'91 Toyota MR2 turbo
11-26-2012, 07:27 PM
#1
'91 Toyota MR2 turbo
Anyone ever own one?
I've found an awesome looking red one with 88K miles and some
quite trick aftermarket wheels but there is a caveat some type
of manifold hose($20. part) needs to be replaced and I think
they almost have to pull the engine!
I asked a Toyota tech and he quoted me $1K to fix and of course
the seller says a Toyota dealership would do the job for $400-$500.
The tech also told me these cars are problematic in that all the turbo
heat cant really escape!
He says they are awesome cars but also a money pit.
I'm looking to spend prolly $2900. to purchase so if it does need
say $2K for repairs for awhile I still have a 200hp/200lbft lightweight
car for under $5K which sounds reasonable to me!
I've found an awesome looking red one with 88K miles and some
quite trick aftermarket wheels but there is a caveat some type
of manifold hose($20. part) needs to be replaced and I think
they almost have to pull the engine!
I asked a Toyota tech and he quoted me $1K to fix and of course
the seller says a Toyota dealership would do the job for $400-$500.
The tech also told me these cars are problematic in that all the turbo
heat cant really escape!
He says they are awesome cars but also a money pit.
I'm looking to spend prolly $2900. to purchase so if it does need
say $2K for repairs for awhile I still have a 200hp/200lbft lightweight
car for under $5K which sounds reasonable to me!
11-27-2012, 04:53 AM
#2
Registered User
I had a 91 turbo with a boost controller, intake, and catback exhaust a few years ago. a healthy mr2 with those mods are supposed to be at around 200rwhp IIRC. it was one of the most fun cars i've ever driven - having the turbo spool behind your ears never gets old.
short wheel base + turbo torque = not fun in the rain. snap oversteer especially in the rain should be expected.
i only owned the car for a few months. the car probably ran half of that time, though i was crazy enough to drive 1000 miles roundtrips in it. money pit is an understatement. not to mention the amount of time it takes waiting for parts that are difficult to source, and the time you need to put things back together - unless you have deep pockets and don't mind paying others to do it for you.
read up on mr2oc.com - one of the best car forums around IMHO; tons of info on the mr2 there. if i had more time nowadays i would definitely buy one just to mess with it, it was awesome when it ran.
i used to get compliments almost every time i filled up at the gas station. none of the cars i've ever owned has ever gotten the attention or compliments i got with the mr2, YMMV. at least half a dozen guys made me an offer to buy the car.
i really hope you're not considering this car as your daily, as you WILL get stranded on the road sooner or later. mine was a daily but i was young back then and didn't care much. it was a good experience
my battery, alternator, and eventually the oil pan went. battery and alternator left me stranded on the road multiple times. look up "hose from hell", benevolently termed HFH - that tiny engine bay is not fun to work on, and several components are very difficult to get to. i'm sure more little things went here and there - headlights, taillights, window motor, etc. it definitely takes a lot of TLC to keep this car running "right".
i do not mean to turn you away from the car at all, but definitely do enough homework to know what you are getting into.
sorry about the lack of punctuation and horrible grammar, been up for more than 24 hours and am a bit jittery.
short wheel base + turbo torque = not fun in the rain. snap oversteer especially in the rain should be expected.
i only owned the car for a few months. the car probably ran half of that time, though i was crazy enough to drive 1000 miles roundtrips in it. money pit is an understatement. not to mention the amount of time it takes waiting for parts that are difficult to source, and the time you need to put things back together - unless you have deep pockets and don't mind paying others to do it for you.
read up on mr2oc.com - one of the best car forums around IMHO; tons of info on the mr2 there. if i had more time nowadays i would definitely buy one just to mess with it, it was awesome when it ran.
i used to get compliments almost every time i filled up at the gas station. none of the cars i've ever owned has ever gotten the attention or compliments i got with the mr2, YMMV. at least half a dozen guys made me an offer to buy the car.
i really hope you're not considering this car as your daily, as you WILL get stranded on the road sooner or later. mine was a daily but i was young back then and didn't care much. it was a good experience
my battery, alternator, and eventually the oil pan went. battery and alternator left me stranded on the road multiple times. look up "hose from hell", benevolently termed HFH - that tiny engine bay is not fun to work on, and several components are very difficult to get to. i'm sure more little things went here and there - headlights, taillights, window motor, etc. it definitely takes a lot of TLC to keep this car running "right".
i do not mean to turn you away from the car at all, but definitely do enough homework to know what you are getting into.
sorry about the lack of punctuation and horrible grammar, been up for more than 24 hours and am a bit jittery.
