GETTING A SECOND CAR. NEED INPUT ON THIS ONE:

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:42 am

I am in the market for a second car. I am keeping my Vibe, but I need somthing I can 'toss around' in.I put $200 down on this to hold until I take it to my mechanic to look over.What's a good price on a non-turbo MR2 with 56,000?He's asking $6500 for it, but I might offer $5800. It drives as good as the pictures, fun, fast and a real head turner. It has a very nice Eclispe NAV unit and Racing Hart rims with Tein suspension. New tires also.Anyone have experience with MR2's? Any input before Saturday would be appreciated. Thats when I'm 'gonna pull the trigger' and buy.Custom Dash:

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:06 am

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO Â» I am in the market for a second car. I am keeping my Vibe, but I need somthing I can 'toss around' in.I put $200 down on this to hold until I take it to my mechanic to look over.What's a good price on a non-turbo MR2 with 56,000?He's asking $6500 for it, but I might offer $5800. It drives as good as the pictures, fun, fast and a real head turner. It has a very nice Eclispe NAV unit and Racing Hart rims with Tein suspension. New tires also.Anyone have experience with MR2's? Any input before Saturday would be appreciated. Thats when I'm 'gonna pull the trigger' and buy.Looks like a nice "clean" fun ride!! What year is it? Mileage isn't too high, that's good. What's the book value on it with the options/upgrades it has?

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 1:18 am

I was looking at buying a real old one, but the older ones rust REALLY easy and bad. The newer ones (3rd gen) are great, never heard anything bad and they use 1zz.We need a year to tell you anything else. the 2nd gen ones are the most wanted as they look the best (imo). And they have some nice mods available.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:21 am

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush Â»Looks like a nice "clean" fun ride!! What year is it? Mileage isn't too high, that's good. What's the book value on it with the options/upgrades it has?It's a 1991. Not too clear on the history, need to carfax it. Clean title though.Book on private party in excellent condition is $3700, but owner has put over 10k into it and it shows.The motor is bone stock except for AEM cold air intake. Quiet also. It has the Eclipse NAV/DVD with back up camera and Clifford alarm with auto start.Everything works good.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:23 am

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO Â»It's a 1991. Not too clear on the history, need to carfax it. Clean title though.Book on private party in excellent condition is $3700, but owner has put over 10k into it and it shows.Question is why would the owner put over $10,000 dollars into it and sell it

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:28 am

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly Â»Question is why would the owner put over $10,000 dollars into it and sell itI did the same thing 2 years ago before I bought my Vibe. I had a Corolla that I put over 4k in upgrades, yet sold it at the same price as a stock one.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:33 am

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO Â»I did the same thing 2 years ago before I bought my Vibe. I had a Corolla that I put over 4k in upgrades, yet sold it at the same price as a stock one.It looks like a regular Corolla to me and I still do not understand the whole thing of putting thousands of dollars into a vehicle and then selling it. You are losing money.

BlueCrush · Post by **BlueCrush** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:37 am

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly Â»Question is why would the owner put over $10,000 dollars into it and sell itThe owner could have put that money into it 5 or 10 years ago and now wants to sell it...or maybe he has bills to pay and has to get rid of his toy. As long as the title is clean, the history is clean and it checks out with the mechanic with no issues... I'd say go for it!! But, I'd start at $5K and see how far he'll come down from his $6.5K. Most people set the price higher expecting a little haggling room. Good Luck! Let us know the outcome. If you bring cash in hand on Saturday, he may be more likely to come down to or even below $5.8K, you never know. Cash is a good motivator.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:39 am

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly Â»It looks like a regular Corolla to me and I still do not understand the whole thing of putting thousands of dollars into a vehicle and then selling it. You are losing money. Doesn't take much to put 4k in a vehicle. I went from stock to the photos seen above, Nav system, Enkai wheels, XRS strut, Custom grille... etc.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:41 am

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO Â»Doesn't take much to put 4k in a vehicle. I went from stock to the photos seen above, Nav system, Enkai wheels, XRS strut, Custom grille... etc.Did you sell the vehicle with all your additions?

