So I am about to go and get the 91 mr2 turbo properly registered this afternoon, and I have a knot in my gut that is just begging for some kind of clarity.
Here's the deal, put simply, I don't know if I got myself in too deep. The car, for the year, is pretty solid. It needs quite a few bills in maintenance, seals, gaskets so on. It won't bother me to do that work. I have a friend who is a damn good mechanic who said he will help me get these things sealed up for a very reasonable rate and I get to help him with it so I can learn some stuff.
But let's rewind to two months ago. I had just spent the last three years building my honda crx. It wasn't anything fancy, just a zc engine (jdm dohc nonvtech) that was nearly rebuilt by the time we got to putting it in. I had done alot of body work to it myself as well. As soon as we got it wrapped up and it was running strong, I was able to just put it out of my mind. It was a damn reliable car that needed oil and gas and a good tuneup every now and again. And then the idiot without insurance slammed into me and totalled my baby. All that work gone...
I have always loved sports cars and have always owned hatch backs but this is the first car I feel like is a real sports car. I knew I was getting into something when I read that the rear wheels and front wheels were different.
But I know, as I read this forum more and more, that the majority of you all have dedicated a good part of your spare time working on these cars, tuning so on. It is your passion. You also have the resources, tools and mechanical edge to mess around with alot of stuff.
I don't. By the time I got the crx sealed up I was glad to be done and was simply happy that I had a reliable car that would always start, it was the only stable, dependable and constant thing in my life and I was looking forward to three or four years of solid dependability.
I also can't afford and don't have the space to own a beater to drive during the winter. I live in an apartment that doesnt even have garages and my folks would not be down with me leaving the mr2 at their place during the winter. This whole rear wheel drive thing is now spooking me like it never did before. Granted I drove a datsun 280 for several winters and did alright but that thing was a tank and I wasnt too concerned about it.
So now here I am looking at the prospect of starting all over again, trying to get this thing as bullet proof as I can, and I don't know if I'm asking too much. Am I? I am willing to keep the thing totally stock if it means it will be reliable and I won't have to worry about it breaking down, but I'm also not in the mood to be doing another engine swap and turbo rebuild, so on...
Should I just sell the damn thing (that would be a hoot!) Or am I making way too much out of this? Is it that most of what you all experience as headaches is because you are totally tweaking the engine and so there is more hassle than usual? Are there any people on here who use their mr2 as a daily driver and live in a place where crappy weather hits?
Please enlighten me before I go out of my frickin' mind!
MR2 is not suitable to be a daily driving car. It is not practical due to lack of trunk space and you can only have one passenger. If the car breaks down, it will take Toyota anywhere from 1 day to 2 weeks to get the part into the dealership and it is labour intensive.
Well storage capacity isn't a big deal to me. I can deal with the fact that there isn't much room for stuff. Hatchbacks, while they have more room, certainly aren't station wagons. I can deal with that...
I had MR2s as daily drivers for well over 10 years, including winter driving. The MR2 actually does fien in the snow if yo uare cautious and have proper tires for the occassion. In fact, the MR2 can be quite fun in the snow.
When buying a used MR2, you have to expect that it is going to cost money to get it to it's natural reliable state ... but this is true of any used car.
Quite fun in the snow .... how many 2's have you crashed again It all makes sense now....
I pretty much drive my deuce every day.... but I live at the beach. When I rains I kinda prefer to take it.... I tend to get bored and get the Supra tailhappy in the rain. Does it snow where you live??? or just a rain type thing? If it does.... you might want to look for something FWD.
You should just keep the 2 and pickup a Metro for like $300 or something.
I've wrecked an MR2 in the snow.
Seriosuly, it has the weight over the drive wheels so traction (with proper tires) is not an issue.
