Finding MR2s - Ebay/AutoTrader

[Flibby]

Following on from my post in the newbie section, I've been thoroughly engrossed in my search for an ideal model.

I've always found my cars on AutoTrader, and the vast majority from garages. I've noticed this trend with AutoTrader, and currently almost every MR2 on there is at a garage, with the usual guff but no useful information.

Now it's obviously a preferred option to find a car from a fellow enthusiast, who understands cars and can give you a better feel for what you're buying, but does anyone have any eBay advice?

I've read the very good buyers guide and have a decent idea of what to look out for as a result, but when buying on eBay there's a lot more pressure on it, especially if you're bidding, and then having a look round afterwards. I appreciate that isn't the best way to do things, but if i found the right car and it wasn't in range to go and see it (North West, Midlands, Yorks, Lincolnshire way) then I'd still be tempted to go for it.

I don't need the car for a commuter until the middle of June, but I struggle with a lack of patience 

Pricing also seems to be very very variable.  I've got a fairly fixed top budget of £2,500, but that can either find you a 130+ mile pre-facelift, or a sub 100k mile facelift version depending upon where you look.

It's a minefield, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't enjoying it. If anyone has any wisdom to share i'd be grateful!

Nick

[Carolyn]

My rule:

If a I can't go see it, I don't buy it.

I miss a lot that way, but no lemons either.

[shnazzle]

It's not quite the same but we have had cases where a member did a viewing  by proxy.
So if you found one thta ticks all your boxes 200 miles away, you could have a member have a look for you and report back.
We're all over the place, like ants

[StuC]

Also remember that if you need a set of proxy eyes, there are members willing to help you out. Which might help expand you search area.

Agree with @Carolyn I have a painful experience of buying a car from eBay without viewing first. Let's just say I had to make a lot of Lemonade!!

Deffo go and look at a few local to you. Get a feel for the car, that way when you have honed in on the one you want, you have more viewing experience/understanding.

[Flibby]

Thanks for the great advice!

The idea of buying something unseen is unnerving. If i spot the one of my dreams in the South East i'll be sure to ask for some assistance, for some sort of reward!

When you see the price of Mk2s it really makes you think that it won't be long before these are collectors items. Especially given overeager insurance assessors...

[ManInDandism]

I bought my car off eBay even though it was 400 miles away.  I did also use Autotrader, Gumtree etc. and having decided on the exact spec I was after, I. was prepared to wait until it showed up on whichever site.

I tended not to favour cars listed as auction as didn't feel it allowed me to make a considered judgement.  Regular eBay users will know that final bids for desired items are placed in the dying seconds even if the item has been listed for ages.  If it's something you set your heart on, you either end up bidding more than you intended or otherwise risk disappointment.  Additionally you can't really communicate properly with the seller as they are not supposed to include any contact details outside of messaging them. They sometimes do so in ignorance, but eBay obviously don't want you negotiating outside of the site since their commission is based on final valuation.  For fixed price listings the seller pays a fee upfront and so can legitimately include a contact phone number.  Far easier to talk to a human, ask the questions you want (detect if they are fibbing) or arrange to view and test drive.

Then you just look at it as if buying a second hand car from any source. So that's deciding on what price, spec, age, colour and condition you want as the minimum for each of the criteria and how far you want to travel.

Plus you do any other checks you can such as looking through the MOT history online (I get put off when the reg no. has been concealed) and before you finally pull the trigger, pay the modest fee to check on vehicle history.  Lots of Roadster reviews from wide and varied sources available via Google as well which you can amalgamate to make a check list of what to look out for. 

Obviously cars do sell via auction and no doubt there are bargains to be had. it's about risk mitigation how comfortable you are personally.  £2500 isn't really that much money for a car but on a model that's now at least 14 years old, you can easily spend a significant percentage of this rectifying faults if you are unlucky enough to choose wrongly. Even if you get a good one you still end up with bills! 

[james_ly]

Cars seem generally quite hard to sell at the moment, so a private sale you might be a really good deal if you haggle hard.

Red ones are the fastest

[jonbill]

Cars seem generally quite hard to sell at the moment, so a private sale you might be a really good deal if you haggle hard.

Red ones are the fastest

It's brexit. I blame @joesson. he voted leave so he can drink gin with branded tonic.

[McMr2]

Following on from my post in the newbie section, I've been thoroughly engrossed in my search for an ideal model.

I've always found my cars on AutoTrader, and the vast majority from garages. I've noticed this trend with AutoTrader, and currently almost every MR2 on there is at a garage, with the usual guff but no useful information.

Now it's obviously a preferred option to find a car from a fellow enthusiast, who understands cars and can give you a better feel for what you're buying, but does anyone have any eBay advice?

I've read the very good buyers guide and have a decent idea of what to look out for as a result, but when buying on eBay there's a lot more pressure on it, especially if you're bidding, and then having a look round afterwards. I appreciate that isn't the best way to do things, but if i found the right car and it wasn't in range to go and see it (North West, Midlands, Yorks, Lincolnshire way) then I'd still be tempted to go for it.

I don't need the car for a commuter until the middle of June, but I struggle with a lack of patience 

Pricing also seems to be very very variable.  I've got a fairly fixed top budget of £2,500, but that can either find you a 130+ mile pre-facelift, or a sub 100k mile facelift version depending upon where you look.

It's a minefield, but i'd be lying if i said i wasn't enjoying it. If anyone has any wisdom to share i'd be grateful!

Nick

My only regret was not trying enough before I bought. I was happy with the one I went for but a comparison could have been useful.