11-27-2012, 07:40 AM
#3
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A friend of mine has owned 3 different MR2. When I was in the marker for a car and I asked him for opinions this is the email he sent me. I thought it was worth sharing.
Pros #1-6 are win, and they apply to the S2k as well, so I bought one instead. He prefers the '93 for the rarity, the paint quality is better, and the oversteer tendencies are more balanced (sound familiar?).
Reasons why you want a Mk2 MR2:
1) You never have to help anyone move
2) You can only drive 1 person anywhere, and usually that person is homie or a girl you're cool with, never their possibly annoying friends who nag/sleep/throw up in the back seat
3) Airport pickups are limited to people without tons of luggage
4) They're real fun around twisties (2nd-3rd gear), both the NA and Turbo, enough torque to swing the tail out and accelerate out of corners, being mid engine and all
5) You'll average 25mpg combined
6) Small car = easy to wash, less to vacuum, easy to park
7) They retain their value. A '93 NA + clean body + few/zero mods will always stay around $5000, regardless of mileage. I bought a '93 NA Red w/ 115k miles 5 years ago for $5500, sold it 3 years later at 150k miles and a large gash on the body for $4800. '91-93 Turbos routinely stay around $7000-$9000. It's been this way since at least 2004.
8) It's one of the few 90s rice rockets that has a classic body and are easy to maintain (if you get the NA)
9) Fat chicks have a hard time getting in the passenger seat, therefore less likely to reduce your gas mileage
10) T-tops are nice (if they don't leak)
11) The engines are winners. My first NA MR2 was running fine at ~230k miles, even when I neglected it/changed oil every 7,500, opting to drop a bottle of oil over getting an oil change
12) It's mid-engine and has pop-up lights, can't go wrong those features, you're in Lambo/Ferrari/Lotus territory
13) One of the best MR2 mechanics is in Santa Clara and is reasonable/trustworthy/cool
14) RWD = awesomely short turning radius
15) Reason #9 again
16) You can swap a Solara V6 in and create a monster
Negs
1) If you get a turbo, major maintenance can get expensive (hoses, turbo)
2) Rear tires on the 91-95 turbo/93+ NA rims are an awkward size, usually have to special order
3) Paint fade can be pretty nasty on 91-92 Reds, 91-93 Blacks, all Whites, unless maintained
4) Snap oversteer tendencies on the 91-92 are impossible to recover from, 93+ are considerably better and controlling oversteer
5) RWD + no traction control makes rain driving scary if you're doing crazy shit
6) <1400 1994-1995 models were imported to the US
1) You never have to help anyone move
2) You can only drive 1 person anywhere, and usually that person is homie or a girl you're cool with, never their possibly annoying friends who nag/sleep/throw up in the back seat
3) Airport pickups are limited to people without tons of luggage
4) They're real fun around twisties (2nd-3rd gear), both the NA and Turbo, enough torque to swing the tail out and accelerate out of corners, being mid engine and all
5) You'll average 25mpg combined
6) Small car = easy to wash, less to vacuum, easy to park
7) They retain their value. A '93 NA + clean body + few/zero mods will always stay around $5000, regardless of mileage. I bought a '93 NA Red w/ 115k miles 5 years ago for $5500, sold it 3 years later at 150k miles and a large gash on the body for $4800. '91-93 Turbos routinely stay around $7000-$9000. It's been this way since at least 2004.
8) It's one of the few 90s rice rockets that has a classic body and are easy to maintain (if you get the NA)
9) Fat chicks have a hard time getting in the passenger seat, therefore less likely to reduce your gas mileage
10) T-tops are nice (if they don't leak)
11) The engines are winners. My first NA MR2 was running fine at ~230k miles, even when I neglected it/changed oil every 7,500, opting to drop a bottle of oil over getting an oil change
12) It's mid-engine and has pop-up lights, can't go wrong those features, you're in Lambo/Ferrari/Lotus territory
13) One of the best MR2 mechanics is in Santa Clara and is reasonable/trustworthy/cool
14) RWD = awesomely short turning radius
15) Reason #9 again
16) You can swap a Solara V6 in and create a monster
Negs
1) If you get a turbo, major maintenance can get expensive (hoses, turbo)
2) Rear tires on the 91-95 turbo/93+ NA rims are an awkward size, usually have to special order
3) Paint fade can be pretty nasty on 91-92 Reds, 91-93 Blacks, all Whites, unless maintained
4) Snap oversteer tendencies on the 91-92 are impossible to recover from, 93+ are considerably better and controlling oversteer
5) RWD + no traction control makes rain driving scary if you're doing crazy shit
6) <1400 1994-1995 models were imported to the US
11-28-2012, 07:31 AM
#6
Great cars. I have owned a dozen MR2s over the years, but only two were second gen cars. If you are willing to work on it yourself, it is not a money pit at all. If you are paying someone for labor every time something goes wrong, look elsewhere!
