carl0s Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 Mum has asked me to find her a 'cute' car for around £2,000 that's "not your usual crap", and is going to be cheaper to run than her 2.3 V6 1984 Ford Granada Having initially told her she's dreaming, and needs to spend £4,000 on a Ford Puma or something, I realised a Mk2 MR2 is probably just the ticket, and she seems to be rather taken by them! So, is there anything to watch out for? What's the autobox that was used in the MK2? A lot of those on autotrader are autos. She says she quite likes autos, but I'd like to know that they're reliable. Presumably the maintenance on one of these would not be quite as specialised as it is on a Supra? Is the engine an interference design? Belt or chain driven? Anything important to look out for? Jap import models (GT ?) even non-turbo especially expensive to insure, for a 47yr old female with something like 30rs NCB ? any advice greatly appreciated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elliot Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 Speak to Lee (Mawby) on here, I remember a while ago he was selling an MR2. Not sure what type though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted December 5, 2004 Author Share Posted December 5, 2004 cheers, will do. Hopefully he'll spot this thread. One of the guys on here started up the IMOC too. I think there are a few ex-MR2ers on here hence me asking. Plus it's a Toyota Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 Not a bad choice, the autos are a lot less desirable too so you could get a bargain Usual Toyota mechanicals, auto box is pretty good, similar to that on the Supra in that it's not a lethargic hell spawn but I guess it's dated by todays standard, reliable though. 3S-GE engine is solid and non-interference in design (belt), there are a few early 3S-FE engined cars out there too, no spoiler, no fogs, often have blue interiors - avoid these if you can, far too much bias on economy and the engine is strangled as a result. If you can opt for a '92 and above car, the earlier ones have smaller brakes and a far more agressive track based suspension setup that is prone to fishtailing and snap oversteer if driven without talent and smoothness. Later cars also get a few cosmetic changes such as a lower front splitter, 15" alloys, shorter gear change, nicer steering wheel and more.... You'll probably find more imported G-Ltd autos than UK GT's (J-Spec Turbos also come as GTs just to confuse matters - no turbo autos though) - shouldn't cost much more to insure a G-Ltd, maybe another 5% or so, a few specialists that like old folk and standard cars so no concern there Not really the time of year for learning how to drive a mid-engined RWD sportscar though so make sure she takes it easy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted December 5, 2004 Author Share Posted December 5, 2004 excellent info, thanks Michael. regarding the 3S-FE, is lack of power and added economy the only noticable difference? My mum's idea of powerful was her H-reg Cavalier 1.8. She keeps telling me how powerful that car was. (It wasn't.. I drove it once or twice). Economy can't be much worse than the 2.3 V6 Granada. I warned her that they're RWD, and she asked what that meant. So less power would be better, although she doesn't drive fast anyway. Might have to grass her up to the police a few times for non-wearing of seatbelt though, since it seems that's the only way I'm gonna get her to wear one. So, bit of a predicament.. for less power and reduced economy I should go for the rarer/older 3S-FE engined car, but this would come with the snappier suspension, which is obviously not what I want. 92 onwards then eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mawby Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 It's still for sale. Unless it's in power mode I've never had the back end go out. We got it for Genna so she could get used to rwd before a Supra, but to be honest it wasn't very useful cause it's too stable! Details are available here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 The 3S-FE engine they used is an old Carina lump they wanted to use up - it's about 119bhp and 130lb/ft, the 3S-GE of the same year is 158bhp and 140lb/ft. The 3S-FE should be better on fuel than the 3S-GE but not by a massive margin. I'd recommend a 3S-GE '92 model, you'll still get good economy, you get forgiving suspension, larger brakes and the other changes I hinted at above, if you can find a nice black one in T-Bar guise that's even better..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
carl0s Posted December 5, 2004 Author Share Posted December 5, 2004 mmm excellent. I'll show it to her in a minute. I'm not sure how she'd feel about black though - she fancied a bright red one and a bright yellow one on autotrader Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 rev 2+ they changed the red and it's prone to turning pink (isn't it Shaf ) - the rev 1 cars came in a lovely deep red though. I always wanted a yellow one but there weren't any around when I was buying, I waited and waited but got black - I still like yellow ones but the gold side trim on some looks wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffvalenti Posted December 5, 2004 Share Posted December 5, 2004 Originally posted by carl0s Mum has asked me to find her a 'cute' car for around £2,000 , for a 47yr old female with something like 30rs NCB ? Blimey, your mum's the same age as me, she needs a TT Supra Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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