Unless the seller is on top of things budget for a decent wheel alignment (all 4 wheels), plus tyres if needed, to get the best out of it.

Even the last of the line cars will be 12/13 years old now so have a good look for all the age related things that you would on any car.

[Bossworld]

I bought the first one I'd ever seen/sat in. That was dumb. You probably need to see a few just to get a feel for what's out there; though it seems you've already encountered the wide range.

As a bare minimum, IMO you need to see the condition of the rear subframe from below and check if the handbrake works. There are many other potential issues (and I'm sure they're covered in the buyer's guide) but they're not as easy to assess without some disassembly. (Thinking radiator corrosion, PAS pipes, under frunk cover rust).

[paulj]

Take your polaroid sunglasses!  My wife wears them a lot and when we looked at one she just said "no".  In the sunshine the body looked OK but through the glasses it was obvious all panels had been sprayed.  On closer inspection we didn't think the car left the factory all together and on the same day - so walked.

I saw three before I bought and actually walked away from the one I chose, going back an hour later after thinking it through....

[Johnny5]

Don't underestimate gumtree.  Good place to buy.  There's a particular type of seller who will use it.  It's free to advertise on, so anyone wanting to take their time and not worried about a quick sale (good sign) will be attracted to it.  I bought my 2 on gumtree, as well as a Clio 182 a way back.

Check any MR2 underneath for rust, not just the crossmember/subframe.  Buyers' guides by pistonheads and evo etc were written quite a few years ago when few 2s were rusty.  That's changed considerably now, and rust is now setting in all over the underneath of some cars.  Have a good squint underneath.

A cheeky tip when looking at private sales, is to ask the seller to demonstrate to you how to read the dipstick.  It's notoriously difficult to read , so if they have trouble telling you where the oil level is, that means they've not stayed on top of of it.

Hope you find a car you like.

[Ardent]

Being the muppet I am. Bought the first i seen.

[Chilli Girl]

I brought mine both on the first viewing too - no problems.  May have to sell mine this year, I can't believe I'm writing this!

[shnazzle]

I bought mine long distance.
Radiator was bust and windscreen had to be replaced but it's been a peach for 3+ years

[Flibby]

It seems as though I'm in good company with the impulse buying thing 

Got my eye on a few silver with red interiors, but the darker grey looks great with a red interior too...

[StuC]

It seems as though I'm in good company with the impulse buying thing 

Got my eye on a few silver with red interiors, but the darker grey looks great with a red interior too...

If you are set on red interior, then black is your colour of choice.

For any non-red interior interior, the Urban Custard Collective beckons you.
Yellow, yellow... it must be yellow I tell you!!!
Not that I am biased you understand.

P.s. never... EVER buy a silver!
<runs>

[1979scotte]

If you buy silver you'll get bored of seeing them everywhere comparatively.
Sable is the best colour but as a red interior fan black is a great contrast.
Blue is very nice when looked after.
Red and yellow are proper sports car colours but do fade if not looked after.
Early pfl green is best avoided imho but late fl green is beautiful.

I bought a low ish mileage 06 silver only one I'd driven at that time and it had all the common problems.

[Newbie57]

I bought the first one I looked at. It was local,03 plate,  blue, hard top & good soft top, had loads of paperwork and a 12 month MOT.  Sub frame was good, no elm.
Nice clean oil, plenty on the dip stick, no smoking exhaust.
So, Eml  came on about 150 miles later. Consumed oil about a litre in 700 miles. Cat inefficient  On checking the on line service Toyota records I found a note to say it had been run to nothing on the oil in the past
Radiator had a small leak but they are only £35 and a couple of hours to change, windscreen wiper motor noise, another easy job & the aerial.
Since put a low mileage engine out of an 04 car in it.
The only way I could have mitigated the engine issue, which the seller must have known about would have been to buy from a dealer

[Joesson]

@1979scotte  could tell tales about buying a 2 from an "enthusiast" , as with all purchases "buyer beware" is the only  criteria to work with. Fortunately Newbie57 also has the good fortune of being a Member so has a great " buyercheck list" to work from and a lot of free advice from the other Members.
I have noticed in the above posts that the Silver Dream machines have not been given the consideration they deserve and gaudy colours have been mentioned as well as a particular fruit colour.
Just remember that a banana is bent/ unstraight and also similar colour to a lemon and you really don't want one of those. 

[paulj]

I love this forum!  We have answered @Flibby questions and then started a discussion about colours. For the record blue is best (!).

You can only be sure of one thing when buying second hand - you get the colour the first owner liked!

[james_ly]

P.s. never... EVER buy a silver!
<runs>

You could argue that silver is the lightweight option for the true purist... as they forgot the top layer of paint after primer

[H1GRM]

If you buy silver you'll get bored of seeing them everywhere comparatively.
Sable is the best colour but as a red interior fan black is a great contrast.
Blue is very nice when looked after.
Red and yellow are proper sports car colours but do fade if not looked after.
Early pfl green is best avoided imho but late fl green is beautiful.

I bought a low ish mileage 06 silver only one I'd driven at that time and it had all the common problems.

"Red and yellow are proper sports car colours" Not if you are British and proud!!! BRG with all its history.

[Ardent]

H1grm
Would like to see the goddess next to a BRG just to see the tonal difference.

My minds eye, sees BRG as darker. Maybe quite a bit.
Both good though.

[Ardent]

For those that know their way around photoshop.
This wiki link gives the hex code cmyk for brg.
British racing green https://g.co/kgs/AYBTTT