The hivemind strikes again, because I've come to the same conclusion recently - I've had a couple of MX5's before and I love them, but I'm not going to pay three grand for a "mostly" rust free mk1.

As far as I can tell, the MK3 mr2 is massively overlooked, mostly just because it doesn't look at good or interesting as the two that came before it, and it's also a little underpowered because Toyota didn't want to piss on their Lotus deal by putting the Elise engine in it, though it's a simple enough swap for those inclined to a bit of wrenching.

It will be very reliable and I just can't see how it wouldn't be fun, I'm definitely going to get one. I've narrowed my search down to one from 2003 or up, that's the facelifted version, with 6 speed box instead of 5, and a few engine improvements that will help with reliability. Really the only thing to be worried about on the engine are the pre-cats, which can deteriorate and be sucked into the engine and cause damage - the facelift fixes this, but it's a quick and well advised job to look into doing anyway. But it's a toyota, it will run forever.

I can't really think of anything for 4 grand that would be any more fun for any less hassle, honestly - there will be nice Celicas, GTO/FTO or maybe even 200sx's in that range, but I wouldn't advise most of them because they probably won't be as well sorted as a MK3. Really if you want to spend 4 grand, find a nice Mk2 MR2, the 170bhp version - they're getting on in age but still feel like a proper sporty car, and you don't see a lot of them about they're a lot of fun, but finding a good example you will be spending at least 3 or 4k.

I have a feeling the MK3 will be noticed by more and more people in the coming years, as MX5s start to dwindle in numbers, and they'll shoot up in price.

I don't know anything about cars but I've always wanted an MR2 ever since I saw an MK1 about thirty fucking years ago. One day I'll get one and no doubt spin out and fuck myself into a lamppost thirty seconds later like Richard "The Hamster" Hammond because I have no idea how to drive a real car whose course isn't being constantly corrected by a dozen different computerised units .

I'm sure this is far too late for OP and that novel up there is probably mine anyway, but I bought a Mk3 MR2 last week. It's really, really fucking good. I love MX5s (obviously) but this feels like a purer 'drivers car'. It's really responsive and the whole thing is built for driving. It's hard to describe how a mid engined car handles - the lack of steering input delay is disconcerting at first, but really that's the whole point of it, it just goes where you want it to. And they're not all rusty like an MX5 gets, and the UK market facelift ones all come standard with a helical LSD, something that most affordable MX5s will not come with.

It's shockingly similar to an S1 Lotus Elise. It shouldn't be that surprising given how related they are, but the 15 grand price difference really stands out when this is easily 85 to 95 percent of a 135bhp Elise. I had both the means and motive to buy an S2 Elise and probably was going to dip into my GT-R fund to pick one up, but after driving this I really don't see the need to bother - I'd rather just plop a better engine in this for a quarter of the price.

My mate has an NA Mk2 MR2 and while the mid rear character is still there, his feels more like a tourer compared to this mad little go kart. Apparently the Mk1 feels a lot closer to the Mk3, but I've not had the pleasure of driving one myself.

On top of that, mine is a battered, neglected, 130k mile example and it still really feels solid. Toyota are scarily good at building cars that just keep running.

>>4544
OP here. Nice to see you're loving your MR2.

I still want an MR2 but I'm now thinking a small van would be more sensible. I could use it to supplement my dole with the odd man with a van job and sleep in it when going on trips to save money on hotel bills. I could get a cheap old dirt bike and use the van to take it to trails (since the bike would be totally useless on the motorways).

The Nissan NV200 seems to have the best combination of small size plus space.

>>4544
>Toyota are scarily good at building cars that just keep running.
This.
My first car was an X reg Yaris. The engine was perfect, only expensive problems coming up were the cat convertor was failing, and there was some severe rusting going on around the sills and suspension mounts so I traded it in before the next MOT.
Right now if I wasn't saving up for a house I'd probably try and find an old T-sport yaris just for shits and giggles.

