Mr2 Mk3 What To Look Out For?

[Justin 9]

Hello,

 

I'm looking at a couple of cars for a friend over the weekend. He has a £3k budget and fancies either a Mk2 MX-5 or a Mk3 MR2 .

 

We've found a couple of both to look at locally - I'm relatively happy with what to look out for on the Mazda (although always interested in opinons) but know very little about the MR2 - I've found some good guides on MR2-ROC, but would be interested in peoples' opinons and experiences.

 

Thanks,

Justin.

[Anthony 1,003]

Is it a pre or post facelift one?

 

The pre-facelift models had a major issue with the pre-cats breaking up and being ingested back into the engine, causing scoring in the cylinders and resulting in burning oil and low compression. Any hint of oil smell or rough running and I would walk away (and if/when you buy one, remove the pre-cats and "fix" them yourself). I don't believe that the post-facelift models had the issue but worth checking the forums as I'm not that up to speed on them.

 

Tyre choice is critical on them, so anything with mismatched or budget tyres fitted you'd be well worth budgeting to replace them as a matter of course - they are quite snappy on the limit being mid-engined, and with cheap, mismatched tyres ditches and hedges seem to become magnetic. As a result, worth paying careful attention to the bodywork and evidence that it's been bumped before. On the subject of wheels, the alloys on the pre-facelift models tend to corrode and bubble quite easily, and Toyota did replace them under warranty.

 

SMT gearbox doesn't seem to get a good press and failures can be very expensive, so I could personally stick to the manual - 5 speed on pre-facelift and 6-speed on post-facelift models.

 

They are good cars though and I had a new 02 plate one when they came out. It is a very different car to drive that an MX-5, but no better or worse, and providing that you can cope with the pitiful luggage space it's probably a better overall package than the Mk2 MX-5.

 

As for MX-5's, the big thing is rust, as they're really starting to suffer now and even Mk2/2.5's are getting bad. The sills rust from the inside out, so any bubbling walk away unless it's cheap enough to warrant fixing, and the rust spreads to the rear quarters necessitating repair/replacement of those. Earlier Mk2 models with the 140hp 1.8 engine did seem to have problems with failures I believe relating to piston rings, but this doesn't affect the later 146hp 1.8 with VVT as far as I know. The 1.6's are a bit underwhelming comparatively, and all are a bit worse on fuel than the MR2

 

Compared to the MR2 they are more practical with a vaguely usable boot, and they're laughable benign on the limit, if not quite as sweet/raw as the earlier, lighter Mk1 model (like I have). It does have a better roof (with glass rear screen) and the cabin has more sound deadening etc than the Mk1 though, which probably makes it a little more attractive as a daily.

 

In both the MR2 and MX-5 cases, there are lots of Japanese import models in the UK - MR-S in the case of the MR2, and Eunos Roadster in the case of the MX-5. Swings and roundabouts - insurance is sometimes more difficult on the imports, but they've suffered less salted winter roads than UK models (important in the case of rust-prone MX-5's) and are typically lower mileage too.

 

Hope that helps

[Justin 9]

Thank you Anthony for your thorough response.

 

Had a good look at a couple today - pre-facelift MR2 and a 2002 1.6 MX-5. Both with 70k ish on the clocks, decent history and seemed mechanically fit. Both drove well too, but the MX-5 had bubbly sills and scabby arches and the MR2 was deemed too impractical - there really is no storage space to speak of, other than the cubbies behind the seats, which I can understand as my friend has to carry quite a bit of stuff around with him.

 

Useful, though as at least we can set our sights on finding a decent MX-5.

 

Justin.

[Anthony 1,003]

Pah - I went around Europe for 10 days with my MR2 without resorting to sticking anything in the footwell, so it can be done

 

Fair enough though, as if you've a reasonable amount of stuff to carry on a daily basis then it really isn't the best suited car. There is a storage space under the bonnet as well, but that's both small and impractical, and as a result I don't think that I used it more than a handful of times in the two years I owned the car.

 

Be patient and you'll find a decent MX-5 that's not suffering from tin worm - took me viewing a few supposed "rust free" cars to find the one that I've got now, and that's 13 years older than the one you looked at. You were right to walk away from that one though, as it doesn't bode well if it's that rusty after only 10 years and to get it sorted properly will be a reasonable chunk of the purchase price again. You really want to find one that's just been used as a summer car and lived in a garage over the winter months, as they're normally pretty solid.

 

Either that, or a Jap import Eunos Roadster - not that many Mk2's around (loads of Mk1's) but they generally tend to be much better from a rust point of view unless they've been in the UK for a number of years.

 

If you've decided on an MX-5, I would strongly suggest looking for a 1.8 if the guy has any interest in driving, as the 1.6 really doesn't have enough power - indeed, even the 1.8 doesn't set the world alight but it's adequate. From memory 2002 was when the 146hp "Sport" model came out with an LSD and a 6 speed 'box as standard, although they're likely to command a premium over a regular model and did feel a touch over-tyred with its larger wheel/tyre combo.