You just have to deal with the mid-engine layout which can be fun ... but catch you by surprise if you are not cautious.
depends how much snow you get.....from where I am, we get anywhere from 10cm to 30cm snow during winter. And we also use salt on the street which leads to rust.
mine is my daily driver, and i've driven for a portion of 1 out of it's 6 winters with me. with the right tires i agree that it can be tamed for snow drifting ... um ... i meant ... driving. however, i would opt not to drive it in the winter out of the sheer terror of other people. i don't hold my Rx-7 in any less regard, but parts are much cheaper and i've had much more serious seat time with that than my MR2T. so i'm a lot less terrified driving that in snow. this is my first non-Rx-7 in five cars and i love it - it's different, but fun!
it is reliable as hell! period. it's a Toyota ... nevertheless it is also 13+ years old now and parts go bad ... on EVERY car. however, i would not consider reliability to be an issue with these cars as long as they see at least minimal maintenance. especially if you leave it stock.
BUT ... parts are expensive (especially if you don't know where to go) and doing major work by yourself is a daunting task. i don't mind saying that aside from tuning it up and installing a few bolt-on parts, working on this car has intimidated me since day one - but i'm slowly getting over it. (i will attempt installing my tranny when the time comes.) however, finding competent mechanics for them is perhaps just as daunting though.
i admit that i do find it lacking in space on very few occasions, but i manage. it's not something that makes me love it any less.
i think it all comes down to dedication and that's an issue that no one can resolve but you. if you really want it, then keep it you'll find a way to work it out.
kaos, and everyone else, thanks for your input thus far. I suppose it does barrel down to my dedication. To be honest, I'm not sure I have it in me. I am definitely dedicated to keeping it running well, making sure I replace all the hoses I can(hose from hell etc.) but I just don't know if I'm ready for the 'big time' yet. Perhaps I'm just making too much out of it and I should just drive the shit out of it until I get tired of it (or it gets tired of me) then move on. I dunno. I figure, worst comes to worse I can get some of the maintanence work done on it and then put it in the paper in a month, see if I can't get back what I put into it, or at least a minimal loss and then buy a civic or something.
I have mad respect for those who make their car their passion, and one of these days when I have a garage I can keep her in, and the funds to have all the right tools and such then I will consider something more high-end. Again, not to say Im not going to keep it, just trying to let you all know that I don't take owning a car like this lightly...
driving my ae86 in the winter time with snows was pretty hairy scary at times....i couldn't even imagine to try to drive the mr2 in the snow...car is dangerous enough when its wet out let alone in the ice and snow.....my advice is to get a winter beater if u can afford one...this the first consideration i took into account before i bought my mr2.....
Originally posted by BDSL depends how much snow you get.....
Blizzard of 1993 I was the only person who showed up for work (besides the manager) ... in my '86 MR2. We had 2 feet of snow.
I put two 5 gallon drums of roof tar in the ttrunk of the MR2 and I had zero problems getting to work
I have driven my MR2 in snow and freezing rain before. I had good snow tires and the handling of MR2 is pretty good. I only did it a few times to see what it is like.
The problem that I am concern is the salt getting on the body and inside the engine bay...leading to rust problem.
As for the salt... That's just something I will deal with. I will wash the car religiously, even though that's not a sealed deal I know.
I have thought it over some more, and have decided to think it over some more...lol...
Basically I am going to give myself a month to fix a few things on my own, and at the same time decide on whether or not I'm going to keep it, and then if I decide I don't want it, I'll put it in the paper and just bite the bullet.
You know, I'm beginning to wonder if all my fuss is worth it. I mean, I drove a 280z for two winters, and while there were times that definitely sucked it's not like I was totally screwed.
But nonetheless, please, if anyone else has any input please share. You guys don't know how much this means to me. It's great to have people be able to throw feedback around like this...
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Forum for every generation Toyota MR2. Including the AW11 and SW20.
.... how many 2's have you crashed again 
It all makes sense now....
however, i would opt not to drive it in the winter out of the sheer terror of other people. i don't hold my Rx-7 in any less regard, but parts are much cheaper and i've had much more serious seat time with that than my MR2T. so i'm a lot less terrified driving that in snow. this is my first non-Rx-7 in five cars and i love it - it's different, but fun!
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