>>4545

That's definitely a step up in practicality! I suppose it just depends on what would make you happier, spirited drives, or being able to get away, take a bike etc as you say.

We have some NV200s at work, they're perfectly good, and I trust Nissan nearly as much as I trust Toyota. The one thing with vans is sometimes insuring one can be arsey, but the older you get the easier it is. I'd recommend plugging in some quotes if you haven't already, though.

I would also love a van I could sleep in and so on, that whole 'van life' thing appeals, at least in short doses. And the added opportunity to deliver some furniture etc for some extra cash can't be overlooked.

>>4547 I've had vans on and off for years, and all your points are good, they're really handy. Are you sure a trail bike will fit in that?
You might think that getting a 7.5t van is even better, as you can carry much more shit (bear in mind, a 3.5t van uses up a lot of that in the van, leaving as little as 500kg payload for some luton vans).
As a private HGV, you can ignore the tacho as long as you're scrupulously not earning or using it for work even a little bit. Tax is lower than a 3.5t, insurance is fine. It's servicing and recovery that's an absolute bitch. I miss my Vario, but fuck me, when it broke down it almost bankrupted me.

>>4548

Don't forget that if you got your licence after 1996, you'll need an additional test for 7.5t.

I'm going with an MR2 over a van. Drop-tops are just fine for camping and I'd be far less inclined to drive anywhere if the driving experience is pants. The lack of a boot might be a bother but there's more than enough space for a single individual. Plus, I saw a video where taking out the passenger seat was done in minutes - it's just four bolts to undo and a seatbelt detector cable you have to disconnect.

The hunt begins.

>>4549
My license is old enough that it includes the 7.5t endorsement. I rented a 7.5t/Bedford van once, it was the most frightening driving experience of my life; it's a proper fucking lorry.

>>4560

Good luck, lad. What's your budget, still around £2k? Any preferences? I will keep an eye out.

I don't remember if anyone's said this already, but try and get a facelift model (2003 onwards, the ones with front foglights) as they have a 6th gear for motorway cruising, which I think you will certainly appreciate, and a number of little mechanical improvements, plus the earliest models had a fatal flaw in which the precats would break down and be ingested by the engine. Though if a 2000 car is still going now, it's likely been sorted, but it's worth keeping in mind. I wouldn't say DON'T buy a pre-facelift, but personally I'm glad I went for a post 2003.

They definitely have enough space for a solo camping trip - those lockers behind the seat are about exactly the same amount of storage space as my first gen bmw mini, and nobody complains about the boot size in them. Certainly enough for a tent and gear.

Is this what midlife crises look like? Buying a Mister Two and going camping on your own?

>>4563

I don't think an MR2 mk3 is expensive or rare (or fast) enough to count as a midlife crisis car, but then I suppose not everyone can afford a 911 or Ferarri, so maybe you're right. Camping alone is objectively better than camping in a group, though.

>>4563

Since hitting 30 I've become far less judgmental about this. The majority of people I see buying nice toys or doing solo stuff are just the ones that couldn't afford to when they were younger, either in terms of money, time, or both - myself included. Though I've motorcycled for a few years, it's only now I've just barely scraped together the money for a nice one, with a garage to keep it in and enough of a structured work life to book time off.

'Mid-life crisis' also strikes me as a bit of an Americanism, based off those sitcoms where everyone inexplicably lives a comfortable middle class life.

>>4562
Thanks. I'm definitely looking for a facelifted model for around £2k give or take a few hundred squid. I've already found a couple that seem to fit the bill but they're 2-3 hours away. I suppose I'll have to travel to get a good deal.

>>4563
You can't have a midlife crisis if you're not middle aged and have no life.

>>4566

>I suppose I'll have to travel to get a good deal.

That's typically the case, for whatever reason when I was looking for mine all the cheap but solid looking ones were down south. I went from Newcastle to Kent to get mine, but it was a facelift with a year's MOT on it for a grand, I couldn't say no.

