Should I bother patching a few things before sale of '86 MR2

[bobped]

I've got an '86 MR2 with 102K miles that I'm thinking of selling, wondering if I should repair a few things before selling or just sell as is. Last time I checked Edmunds, it indicated the car is worth maybe $1000-1500, but it's in pretty good condition, owing to the fact that we had it in storage and didn't use it for 7 years during the 90's when we were overseas. So I was thinking maybe I could get $2000 out of it, but maybe I'm dreaming? I've searched for the earlier MR2s online and see very few, in fact I don't see any within 200 miles of my zip code. But the ones that I do see throughout the country are generally being offered for $2500 and up...

Problems:

1. Needs brake job, including front rotors.
2. Has one very small window chip that I've yet to have sealed. One other sealed chip from 2 years ago hasn't grown in size and isn't obstructing the view.
3. Front left light points up a bit, can't get it to come down.
4. Can't move air circulation to "recirculate" position.
5. Shift knob and center console leather is a bit worn.

And that's about it. We had lots of work done on the car in '98 when we returned from overseas, including new radiator, new fuel tank, lots of other parts, and the car runs well. Got new tires a few months back, no problems with 90K checkup a few months back, have used premium fuel from day one, oil changes every 5K miles.

Any thoughts? Should I get some of these things fixed or just try to sell it as is?

[mr2driver]

i would recommend sealing the window chip.
$2000 seems fair since it has lower miles

[BrightTundra04]

Originally Posted by mr2driver

i would recommend sealing the window chip.
$2000 seems fair since it has lower miles

I agree

[runningman48103]

I'd fix the brakes; the rest of the problems are minor. Give it national exposure by putting it up on eBay; set your reserve, if you get it, the new owner can fix the minor problems. If you don't get your reserve, then think about fixing all of the little problems before offering it again.

Keys that I look for when gauging used cars (whether on eBay, or cars.com, or autotrader): number of owners (1 being ideal), low miles (under 100K but will accept more for the right car; and I wouldn't reject 102K) and, registered in the south or west all of its life (a MUST; being from Michigan, I've had enough rust buckets in my life!). So, if your MR2 is a 1 owner, 102K miles, registered in California all of its life (CarFax and Experian verified), I suspect that you should be able to get your 2K pretty easily.

[bobped]

Originally Posted by runningman48103

I'd fix the brakes; the rest of the problems are minor. Give it national exposure by putting it up on eBay; set your reserve, if you get it, the new owner can fix the minor problems. If you don't get your reserve, then think about fixing all of the little problems before offering it again.

Keys that I look for when gauging used cars (whether on eBay, or cars.com, or autotrader): number of owners (1 being ideal), low miles (under 100K but will accept more for the right car; and I wouldn't reject 102K) and, registered in the south or west all of its life (a MUST; being from Michigan, I've had enough rust buckets in my life!). So, if your MR2 is a 1 owner, 102K miles, registered in California all of its life (CarFax and Experian verified), I suspect that you should be able to get your 2K pretty easily.

Thanks, that's helpful. I didn't think of using eBay, will look into that. How do I get CarFax/Experian verification? I think I meet all your criteria . I am indeed the only owner. The car was bought in SoCal, and has lived here its entire life, except for a 2.5 year stint in Orlando. Always parked in garage, too!

[runningman48103]

When you advertise your car, make sure that you include the VIN so that people can purchase the CarFax or Experian Vehicle History Reports (when I'm real serious about a car, I purchase both to learn as much as I can about what the car has been thru). Better yet, because of the age of your car, YOU should purchase the reports and include them as part of your advertising so that people can see that you have a 1-owner, low mileage, California registered car.

My story: I won/purchased a 1986 MR2 off of eBay from an auction house in Redwood City, California. The vehicle history reports indicated that it was a 2-owner, registered in California all of its life, 139K miles. Pictures in the auction listing showed the car had its original paint with the emblems and pinstriping still in place which further substantiated that it had never been in an accident (and helped me overcome my initial hesitance when I saw the mileage). After winning the auction, I purchased a 1-way airline ticket to San Jose, took the BART to within 2 miles of the auction house, walked there, picked up the car and drove it home over the next 3 days (priceless!!!).