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:45 am

Quote, originally posted by BlueCrush Â»The owner could have put that money into it 5 or 10 years ago and now wants to sell it...or maybe he has bills to pay and has to get rid of his toy. As long as the title is clean, the history is clean and it checks out with the mechanic with no issues... I'd say go for it!! But, I'd start at $5K and see how far he'll come down from his $6.5K. Most people set the price higher expecting a little haggling room. Good Luck! Let us know the outcome. If you bring cash in hand on Saturday, he may be more likely to come down to or even below $5.8K, you never know. Cash is a good motivator.Thanks for the tip Blue. Yup. I will have cash in hand. Hard to dicker on this car, it just looks/drives terrific. I'm usually good at lowballing, I got my Fusion Vibe for 4k less than asking price. I think I will low at 5.5.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 2:47 am

Quote, originally posted by ou.grizzly Â»Did you sell the vehicle with all your additions? Yup. Thought I would get more for it though. Ended up selling it for 12k.Lesson learned ou.griz... gonna have the previous owner put the buck in, not me.

beemerphile1 · Post by **beemerphile1** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:25 am

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO Â»Lesson learned ou.griz... gonna have the previous owner put the buck in, not me.But yet here you are trying to get affirmation that you should pay $6,000 for a $3,200 car. You are doing the same thing, just a slightly different variation. Sounds to me like you have already decided to buy and just want us to back you up. I would say if book is 3.2K then that is what it is worth. If the buyer is asking 6.5K he is going to be waiting for a long time. I doubt there is a line of buyers willing to pay DOUBLE book value.That said if it is really nice (it looks good in the pictures) it may be worthwhile to pay something extra but no way would I pay DOUBLE book value or anywhere close to it. Keep in mind that if you total it the day after you buy it, you are going to have a heck of a time convincing an insurance company to pay much over book.

northvibe · Post by **northvibe** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:32 am

yeah cars with mods... those are a hard sell. Because those mods who cares, they dont mean anything to the next owner. The cost the seller wants is what they think its worth but thats a huge opinion and their attachment to the car shoots the price up. When selling a car the mods imo dont play a huge factor specially since once they are purchased they drop in resale FAST.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 4:35 am

Thanks beemerphile,That is exactly the input I wanted to hear.Been looking around the northwest on Craigslist on what these are going for.Some as low as $2500 (pos).. to $11,000 (show car type).From what I see, it seems that 5k would be a reasonable price to pay for this vehicle.Expense and time HAS been put into this, and other MR2's I've seen around here does not have that 'jenes se' qua' about it, meaning this car really stands out, and no smell of rice which is prevalent in some of these Toyotas.Again, thanks beemer, my head WAS up in the clouds a bit.MSAGRO

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:02 am

It looks nice, but like beer said, you are paying twice what book value is.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:34 am

Quote, originally posted by lovemyraffe Â»It looks nice, but like beer said, you are paying twice what book value is.I agree raffe, I have seen the 'book value' MR2's. Nice, but meh... I'm about the last person you would know that would pay book value or more.I would pay a premium on this vehicle for the time and money spent on it.... around $5000, which is about 22% over book. Fine by me. The Eclipse Navigation model hooked up in it when new went for 2800 dollars, the Racing Hart rims were $1500... when you add up all these mods, and just the looks of the car, Five thou' ain't that bad.

lovemyraffe · Post by **lovemyraffe** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:41 am

Quote, originally posted by MSAGRO Â»I would pay a premium on this vehicle for the time and money spent on it.... around $5000, which is about 22% over book. Fine by me. The Eclipse Navigation model hooked up in it when new went for 2800 dollars, the Racing Hart rims were $1500... when you add up all these mods, and just the looks of the car, Five thou' ain't that bad.The actual "value" of the car is to be determined by whomever is purchasing. I'm not saying don't buy it, just make sure you will be happy with your purchase.The car looks amazing. You can tell it has been taken care of and a lot of time and money invested in it.

Tubaryan12 · Post by **Tubaryan12** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 6:44 am

In life, we over pay for a lot of things: hotel rooms, vacations, dinners in restaurants, candy and junk for our kid's fundraisers for school or scouts, homes in "better" neighborhoods....so why should mods on a car be any different?Only one question really needs to be asked here: Is it worth it to you?