>>4566
> I suppose I'll have to travel to get a good deal.
I almost see that as a plus point. There's something quite special about picking your new vehicle and making that first drive home, getting used to how it handles and maybe if you're unlucky spotting problems on the way. From past experience, just make sure that there's a petrol station within a few miles that will be open 1-2h after the agreed pickup time. Some clowns like to run them nearly dry before they let them go.

>>4568

That's very true. My ritual is to get an ice cream from the petrol station when I fill up, usually a Twister. I don't remember how or why this started (I've bought a lot of cars), but it's part of the joy of the whole thing now.

I also think I might be the only person in the world who leaves about half a tank of fuel in a car when I sell it. I don't see the sense in begrudging the buyer twenty quid's worth of petrol when they're handing me several thousands of pounds in cash at the same time. Plus the nearest garage to my house is the Shell at the airport so it's about 20% more expensive than any other place in Britain so I begrudge them the sale anyway.

>>4567
>but it was a facelift with a year's MOT on it for a grand

That's a steal. How did you find it?

>>4570

Facebook marketplace. My mate found it actually, but his technique is the same as mine, type "mr2" into the search and trawl through.

It was that cheap because it had 138k on the clock, and a big horrible dent in the drivers door. Plus I think the lad just wanted rid, it had clearly been neglected, the storage lockers were full of old shite and a mouldy casserole, and there were interior screws missing etc etc.

I still don't entirely know why he listed it for a grand, maybe he just didn't bother to check what they were going for, or mybe there's a horrible defect I'm yet to discover. He also didn't seem to know much about cars so maybe I just got lucky. I think it was up for £1100 so I didn't even really haggle, just offered a grand straight off. The chassis is as straight and solid as you could hope, but there's plenty of little dents, the roof is tatty etc. It hasn't been looked after, but that doesn't scare me because I do my own repairs and also it's a Toyota.

There was another one for sale at the same time for £950 but the hard top had a huge hole in it.

I own too many cars to have justified paying much more for one, but the sweet spot does seem to be around 1800 for them. I think the one I bought could have gone for 1500 at least, possibly more.

>>4571

>but the hard top had a huge hole in it.

Soft top, I mean.

>>4571
Noice. I never thought Facebook would be a major platform for buying cars but I've had more luck selling cars and motorbikes there than on gumtree, autotrader, or ebay.

I'm consistently seeing MOT advisories on the ones I'm looking at, things like "corroded but not considered excessive" going for a few years. It seems worrisome but is it really a cause for concern if there are areas that have been "corroded but not considered excessive" for years?

>>4581

It's a car that's lived in Britain for 15-20 years, they'll all be corroded. The mk3 seems much less prone to structural rust than similar cars (mx5). I've not yet seen one with rusty sills or bubbling arches, which are the real bastards. They all just seem to end up having crusty looking pipes and arms which is absolutely fine and can be treated if you really, really want. Apparently the rear subframe is the main risk of structural rust, but A) they're cheap and easy to replace or refurbish and B) the MOT man would definitely flag it if it was a problem.

As I say mine is a neglected, high milage car and I'm yet to find anything other than surface rust. On mine it's pretty bad, but still just superficial. If I could be arsed, a wire brush on a drill and a can of rust converter and I could have a corrosion free underside in about a day's work.

By all means have a poke around when you go to look at them, but like you say if the rust never seems to develop throughout the MOT history then you're pretty safe.

>>4582
>but like you say if the rust never seems to develop throughout the MOT history then you're pretty safe.