[bobped]

Originally Posted by runningman48103

When you advertise your car, make sure that you include the VIN so that people can purchase the CarFax or Experian Vehicle History Reports (when I'm real serious about a car, I purchase both to learn as much as I can about what the car has been thru). Better yet, because of the age of your car, YOU should purchase the reports and include them as part of your advertising so that people can see that you have a 1-owner, low mileage, California registered car.

My story: I won/purchased a 1986 MR2 off of eBay from an auction house in Redwood City, California. The vehicle history reports indicated that it was a 2-owner, registered in California all of its life, 139K miles. Pictures in the auction listing showed the car had its original paint with the emblems and pinstriping still in place which further substantiated that it had never been in an accident (and helped me overcome my initial hesitance when I saw the mileage). After winning the auction, I purchased a 1-way airline ticket to San Jose, took the BART to within 2 miles of the auction house, walked there, picked up the car and drove it home over the next 3 days (priceless!!!).

runningman, may I ask what you paid for that '86, and what if any issues there were regarding the condition? You previously indicated I could probably easily get $2K, but I've seen a couple other '86 Toyota's (Supra, Celica) going for $3-4K in my area, but there are just so few MR2s I don't know how to gauge it...

[runningman48103]

In November of 2003, I STOLE my MR2 off eBay for $831.00; with the flight and the drive home, the total cost was about $1350 when I first pulled it into my driveway. Prior to that I had seen a couple of 1-owner, California MR2's, under 100K go for $3200 and $3600 respectively. I think the reason that people didn't bid on the one I got was because it had 148K on it and the AC didn't blow cold; normally those would have put me off too but, by the pictures in the listing, this one was just too beautiful to pass up. (I actually put in a bid of $1111.11 and that was enough to get over all of the other bids.)

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/2410938

Problems: after picking it up from the auction house, I hadn't gone more than a mile when I noticed that the right rear wheel bearing was howling but, other than noise, it gave me no problem in the 3K mile trip home (this is one of those areas where Toyotas are over-engineered: it is a HUGE bearing!). I also had a problem with the headlight switch: I'd be driving along and the headlights would blink off. I "solved" this by pulling and holding the headlight flasher lever switch (made a few people coming from the opposite direction a little upset but I got home safely). The tires were just about used up but, I didn't push them and they got me home.

As with selling anything, a little bit of luck is involved: you have to advertise in the right place and have the right person see your ad. As far as gauging value, follow them on eBay and Cars.com to see what people are paying. And with the price of gas being what it is, it sure doesn't hurt to let people know that early MR2's get over 30mpg.

[bobped]

Thanks, runningman

[Gairloch]

Another place to list your MR2 would be www.mr2trader.com.

[bobped]

Wow, my car's in better shape than that '87, with 30K fewer miles, and he was asking $3500? Is there any way to tell on that site what the buyer actually paid when the car indicates "sold" ??

[toyotaspeed90]

i'm not disrespecting anyone..... but i think edmunds is about right, if not over in price....

it's relatively easy to find a *running* mr2 for around $1,000 or under.... and to find a not-running mr2 for under $500 with a good body.....

with the fact that it needs new brakes & rotors.... test drives are going to suck for anyone looking for a good mr2.... in my mind, if i was expecting to pay over $2,000 for an aw11 it better run perfectly, have all working electronics, good brakes, a decent body, and a non leaking roof...... $200-300 in brake work can significantly change the feel of the car when someone is test driving it.....

[ssl]

i did pads and rotors on my 88 for about 120$CAN for parts, i do all my own work though, even paying someone to do it shouldn't run more than 200, its an hour job to do them all around

[toyotaspeed90]

but the time billed is book time, not actual time

just an FYI, there are 2 nice mk1's in the greater seattle area for right around $1,000