[Mk2] [Turbo] Does mileage matter on an mr2?

[Extubby]

If it's well looked after does it matter that it may have done 70,80,90k.
How long will they go for?

[Draven]

Technically a car will last forever, you think about some of these classic cars that are REALLY old.

If you look after it and make sure it is cared for who knows

[BenF]

If well looked after and maintained, a very long time , my old Turbo had 154,000 miles on it when I sold it and the new owner is adding around 10k/year at the moment, so its probably around 175k-180k now.

Other than stuff like wheel bearings, I got some top end work done (new HG, Hybrid Turbo) done at around 100k miles.

[shibby!]

Some guy on Mr2oc.com in the US has 218k miles on his 91 turbo.

As far as he knows its still on the original turbo, and the engine has not been opened at all.

Its lost 10bhp from standard apparenlty!

They last pretty well!

Nick

[Leon.]

My engine went at 60k miles due to turbo failure so it can be luck of the draw although I guess you'd expect most stock engines to hit 150k, depending on how they're looked after...

When my replacement engine's knackered I'll get it rebuilt! Suspension components are all pretty new...

[paul port]

I'm up to 148K MILES now on my Rev3 Turbo.... Original Turbo and Clutch.

So No, I would say Miles does not matter, A good / long history of driver and car means all.

You can have a low mileage car for a year and kill it through neglect.
If the owner has kept it for a while, then they are more likely to look after it.

paul

[Hellboy]

If mechanicals are replaced the only thing that will happen is the chassis will become stressed the more miles it does (and how its used)and loose ridigity.

A old genuine 60K rev 1 driven nice and a 100K + driven on track days rev 3 my money is on the rev 1 being tighter!

[Jaspa]

This old brooms had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.

[Greddy-Matt]

That's quality

[Vindezal]

very true but its an mr2

[ryan]

This old brooms had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.

LMAO, quality bit of TV that was!!

I got my tubby at 40k miles, sold it at 108k miles. Still on std turbo and producing the goods on RRoad, running high boost for at least 40k miles of that. Did have the oil changed every 4.5k as per turbo service record. However she did spit her dummy out at 50k miles and cracked piston ringlands at std boost

I guess as Paul has sort of said, a low miler that hasn't been cared for maybe a worse bet than a high miler that has been

[dawolf]

Personally I do think mileage is important on any car regardless, you can't just ignore it. A number of people on here have had engine problems at various mileages but overall it's not that many compared to the number of members in total. Generally they last well if looked after. Things like modified turbo's and poor servicing will contribute to a shorter life. My N/A's done 110k and has started to burn a little oil, but it still performs well and sounds okay. I don't mind topping it up now and then.

I think the bodywork is just as important as the engine though, engines can be replaced quite easily. Luckily toyota's seem to stand up well. I know the mk1 can rust but mk2 onwards very rarely do and the paintwork seems very robust, apart from red ones which can fade from sunlight.

[James Junior]

I would never buy a high mileage car these days, ESPECIALLY not a performance model - my 95 Turbo has just 40k on the clock.

I paid a little over the odds for the car due to the mileage and it was lacking paperwork but the condition of the car spoke volumes so I didn;t mind.

The higher the miles the more potential abuse a car has seen.

[thai boxer]

This old brooms had 17 new heads and 14 new handles in its time.

[Rev5GT]

I would never buy a high mileage car these days, ESPECIALLY not a performance model - my 95 Turbo has just 40k on the clock.

I paid a little over the odds for the car due to the mileage and it was lacking paperwork but the condition of the car spoke volumes so I didn;t mind.

The higher the miles the more potential abuse a car has seen.

Gotta disagree with you there..... for me a car done high miles (or average in the case of rev3 tubby's being over 10 yrs old) with history is better than a car with low miles and no history....
I have seen cars done 100k/150k that are MINT throughout - and really do look like they have a quarter of the mileage...!!

I have just bought an Impreza WRX (import) done 148k miles and if you see / drive the car as it is a 1 uk owner for last 7 years its been maintained regardless and drives spot on - interior including the drivers seat/carpets are untouched....

It all depends on the owner and how they drive / maintain a car....
Rash

[minty0_10]

probably not that much of an interest to some people with uk cars more of a worry for owners of imported cars. a mate of mine old man used to import a lot of jap car in and then do work on them for the sva (then sell them to dealers up to 20 a week) and so on this means changing the clocks to mph. point being 9 out of 10 imports the miles had been played with before they even left japan so you can never be 100% sure what miles a import car has done. i know this will probably upset a lot of turbo owners but its true a fact of life. also if the cars had been written off in japan there would be no record of it once registered here.

[star_gazer]

Are people having a laugh? or is it that you want to flog a high mileage car at high prices.

Mileage does matter.

No its not the engine, not its not the transmission, no its not the suspension, no its not the electrical system, but it is the all important chassis.

The chassis has a lifetime, after which it suffers from fatigue and literally cracks into many pieces. Obviously the typical mileage this start at depends on the quality of steel/metal used. It varies from 200K Miles to 1M miles, but this is generally the design mileage for the chassis.

May I warn those unaware of this, that it can cost you your life as the car would literally break like china ware. And no amount of service can prevent this. Generally from personal experience I have seen the chassis of an old beetle develop fatigue cracks at 250K miles, after which it is a write off (4 inch cracks in a few weeks, no amount of bracing and welding could prevent new ones popping up) Granted the car was driven everyday, but the oil was changed every 2000 miles and full service every 4000.

The chassis ultimately determines life of a car, it can look mint but fatigue can (will) occur. The engine etc are all consumables IMHO.

So yes mileage does matter, but how much mileage for chassis fatigue to occur on an MR2, I don't know, but someone in toyota would.

[James Junior]

probably not that much of an interest to some people with uk cars more of a worry for owners of imported cars. a mate of mine old man used to import a lot of jap car in and then do work on them for the sva (then sell them to dealers up to 20 a week) and so on this means changing the clocks to mph. point being 9 out of 10 imports the miles had been played with before they even left japan so you can never be 100% sure what miles a import car has done. i know this will probably upset a lot of turbo owners but its true a fact of life. also if the cars had been written off in japan there would be no record of it once registered here.

I guess this is a real danger that we face as import buyers. My mileage still reads in kilometres and that is how I want to keep it!

I think that even without history if you give a low mileage car a scrupulous check inside and out and a good test drive you can spot whether its genuine or not most of the time. Crash damage is usually pretty easy to spot.

I saw some real shitt$rs when I was looking for my turbo which made the car I bought stand out as a genuine example by comparison. Sound MR2 Turbos are becoming a dying breed it seems (though the imminent flow of REV 4's will no doubt improve matters a little for used buyers) as more and more get written off, ragged by chavs or get ruined with cheap body kits.

On the car I bought everything feels so tight and really like new when I drive it and the body work is virtually spotless (except for a pimple on the bonnet - I think some dingbat left something under there and forgot about it when he slammed it shut!) so I have no doubts about it.

I think the car can speak louder than the paperwork personally, especially these days as it is not hard to forge paperwork.

[dawolf]

That's true, it does happen. An old mate of mine once sold a car with 'full service history' but he said he forged all the service receipts himself using copies of a garage's letterhead. He laughed saying he only really changed the oil once in about 30k miles .

[tonigmr2]

Nice mate.

I had a MK1 with 277K miles on...failed MOT on rust in the end but the engine was sweet as a nut (actually unichipped at something like 214K miles ).

It matters from a resale/value POV but mechanically these cars are pretty good.
T