I'm going to guess thats as more to do with 2 seater sports cars being used as a second summer car more than anything else, corrosion when evident will continue to degrade the metal so get it 'treated' and undersealed. The old school way and cheap way of wire brushing the rust, brush on red oxide over any rust then underseal is still very effective and isnt just about cleaning up the underside - its to stop your car becoming a colander.
Someone mentioned MX5's, the quality of the steel is a big factor with corrosion resistance, I assume all mx5's were made from steel rejected by everyone else given how they rot

>>4583
Me again.
High mileage cars - a modern (ie in the last 20ish years) car with high mileage car can be a bargain due to punters being put off by the miles.
The absolute crucial thing here is a solid consistent service history backed up by service stamps and or receipts, if someone has got lucky and drove say 90k miles without having the engine looked at then run away.
Having said that nothing in the motor trade is that simple, I'm not going too far down that rabbit hole but fake service histories, mileage corrections and lax MOT's are still very much a thing

>>4584

Does the same apply to motorbikes, from curiosity? I'm told that a little Japanese bike can seemingly run forever with even the most basic care, but my longest stretch of owning one was maybe a year.

>>4585
Your going to specific on which model but 'little Japanese bike' usually means Honda cg125
If that is the case then they can be pretty long lived and tend to be an order of magnitude better than the Asian copies BUT the chassis can rust pretty badly and like most 125's they are likely to have been ragged to death with minimal maintenance by L platers.
CG's have the reputation as being un breakable, which certainly isnt true, but means prices tend to be high. Other equivalent older 4 stroke Japanese 125's, eg Suzuki GS/DR125, Yamaha SR125, have the same build quality and are often cheaper.

Oh yeah, all those CG125 'cafe racers' you see on ebay for hysterically high prices with the rear of the frame cut off, they all need an MSVA which almost non have which means your one nosy copper away from a prohibition notice

>>4586

As long as the chassis is reasonably straight, there's not a lot on a common 125 that can lead to a big bill. They're a doddle to work on and parts are hilariously cheap; as long as you've got some basic tools and the confidence to have a go, you can keep them going for tuppence ha'penny.

Is a soft top that has had a tear sewn up and then a patch put over the tear a cause for concern? The seller claims its leak-proof and I don't mind how it looks, but I sure as hell don't want to be spending £600 on a new soft top if it turns out he's telling porkies.

>>4588

It's certainly better than no patch. That looks pretty watertight but there's only one way to find out.

I think if the price is right and the rest of the car is solid it's worth it. There's apparently a bloke in swansea who will reskin your soft top for £300, if that makes a difference.

You can always ask him if he minds you attacking it with a hose when you view it. If he says no then he knows it's fucked.

These roofs are 20 odd years old and have likely been folded up and down thousansds of times, I certainly didn't see any without some holes or gaps in them in my price bracket.

>>4587
>They're a doddle to work

In theory, when you have to battle rounded off fasteners, engine bolts and crank case fasteners welded in situ via alu corrosion, exhaust studs and front mudguard bolts snapping off, cross threaded fasteners etc ......

>>4590

All part of the fun. Nothing more satisfying than extracting a seized bolt, apart from maybe drilling it out in a blind rage when you fail to extract it.

>>4590

In the broader scheme of things, fucked fasteners are pretty easy to deal with. You'll find the same sort of problems on an old car - a bike might be more exposed to the elements, but it probably won't have done tens of thousands of miles of winter motoring.

>>4592
fucked fasteners are pretty easy to deal with

Not when the fastener has snapped off with a remainder stuck in an aluminium casing, actually it can be a complete nightmare and can turn a simple job into a pain in the arse.
'just' drilling out a fastner isnt 'just', you might get lucky with a hand held drill but most dont and a badly installed helicoil can be rage inducing

OP, did you ever manage to buy one?

Mine is coming up to 150k miles, and apparently Toyota will send you a sticker to celebrate that. It's become my favourite car, I think. I have faster cars, more luxurious cars, better looking cars, but nothing quite as fun as this little lad.

>>4524
Do you mean the turbo version or the NA version?

I remember when I was in college in about 2001 another student said they had an MR2 and I asked old model or new model? As the car had a face lift 2 years before and he brashly answered "what do you think?" as if the answer should be obvious, the only thing that was obvious is that he was a bit of a bell end.