Tips on buying an MR2

The MR2 is a great car but there are a few things to look out for. This page will hopefully point out the some of the potential problems.

Look for rust around the whole car, especially the wheel wells, rust is a problem on these cars.

Look at rear of the car for oil, or sooty residue. This usually signifies a ring problem and loss of compression. It could also signify worn Valve guides.

Look underneath the car for any body damage from being bottomed out and the like.

Look underneath the engine/transmission area for oil or transmission fluid leaks, the oil cooler lines go after years of use, the breather plug sometimes comes loose on the transmission case allowing transmission fluid to leak. Both of these problems are expensive to fix.

Be Wary of buying higher mileage MR2s that have not been run for 4+ months. During that time hoses may dry out, and once it starts to be really used again these can crack, break, and cause problems.

Look in the front (under spare tire) compartment for rust, and see if the tools are present, as in the spare tire, tire rod, jack, etc.

Look at the windshield seals and make sure they are not cracked, also check inside for evidence of water damage, or leakage. This happens often on older vehicles that have the original seals and T-Bar variants.

Look for damaged or bent rims.

Look at the engine compartment and check for fluid leaks, cracked hoses, fluid levels, rust, etc.

If the car has T-Tops look for cracks around the body surrounding them. MR2s can develop cracks from hard driving and cornering.

Apply the brakes often and see if a vibration occurs, warped rotors happen often with '85, '86 MR2s.

Pull up the parking brake and make sure it holds the car...frozen parking brake cables are a constant taunt and aren't cheap to fix, nor is it easy to repair.

Go through all the switches, especially the headlight, and wiper dials...they can easily be broken or not work correctly due to design, and heavy use.

While driving, hold the vehicle straight on a flat & straight road and let go of the wheel (keep your hand near the wheel) and see if the car veers to one direction. If it stays pretty much straight, you don't have any alignment problems, if it prefers a particular direction then you need to get it aligned

Turn on the stereo (if it has one) and make sure to turn the bass up to make sure the subwoofer works properly.

Make sure the idle is smooth (keep in mind the MR2s idle higher than most cars.) and not bouncing up and down.

In each gear accelerate quickly and slow down quickly. Many MR2s have problems staying in 5th gear.

Check the clutch by seeing how well the clutch engages, and how far up your foot has to come up before in does.

When Driving a SC, make sure the boost comes on smoothly and quickly.

While the car is at rest but running look under the engine area for leaks, and look at the exhaust for white/ blue smoke, these are pretty good indications of engine condition as far as the head, exhaust, compression, goes. Blue smoke indicates problems, and loss of compression, due to ring wear and deterioration.

While the car is running, place the parking brake on and the clutch in neutral. Wait a little bit and see if you hear a slight crunching sound in the transmission area. This is usually worn out clutch bearings, and is often a problem.

When in doubt get a fellow MR2 owner to test the car with you

Check to see if the rear exhaust tips have a lot of carbon build-up. Some is Normal. This will be a black sooty residue. This can signify that the car is running too rich, caused by a failure or intermittent problem in any of these devices: Oxygen sensor, cold start injector switch (makes your computer think the car is almost always cold and therefore runs rich), Air Flow Meter, MAP sensor, EFI Coolant Temp sensor, BOV, VTV.... It could also signify that the turbo is going, or gone bad, and is spitting oil into the air intake system.

Check the engine compartment for leaks around the valve cover, transmission case, and especially check for oil & such around the turbo.

Check the interior for signs of water damage due to a worn out window seals or leaky T-Bars

Look in the wheel wells for worn out strut boots

Look for dents / damage underneath the car.

Check that the rotors are nice and clear, with plenty of pad left.

Check all lights & windows for leaks/cracks, and make sure no fuses have been blown.

If the car has new tires, be sure to check alignment when driving, many dealers use new tires to cover up old alignment problems.

If any oddities arise, like modified components left on the vehicle, check their condition too.

When doubt, get a fellow MR2 owner to come look with you.

Make sure the car idles fine, and does not stutter, and watch that the revs are steady and smooth.

Test the intake system for build-up (Throttle body & T-VIS system). You should feel a difference under acceleration between 3500-4000RPM if it feels hesitant in this area you may have build-up problems affecting the T-VIS operation. See if the throttle is sticky at first, it may need cleaning. Higher mileage cars have more carbon & oil build-up, especially turbos.

Make sure the parking brake works and is not frozen. Meaning that with the brake released there are no signs that the rear callipers are still holding.

Check the usual lights, A/C, radio, gauges (Make sure all headlights come up, and fog lights on turbos work)

Make sure boost comes on smooth and quickly, without hesitation. If the car hesitates, and is not smooth, then it could signify a wastegate / Turbo problem