Looking to buy first MR2

[driftingsw21]

Thank God for Homie Hookups at Dealerships to allow me to buy OEM parts at a heavily discounted price. I cringe to think of how much I would have spent over the years. If you buy new and and OEM only things add up quick.

Now for actual things to check/consider when buying your first MK2.

Your suspension all of it is basically unless it was replaced recently is well done in. Lets be realistic most people selling these cars are not up to date on maintenance on a old car in your price range. Most people don't notice what a dead suspension vs a good condition suspension feels like. You can't do the push on the corners of the car and such. The car has fairly stiff springs that will mask this. Struts well High likely hood those are blown due to either age or miles. Inner and outer tie rods well if you feel steering slop or vibration under braking this is the cause. Bushings think about it rubber parts that's 20 years old exposed to the elements and road grime would you use or trust a 20 yr old condom???

Suspension Bolts. Oh for the love of god make sure everything is tight. Get the car in the air with a 17,14, and 19mm wrench you can check all the bolts and nuts. You will be very surprised how much a difference this can make. Had a bad Oh !@#$ moment one time when one of the trailing arm bolts started to back out on a road trip.

E-Brake cables. Make sure that the ebrake is in good shape. When the car is parked in cold temps, outside water get in them corrodes them then they snap. The handle should feel tight and provide strong resistance when you pull.

Engine stuff, ehhhh where to start where to end. Just let us know what's up when it happens. Just to let you know NA engine, they run forever, much easier to work on, past 160k miles will start leaking oil all over. Turbo engines, you will hate life working on many parts there is are reason why the word Hell is used to describe a few of the hoses. Do you really need AC sometimes the AC compressors die due to age etc.... If this happens to you take the stupid dead weight out the car toss the part, set it on fire, launch it into your most hated enemy's bedroom and never look at it ever again.

[dh4ever]

My suggestion is check the compression on the engine with a compression tester. It will give you an idea of the inside of the engines condition. If I had done that I might not be having to rebuild an engine.