Kincaid · Post by **Kincaid** » Thu Feb 04, 2010 8:03 am

Looks like Altamont!That is a nice looking MR2. I have to agree with the sentiment that if you don't mind taking some loss if you sell it, that it is worth whatever it is worth to you. If it had a clean car fax history and a body shop confirmed it had never been in any accidents, I'd pay well over blue book to get what I wanted (maybe not $5k, but that is a personal decision). If they owner took great care of it, and modded it in a way that you like and can show the receipts for $10k being put into it, that is worth quite a bit IMO.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 11:33 am

Quote, originally posted by Kincaid Â»Looks like Altamont!That is a nice looking MR2. I have to agree with the sentiment that if you don't mind taking some loss if you sell it, that it is worth whatever it is worth to you. If it had a clean car fax history and a body shop confirmed it had never been in any accidents, I'd pay well over blue book to get what I wanted (maybe not $5k, but that is a personal decision). If they owner took great care of it, and modded it in a way that you like and can show the receipts for $10k being put into it, that is worth quite a bit IMO.Hiya KincaidPhoto was taken in west hills. Beaverton on the horizon.I bought it today! For $5200. As beautiful as the pictures. Fun dickering, but hard, it was in that nice of shape. I had 2 issues with the car tho, one was the lower front air dam had 'speed bump rash' on the bottom, and a small head gasket leak. Both nothing serious, however the owner is gonna replace the head gasket, thouorghly clean engine, and get this: He will completly change the airdam with a matching new one and repaint to match!I will not pick up the car until I am totally satisfied with the results (and I AM picky) Should have the car weekend after next..Woo 'effin hoo!

star_deceiver · Post by **star_deceiver** » Sat Feb 06, 2010 2:31 pm

Nice dickering with the price!!! Glad you got the car you wanted!!!

PlatinumVibe08 · Post by **PlatinumVibe08** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 6:49 am

Nice find! You got a good deal providing the fixes work out to you satisfaction. I'm glad you didn't let the opinions of those whose panties were in a knot regarding the "book" value negatively influence your decision. Often, the "book" value and actual value are two completely different things, especially on vehicles more than 5 years old. I agree with all those who stated that the car is worth what you are willing to pay for it. Let us know how much fun your having once you take delivery!

ramenboy... · Post by **ramenboy...** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 7:24 am

that's a suweet mr2. glad you pulled the trigger.

MSAGRO · Post by **MSAGRO** » Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:18 am

Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 Â»Nice find! You got a good deal providing the fixes work out to you satisfaction. I'm glad you didn't let the opinions of those whose panties were in a knot regarding the "book" value negatively influence your decision. Often, the "book" value and actual value are two completely different things, especially on vehicles more than 5 years old. I agree with all those who stated that the car is worth what you are willing to pay for it. Let us know how much fun your having once you take delivery! Quote, originally posted by PlatinumVibe08 Â»Nice find! You got a good deal providing the fixes work out to you satisfaction. I'm glad you didn't let the opinions of those whose panties were in a knot regarding the "book" value negatively influence your decision. Often, the "book" value and actual value are two completely different things, especially on vehicles more than 5 years old. I agree with all those who stated that the car is worth what you are willing to pay for it. Let us know how much fun your having once you take delivery! Thanks platinum, yeah I tossed 'book value' on this MR2. I mean, golly it's almost 20 years old.I looked around alot. I was specific on this 2nd gen MR2, not the first (too much like the Fiat X19), nor the 3rd gen MR2 (too much like the Honda S2000). This in my opinion is the best looking Toyota made.Price on these vary from 3000 to one I saw for 14,000.Not sure if it is considered a classic, but they are hard to find, especially one not riced out.Here is a good example of what I've seen:http://seattle.craigslist.org/....htmlThis one is stock, no T-roof, and not jammed with features on the one I bought.Once I recieve the car I will post other pics of it.

Kincaid · Post by **Kincaid** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 5:20 am

The seller sounds like a guy that loved (and still loves) that car. He wants to send it off into the world in perfect shape.

ou.grizzly · Post by **ou.grizzly** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 7:38 am

Is he redoing the head and changing out the timing belt/chain at the same time for ya?

vibedrivermatt · Post by **vibedrivermatt** » Wed Feb 10, 2010 8:20 pm

Congratulations on that car. Great choice man!! Thats always been one of those cars I've wanted to drive (or own really) but never have. I agree those second gen ones look the best. Enjoy it man!