11-28-2012, 09:22 AM
#7
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Sounds like unusually low milegage and a low price. But keep in mind that it's still a car that is going on 22 years old. And as a result, all those rubber and plastic hoses and gaskets and bushings on the car are falling to the ravages of time and will need replacement eventually, just like the manifold hose it needs now. Do not underestimate the maintenance costs of owning a 20+ year old car. It's just now entering that window where all the rubber and plastic materials on the car start to fail.
Andrew
Andrew
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11-28-2012, 09:28 AM
#8
I had one. I miss that car.
It is the only car I have owned that I was truly in love with. Man I miss that car.
Total pain in the ass to work on, especially if you ever have to replace the "hose from hell" and you can read about that on the MR2 board. (edit) I see from rereading it needs this replaced. Worst two days of my life replacing that thing. This is completely true, in order to get the damn thing on I literally had to be upside down head and arms in the engine compartment and feet sticking straight up in the air to reach it. Was that way for a good 20 minutes and practically needed back surgery afterwards. It is not referred to as the hose from hell for nothing.
But man I miss that car.
At the time I decided to sell I had 130,000 on it and it had a few things I had to work on and after I had finished I was so worn out from working on cars I started to worry that something else might go wrong. So I got rid of it and missed it every day since.
I kind of like my S2000, but I LOVED that freaking MR2.
Buy it.
I would not go back to one since they don't have modern safety equipment, and I kept mine mint by replacing anything that even had a scratch on it like the ash tray, or shift knob, etc. But a couple of the interior parts went out of production which made me feel more like I had to sell it.
If they put it back in to production I would buy one tomorrow.
Did I mention I miss that car?
It is a non-interference engine so it won't genade if the timing belt breaks, but that is a total bitch to do as well. A lot of Toyota mechanics will tell you they find it easier to just drop the whole engine to do the timing belt rather that replace it in the car.
Outside of a couple of common oil leaks, and the hose, they are really bullet proof cars. Turbos are a wear part that needs to be replaced eventually but the engines are solid and the transmission is overbuilt. I would not worry about big things, more about little ones.
It is the only car I have owned that I was truly in love with. Man I miss that car.
Total pain in the ass to work on, especially if you ever have to replace the "hose from hell" and you can read about that on the MR2 board. (edit) I see from rereading it needs this replaced. Worst two days of my life replacing that thing. This is completely true, in order to get the damn thing on I literally had to be upside down head and arms in the engine compartment and feet sticking straight up in the air to reach it. Was that way for a good 20 minutes and practically needed back surgery afterwards. It is not referred to as the hose from hell for nothing.
But man I miss that car.
At the time I decided to sell I had 130,000 on it and it had a few things I had to work on and after I had finished I was so worn out from working on cars I started to worry that something else might go wrong. So I got rid of it and missed it every day since.
I kind of like my S2000, but I LOVED that freaking MR2.
Buy it.
I would not go back to one since they don't have modern safety equipment, and I kept mine mint by replacing anything that even had a scratch on it like the ash tray, or shift knob, etc. But a couple of the interior parts went out of production which made me feel more like I had to sell it.
If they put it back in to production I would buy one tomorrow.
Did I mention I miss that car?
It is a non-interference engine so it won't genade if the timing belt breaks, but that is a total bitch to do as well. A lot of Toyota mechanics will tell you they find it easier to just drop the whole engine to do the timing belt rather that replace it in the car.
Outside of a couple of common oil leaks, and the hose, they are really bullet proof cars. Turbos are a wear part that needs to be replaced eventually but the engines are solid and the transmission is overbuilt. I would not worry about big things, more about little ones.
11-28-2012, 11:39 AM
#9
Registered User
I dove a '93 MR2 Turbo a long while ago. I ended up with an Integra GSR instead, but I thought the MR2 was extremely fun. 
How about a supercharged V6 swap?
http://www.v6mr2.com/
How about a supercharged V6 swap?
http://www.v6mr2.com/
11-28-2012, 06:35 PM
#10
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As you can tell from my username, my advice is for you to get it! I'm more of a fan of the 93+ models, since I had a 93 MR2 that I sold before I got the S2000 back in 2002. I drive a pristine Z4M Roadster now as a weekend car but I still look through ebay and see if I could pick up a clean MR2 turbo still. It's a timeless classic that is reliable, provides great gas mileage, has incredible handling and exotic car esque looks. Don't get the NA. You will deeply regret it. Stick with the turbo. It's a great motor with lots of potential.