[Mk2] [Turbo] want a tubby, scared of reliability

[refo]

hey all.

the mr2 turbo has been on my wish list of cars for many years. i think the styling of the mk2 mr2 is lovely and after having driven the mk2 n/a i know i like the handling.

when i first wanted a tubby i couldnt afford a second turbo car. back in 2001 the mr2 had a rep for being the most reliable jap car on the planet. just from what i have seen (and my experiences may not be typical) the mr2 turbo has become a hard car to keep on the road.

now i'm not pointing the finger or wanting a list of common faults etc. i'm just after your opinion on how reliable the mk2 rev2+ turbo is.

i dont know a single person with an mr2 turbo that hasnt had a major engine fault. 2 of these people had standard engines. every tubby i seem to find is either off the road due to the enging going pop or has just had a small fortune spent on it to get it back on the road from a blown lump.

if i get a tubby is it going to be a ticking time bomb? or is this simply a flooding of the market with loads of cheap imports that have had poor history hence why they are cheap? (this isnt what my personal experience is.. both cheap and expensive cars going pop)

i'd also love an rx7 fd, but for the same reasons i have not got one due to not wanting to rebuild the engine once a year.

what are these cars like in YOUR experience? will it take 12k miles a year without being off the road half the time?

[Quigonjay]

i dont know a single person with an mr2 turbo that hasnt had a major engine fault.

had mine nearly 2 years, never missed a beat

[lukem]

had 2, covered 50k miles, both running higher boost...no engine problems at all. it's modifying that costs!!
people don't generally start posts saying, 'my cars running fine'...doesn't make for interesting reading..

[Martin F]

very rarely do you hear off engine problems, had a rev 1 and the only problem with that was a garage not putting the rocker cover on properly and resulting in oil dripping on the alternator and killing it...

had a rev 3 turbo running 300 bhp and using it as a daily driver too...never missed a beat in the last 20 months and the only money I've spent is by choice, i.e. modding it

for a turbo charged car the reliability has been second to none..

there are one or two bad examples out there but that is just down to bad ownership, get a good one, look after it and you will have no problems

[Hellboy]

Use mine everyday.

In 4 years Ive replaced.

New CT20 Turbo
new Gearbox (blew the diff in the stock one)
new clutch
new Steering Rack
new front Track rods
new front discs
new rear ball joints
new gearbox speedo drive (3 times in the old box)
Loads of Water pipes, the Hose from hell
new Rad

The list goes on, but to be fair its 16/17 years old now, used on the track as well as daily driver and you dont see many 16/17 year old cars in as good a nick as the mr2.

Remember the Turbo 2 was £27K in Japan in 1991 money and 220/245 BHP in those days was alot of power for a "cheap" car - When the Turbo came out it was faster than Ferrari that was out at the time - Toyota even used it in there advertising for the car.

I doubt you will still see all the new fangled Ford RS turbos still running as good as most MR2s in 17 years time!

For a old car its as relible as I could expect it to be, if your used to modern cars and reliblity - dont expect the same from a 16year old car!

[Martin F]

For a old car its as reliable as I could expect it to be, if your used to modern cars and reliability - don't expect the same from a 16year old car!

very true but if you consider that some off them have very low mileage for there age then maybe that has something too do with how some two`s have very few problems even for there age, you are right what your saying but that goes for any car that old and in that respect the two is probably below average for things going wrong or needing changed, then that is where Toyota and reliability, good build quality come from...just me thinking out loud, OK i`ll shut up

[paul port]

If you want somethign reliable, go for something Absolutely STOCK / STANDARD, or something with a long history with the owner.

I bought my 1994 stock from japan with 40K on the clock,
It's now over 150K on the same turbo and clutch.
And... no, it's not standard anymore.

There has been a lot of dross imported, which impacted the value of these cars.
My car cost 12K in Jan-2000.

I think regardless of condition, an MR2 Turbo will cost less to own than a FD3.


Paul.

[dawolf]

I think MR2 turbo's are strong cars considering their age and how much power they kick out. Yes the odd parts will need replacing but usually much later than on other cars. I've heard of the odd one with engine problems but almost always this is due to raising the boost, something I wouldn't do as they're quick enough anyway. I'm probably going to buy another turbo as a daily car (just hope the fuel bills won't be too bad). These cars don't cost that much more than an N/A.

[Gordy]

if i get a tubby is it going to be a ticking time bomb?

Yes, they are absolutely terrible. They are totally unreliable, drink petrol like it's going out of fashion and are so unstable that it will kill you. They are a typical Japanese design that is underdeveloped, unreliable, hideously expensive and dangerous to drive.

Don't buy one. Don't buy one under any circumstances.

Now sod off and take your negative, dull, dim-witted, small-minded, ignorant cr4p elsewhere. I recommend the Ford Mondeo forums. Your mentality should fit in there.

Thanks

[nakamura]

if i get a tubby is it going to be a ticking time bomb?

Yes, they are absolutely terrible. They are totally unreliable, drink petrol like it's going out of fashion and are so unstable that it will kill you. They are a typical Japanese design that is underdeveloped, unreliable, hideously expensive and dangerous to drive.

Don't buy one. Don't buy one under any circumstances.

Now sod off and take your negative, dull, dim-witted, small-minded, ignorant cr4p elsewhere. I recommend the Ford Mondeo forums. Your mentality should fit in there.

Thanks

You're joking right? He was only asking for advice. Not the best way to help.

[Gordy]

if i get a tubby is it going to be a ticking time bomb?

Yes, they are absolutely terrible. They are totally unreliable, drink petrol like it's going out of fashion and are so unstable that it will kill you. They are a typical Japanese design that is underdeveloped, unreliable, hideously expensive and dangerous to drive.

Don't buy one. Don't buy one under any circumstances.

Now sod off and take your negative, dull, dim-witted, small-minded, ignorant cr4p elsewhere. I recommend the Ford Mondeo forums. Your mentality should fit in there.

Thanks

You're joking right? He was only asking for advice. Not the best way to help.

Yup, you sussed me out.

[nakamura]

Yes, they are absolutely terrible. They are totally unreliable, drink petrol like it's going out of fashion and are so unstable that it will kill you. They are a typical Japanese design that is underdeveloped, unreliable, hideously expensive and dangerous to drive.

Don't buy one. Don't buy one under any circumstances.

Now sod off and take your negative, dull, dim-witted, small-minded, ignorant cr4p elsewhere. I recommend the Ford Mondeo forums. Your mentality should fit in there.

Thanks

You're joking right? He was only asking for advice. Not the best way to help.

Yup, you sussed me out.

lol although ironically ive not input any help myself!

[Pete_MR2]

Buy one m8!!! There excellent to drive and look the biz to! Isn't that what everyone wants from a car anyway!!

All i'd say about owning one is make sure you choose a good one (but then again you'd do that with any car) and be prepared to pay more on fuel, afterall it's a turbo and goes like the clappers .

The only stumbling point is service and engine parts if anything goes wrong! Most run of the mill garages seem to love asking the question "is it an import" and when you reply "yes" you either get a well, errrm thats going to be expensive or no we carn't do it!!

SO...

Just take it to Rogue Motor Sport!!! MR2 specialists - carn't go wrong!!!

Problem solved!!!

Buy one mate you'd be stupid not to!

Cheers

[refo]

cheers pete and the rest of you

i've got a pair of nissan pulsars and they drink fuel a an amazing rate so i'd be expecting about the same consumption from the mr2 i spose. was kinda hoping that with the lower transmission losses from the mr2 and better aero i'd get slightly more but i do suppose thats all down to my right foot

ok so as far as looking for a good one goes, what makes a good one?
i'm 100% new to the turbo mr2 but i sort of know my way round the na now. found suspension bushes take a kicking and rear arches rust into the boot in the botom corners where the dirt collects.

i notice there are a lot of plastic covers under the car, does rust hide behind these?

i'm after a mk2 rev2 gts with no sunroof or t-bars. are there any common faults or parts that wear that i should be looking out for when inspecting the car?
or are there any mods that should have supporting mods e.g. fuel pump if hogher boost, that i should be looking out for in a well looked after car?

[pablodon]

I only bought my tubby 3 weeks ago best move I ever made. Its a rev 3 GTS with good modifications and a pretty standard engine. In my opinion search an search until you find a good one and trust your instincts and knowledge when you drive the car. Get a couple of drives in as many tubbys as you can and you will start to know a good one when you find it.

[jmachling]

Check this out:

http://www.btinternet.com/~netsurf/mr2t/index.html

then see if you can find a friendly IMOC member in your area with a car that's similar to what you'd want and see if they'd be willing to let you have a look. You never know, if you talk to them REALLY REALLY nicely (and get insured!) they may even let you have a go.

Don't be put off by reliability. It's not an issue in a car with good history and if you plan on maintaining it properly.

[refo]

thanks guys. thats great.

i want the feeling that pablodon has.. new mr2 tubby and a grin as wide as his front bumper

i've only ever driven one tubby and the suspension and brakes were shot so its not a fair test.. plus i didnt drive it far and the engine was cold so couldnt put my foot down till the last 5 mins of the drive. and had to take it easy for 2 of them to let it cool down before parking.

might have to get myself to a meet somewhere. shame i missed jae this year.

[Greddy-Matt]

i want the feeling that pablodon has.. new mr2 tubby and a grin as wide as his front bumper .

I'm actually in pain from the cramp caused by grinning so much after test driving mine. And the noise, oh the beautifull noise of the turbo hoovering away, is to die for

[theskippy7]

Ive had 3 mr2,s and an rx7 the 1st 2 were n/a,s and never missed a beat,i used to rag them senceless and were regularly bouncing on the limiter,then moved onto a rx7,it was a r2 special edition putting out about 330bhp,oh what fun,the noise,the speed,the slideability what an awsome car,but yet all the time youve got in the back of your mind if the tips go,which they could do at any point its gonna be costing you £2500 for a rebuild,so i was really gutted to have to get rid of it and go back to an mr2,which is putting out the same power,costs less to insure,more mpg,better reliability and with it being a T bar a semi convertable.if i had the wedge id definately own both,but unless you can drive a car to its limits without having to have an engine rebuild to think about,personally id stick to the tubby.

[matt_mr2t]

Had mine three years, here's a list of whats gone wrong.
The clutch (non toyota item)
The Suspension (non toyota item)
A wheel (non Toyota item)
The knock sensor (amazingly a toyota item)
Me (non Toyota item)

This is on a 15 1/2 year old 90k miler....

I drove it for 6 months with the slipping clutch as well.

IMO VERY reliable cars. Much more so than equivalent 2.0 16v turbo cars such as Scoobies, Evo's, Cossies, Pulsars.