considering buying a mr2.

[bowlofturtle]

I was orginally looking to get a Mr2 before i got my camry but then a lot of people mentioned to me about the whole insurance rates after finding out that a NA mr2 is slightly cheaper then the insurance of my camry i'm kind of interested in it. But i'm not sold on that car. When i first got my camry i thought it was a great deal and stuff but then i slowly found out how camrys work and i found many things i disliked about it.


Now i know there are many great things about a Mr2 but then again there are many down sides. So i'm asking all you mr2 owners mainly the mk2's to list all your dislikes about your mr2 NA. seeing as how its the same engine in my camry i dont think i'll have issues with the engine.



Does the whole 2 seater thing get annoying to you? How hard would it be to put 3 ppl in the car? How hard is it to work on the engine. I've seen the angles and shots of the bay is seems a little harder to work on. Any common problems with the car. Hows it do in the winter with snow, i'm in chicago so yea my mr2 would be seeing a lot of snow.

Oh and my last question would be. What would you recommend doing for turbo. swaping for a 3sgte or running a 5sfe turbo-ed.

[Lachean]

SEARCH:

But since im a nice guy ill answer what I can.

The only dislike i've had about the NA was that it was underpowered. But they are fun to drive, none of that Turbo lag.

Having a 2 seater has yet to bother me, its just that sometimes someone else drives, no big deal...

I've had 5 people in my car once
1. Me
2. Passenger
3. Passenger's girlfriend on his lap
4. Girl behind passenger seat sitting on the sub woofer box that the T-Top shade rests on.
5. Guy in the trunk....

It was funny, but i wouldnt recommend it, EVER.

Its not as hard to work on as people make it out to be. But it can get frustrating when trying to reach the bolt under the air resonator box, or any rusty bolts...

Common problems? Only a dumb driver... If you treat the car well, keep it well maintained, and tune it right, she'll love ya. Snap oversteer is the only common complaint, and its less of a problem w/ the 93+'s. But thats a driver problem, not the car's fault.

I've driven mine through the winter, in the snow, w/ all season tires and had no problem. As long as you dont push the car you'll be fine (w/ good tires)

3S-GTE swap is SO much more worth it than turbo'ing the 5SFE

[bowlofturtle]

^ sweet car. when i looked at the specs 3sgte and the 5sfe turboed everything is close spec wise. I figure it would be easier to get a swap. 5 ppl i'll never try. maybe 3 and a dog.

i feel my 5sfe is underpowered in my camry but i would figure it should give a bigger pull in a mr2.

thanks any further info would be great.

[vtsuckah]

HAHA i can't believe you asked for dislikes from a hardcore mr2 forum. I love my mkII NA. As long as you are responsible and drive well, you shouldn't have any issues. As said before, keep her maintained and she'll run forever. Even though the NA is underpowered(only disadvantage) it handles like a dream. Buying a mkII turbo or doing a 3s-gte sway is the way to go if you have a 5sfe. As for the 2 seater annoying comment.....No. I wouldn't have it any other way. It's a true sports car. The only other common complaints of an mr2 are that it's hard to work on and that the aftermarket parts are extremely expensive. Hope this helps. Good luck

[andyb16]

If it has T-Tops, bring a towel!! Other than that, wouldn't change a thing.

[Bigshoguns]

so far i liek the mk2. have no dislikes what so ever, but ur rite Bowlofturtle camry = underpowered and mr2= tru color or 5sfe.

i know i own a gen4 camry and a mk2..LOL

the only thing i dislike bout the mk2 is the rear tires. they get worn soo much faster and in about 15k miles of driving. but that must be the cheap futura's the last owner put in.

but all in all i like the car.

[Piddy]

Originally posted by Bigshoguns
so far i liek the mk2. have no dislikes what so ever, but ur rite Bowlofturtle camry = underpowered and mr2= tru color or 5sfe.

i know i own a gen4 camry and a mk2..LOL

the only thing i dislike bout the mk2 is the rear tires. they get worn soo much faster and in about 15k miles of driving. but that must be the cheap futura's the last owner put in.

but all in all i like the car.

Stop doing so many burnouts eh?

[bowlofturtle]

well yea i figure asking a hardcore mr2 forum is going to be lop sided. But i mean honestly, every car has its ups and downs. I want to know the downs.

Has anyone owned a NA and turboed mr2? i wanna know whats the insurance rates and how the differ. Because 1 person says its like 70$ diffrent. But i would assume it would cost more.

[vtsuckah]

Insurance depends on location, age, if you have and points, and which company you use. Erie Insurance has good prices as does geiko. I got a quote from geico not to long ago for my mkII NA along with the 96 supra tt i was about to buy. It was $248/month for both cars combined. Erie Insurance was a little cheaper. I'm 22 and live in northern VA.

Just go online and get some online price quotes.....that's your best bet considering insurance is different form person to person.

[Bigshoguns]

Originally posted by ishcoleobo
Stop doing so many burnouts eh?

I wish I did burn outs. Then i could get new better tires.

[bowlofturtle]

i should check on the lower name ppl and drop state farm. I'm 18 right now with no record what so ever. But don't rates normally drop when you become 19 because your out of the 16-18 range and enter the 19-22 range

[troy]

Originally posted by bowlofturtle
i should check on the lower name ppl and drop state farm. I'm 18 right now with no record what so ever. But don't rates normally drop when you become 19 because your out of the 16-18 range and enter the 19-22 range

That's 25 when the insurance rates drop.. sorry bud

[vtsuckah]

yup 25.....you've got a ways to go bro

[rony]

I'm 20 and my insurance is pretty damn low (Miami, Florida) Downs for me are

1. Old car = May be not so reliable
2. T-tops leak (sometimes, and can be a bitch to fix)
3. #1

Likes: Get ready...

1. Outperforms anything I've ever driven (haven't driven many!)
2. What other car is this old, but looks so good!
3. Is a little attention whore, she is!
4. Most comfortable seating position in the world!
5. BOOST!!
6. BOOOOOOSTTT!!!!

o.k... enough of this, i'm just ranting now

[DaFOBulous1]

I own a gen 2 Camry had a 86 MR2 and traded it to get my current 91 MR2 N/A.

Things I dislike:
- Obviously, it's a rear engine car so it's louder than most cars stock. To me, it gets a bit annoying if you might have to go for a long drive.
- Depending on the what year, the traction. The older MR2s I believe 91-92? tend to wheelspin a lot more and that can be dangerous in the rain. I had both new and old tires and I wasn't even going fast but it just slid as I exitted the highway from work.
- I'm not too tall but if you're 6' or over, it might be a bit tight but still enough room I suppose.
- Old car...

LIKES:
- I got a NA so when I tune up the MR2, I can do it both for my Camry as well.
- Torque, oh yea...it isn't fast as others but it's torquely. Me like.
- Handling, I actually like my AW11 but this car handles REALL well compared to a Camry.
- Ageless design...looks good even though it's 13 years old.

Well, I'll try to be as non-bias as possible but based on your situation, I would rethink it. You mention it snows a lot..not sure how well the newer MR2s handle since I heard they improved it a lot after the 92s? Of course, it's a RWD so yea. You said you had a lot of things you disliked about your Camry...not sure what you didn't like about it other than lack of power and the family-image seden.

A 3SGTE swap is a direct fit but you have to rely on others for info on swaps.