01 mr2, good deal or no?

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Nick2500cd
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01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Nick2500cd »

I have the opportunity to buy a 2001 mr2 Spyder with 130k, manual, no known defects for around 6k. No lights, no major leaks, drives good. Would that be a good deal? Or should I just save my money and put more towards the civic!? I don't want the civic's feelings to get hurt if I were to replace it. But I know I should really step into a better chassis
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Buck05Sti »

Id ask Rife
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by thrdeye »

I can tell you that good, fully prepped ES versions are pretty expensive for what they are (I've seen them for $19k recently). There are some details between model years that make some more desirable for autocross than others. I'm not sure what those are, but it's probably wheel sizes.

Still, it is a great autox platform and you would learn a lot from it. The price seems reasonable, but if this isn't an autox person that is selling, just book it out on kbb or whatever and make a reasonable offer.

I think they do have a tendency to consume oil, so watch out for that.
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Nick2500cd »

That's what I was thinking. If I can get my home equity loan to close in time, I will try buying it. It's a car that CarMax bought in as a trade, but since they can't sell it, it goes straight to auction. I can buy a car from the wholesale/auction lot three times a year. I just feel like 6k is super low for that car, probably because CarMax low balled them because it would go straight to auction. A sway bar, tires, and some shocks would net a great handling car that only weighs 2200! It's already under kbb value too, and the only comparable cars for the same price range I can find have that automatic manual. Oil burning is something I have heard about, that the cat can ingest itself on deceleration and you end up with worn rings. I could definitely do a compression check before or right after I buy
I get 7 days to return it as well
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by MARKP »

Sounds like you covered all your bases and yes, that is cheap for that car unless it is just totally beat up. I want to say the 2003 is the one everyone picks for ES but I don't recall why. Whatever class you go with, mid engine cars are a blast to autocross.
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by steverife »

That seems like a very fair price, if the car is solid.

The primary major issues are pre-cat failure that will push pieces of cat through the engine and cause failure (you can pull the o2 sensor and see the shape of the pre-cat) and the 00-02 had an oiling issue. The 03+ cars are at less risk for the oiling issue. If you did have to replace the engine, the '03+ part numbers supercede the earlier car's engine.

Another thing to do for autocross is to reinforce the front sway bar mounts if you go a bigger from bar. They are just tach welded from the factory and don't hold up to autocross forces.
MARKP wrote: Wed Jan 18, 2023 8:50 pm Sounds like you covered all your bases and yes, that is cheap for that car unless it is just totally beat up. I want to say the 2003 is the one everyone picks for ES but I don't recall why. Whatever class you go with, mid engine cars are a blast to autocross.
The '03+ cars have 7" rear wheels (as opposed to 6.5" wheels on the earlier cars) and are less likely to blow up. I've driven a few of the earlier cars and thought they were more lively than the '03's that I've driven.

The '04-'05 cars with the LSD are good, but sit a bit higher and are rare and expensive.
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Nick2500cd
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Nick2500cd »

As far as I know, the 1zz in that car is in basically every Toyota from the early 2000s, I'm sure Ariel wouldn't mind if I needed to borrow the engine from her vibe.... If I could find a 2zz in the junkyard I would be even happier. But even if the engine kills itself I'd imagine it's not too hard to swap. Looks like tons of room underneath to work! Maybe a little cramped by the intake but I've seen worse.

My only wonder, is how well will I adapt to having way less weight on the front wheels? The civic is very forgiving in corners and I can usually cover up any overdriving with ease. The engine being in the rear should help it turn better though right? Less weight up front to haul around the corners is what I'm thinking. But at the same time less weight on the front wheels so less overall grip! But the more I read the more excited it gets about the prospect. A set of rt660s, sway bar and some konis would set us up well
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by steverife »

They are kinda inherently pushy. But once you figure out the weight transfer, they are pretty magical mid-turn.
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by thrdeye »

Beyond the actual driving mechanics, you'd also have something to autocross that is a known quantity in our sport that would give you a barometer for how you're improving.
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by MARKP »

Strangely enough, decently set up mid engine cars have very similar driving characteristics to well set up FWD cars. Lift throttle oversteer (maybe a touch of brake to set the front end), rotation after turn in, and roll on the throttle to calm it down, steer where you want to go. You should be fine.
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Nick2500cd »

I was thinking about that, they seem like they would want to push or understeer if I didn't load up the front end right, I didn't think it would have lift off oversteer given all the weight in the back but, that's how the civic is and I like it! If I can manage the logistics, I would like to drive both at the test and tune. I think I could potentially beat the civic at the test and tune once I get used to the Spyder. Civic has 20 more horses and more tire, but the Spyder has almost 200 pounds on the civic and is rwd with a wayyyy better weight distribution. It would be interesting to see how I could place in it.

The only other thing that I would be concerned about is oil starvation durning sweepers. I could always install a baffled oil pan. I don't think that would push me out of ES, but I'll have to double check.. since it isn't a performance modification but something that exists only to prevent engine damage.
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by TedV »

Nick2500cd wrote: Fri Jan 20, 2023 10:56 am The only other thing that I would be concerned about is oil starvation durning sweepers. I could always install a baffled oil pan. I don't think that would push me out of ES, but I'll have to double check.. since it isn't a performance modification but something that exists only to prevent engine damage.
Technically if the motor didn't come from the factory with it, it's not legal. Sucks, but that's the way it is... really sucks. :(
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by steverife »

Oil starvation shouldn't be a major concern for street tire autocross. Definitely make sure you have oil in the car and probably opt out of any spirited laps around the oval, but you should be fine for a couple seconds in the throttle around a sweeper in ES or ES+ trim.
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Nick2500cd
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Nick2500cd »

All I'm saying, is, if the engine does blow, that's all the reason I need to swap in a 2zz! That reminds me of a funny story. Old coworker of mine had overheating issues, saw online that your car could be low on oil. So proceeded to add 5 more quarts to their already full pan (Chevy cobalt, I think they only take 4 anyways!) Surprisingly the engine made it and we were able to take all the extra oil out but gosh. Sometimes I wonder what they are teaching kids in school these days
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Re: 01 mr2, good deal or no?

Post by Nick2500cd »

I ended up passing on the Mrs. I was finally able to take it on a test drive only to find out that the transmission is toast. Horrible grinding noise dependant on vehicle speed and what gear you are in. You could hear it in ever gear but with the speed being the same shifting up into 4th or 5th was way louder than third
My guess is the output shaft bearing on the 4/5 shaft. I figured I didn't want to spend 6k just to have to rebuild the transmission, or find a new one.
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