2 there's room for a big hat and clown shoes. so get a Toyota)

a mate of mine liked my car so much i took him over to buy one a couple of days ago. he spent a camping weekend staring at it, poking it, then i let him have a go...

freak_in_cage · April 14, 2007, 10:51

in 03 they added a couple of braces to the 2, but these can be easily added to your pre 03 car m8 for not much more

on 04 i believe they did some safety tweaks to improve its crash performance, but these in turn had an effect on the stiffness- not too sure how much of a difference they made.

Anonymous · April 14, 2007, 11:00

Quote from: "Babararacoocoodada"how much difference does the strut / tuning etc make in terms of performance and handling?

If you're driving normally down a motorway, then not a lot. If you're giving it beans along a back road, then a hell of a lot IMHO. Still, you can always pick up the extra bracing parts if you want a pre-facelift, and since they'll be cheaper than a post-facelift car anyway you can already budget for it.

filcee · April 14, 2007, 15:16

Quote from: "Babararacoocoodada"if there's anyone on here who's owned both a post and pre facelift,

*waves hand*

Quote from: "Babararacoocoodada"how much difference does the strut / tuning etc make in terms of performance and handling?

Quite a bit, in my experience. My '01 was decidedly skittish on downshifts - despite the SMT matching the revs. If I ever managed to quickly close the throttle there would be a polite reminder about the location of the engine. Nothing scary, no unexpected tail-out moments, but a definite reminder that most of the exciting bits were behind your left shoulder. I first noticed this not long after running it in, when lifting off (to keep to the speed limit) on a long downhill section of the motorway. Caused a few raised eyebrows I can tell you! :-) :-) :-) On the limit, e.g. on a roundabout, it would also skip a little bit under (probably too much) power.

In comparison, my '03 is much easier to drive - after swapping straight from the '01 to the new one (and then driving back to Brum from Liverpool), there was noticeably less concentrating going on in the drivers seat. Add to that the TC/VSC which has kept me on the island more than once (it's another SMT), and there's quite a difference between the two. No skittish rear-end on downshifts - though I'm now 6 years into SMT ownership and have revised my driving to better suit the gearbox - and too much power in roundabouts leads to gentle understeer followed by the feeling that not everything I'm asking for is being applied to the rear wheels. There are ways around the nanny electronics - usually involving a more sensible approach to cornering and throttle application s:-D :-D s:-D

Of the two, my '03 definitely feels the better car. With the nannies installed, the weather makes little or no difference, though the amount of feedback is still the same as it ever was. My advice - try both. A cheaper '01 might suit if it's not going to be a daily driver. If you plan to drive it regualrly, then a later model might be better as, in my view, it definitely seems less demanding to drive. You might achieve the same result with an early car and the suggested bracing mods above. Both of mine are/were unmodified, so I can't add anything to that debate.

Anonymous · April 14, 2007, 16:37

cheers all - given me food for thought.. one being maybe i should've spent the extra 3. she's untested in the wet, as this is the second time i've bought a rag top, and it seems to please the weather gods for a couple of weeks.

i remember the 3 weeks unbroken sunshine when i bought my '5, rudely halted by a 360 the first time it rained, and a day i started learning about RWD in the wet s:)

s:)

Filcee - thanks for the detailed reply - i wonder how much of the unpredictability is down to the SMC? i didn't trust myself with the semi auto, and went for 5 speed manual.

wondering too if something like the Eagle F1's i put on the old 'gloucester gladiator' might be a good choice for mine. i could chuck it around in the wet like it was dry. fill them with gel.. free up boot space.. double the weight

going to be driving her all the time, so i'll get some bracing at the very least!

Anonymous · April 15, 2007, 15:49

<strikes ones self with piece of tree>
crikey, sorry i got mixed up and appear to have hijacked your thread... i'm on a few forums, and lose track...
great name by the way
</strikes ones self with piece of tree>

freak_in_cage · April 17, 2007, 15:51

Quote from: "Babararacoocoodada"<strikes ones self with piece of tree>
crikey, sorry i got mixed up and appear to have hijacked your thread... i'm on a few forums, and lose track...
great name by the way
</strikes ones self with piece of tree>

lol- no worries m8, enjoyed reading ppls responses to your questions s:D

s:D

Anonymous · April 19, 2007, 00:08

well i think you should by mine for £7.5K on auto trader at min, MR-S hard top, black leather and lots of extras put on by Ian b4 i bought it off him, 29k on the clock bargain!

freak_in_cage · April 19, 2007, 10:25

Quote from: "gnome"well i think you should by mine for £7.5K on auto trader at min, MR-S hard top, black leather and lots of extras put on by Ian before i bought it off him, 29k on the clock bargain!

good spec & low mileage, but i assume on imports you dont get a FSH? in which case you take a bit of a gamble with mileage

its also pretty old at 1999

also does it have LSD?

Anonymous · April 19, 2007, 12:57

your right about the service history, although i can assure you she has been well looked after, the guy i bought it off is a moderator on here and will tell you how much attention he paid to her, i bought her last Jan and she was serviced in June for her MOT.

Ive also just spent £1300 having the engine professionally re-bored and pre cats taken out so you wont have any problems with the engine!

She is a nice little car although yes she is a 1999 V reg but she doesnt look her age! s:lol: :lol: s:lol: