REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

InvisibleSoul · 05-27-2015, 10:13 AM

We have a 2002 Toyota MR2 Spyder that we need to get rid of.

This is my wife's car, and we should have probably gotten rid of it three years ago when she was pregnant and stopped driving.

Clearly the MR2 isn't baby-friendly, so when the kid arrived and my wife started driving again, we ended up getting an SUV.

The past couple years, when spring and summer rolled around, I keep thinking I need to sell the car... but I never do anything about it.

Part of it is due to laziness, but I finally realized last night that the biggest reason I haven't done anything about it is I don't know what I should do in order to sell it.

The problem is that because the MR2 has basically been sitting neglected for three years, it's not in good running condition.

Unfortunately I didn't do anything to prep the car for storage at the time as I didn't know at that point how long it would be sitting unused for.

I didn't treat the gas, and I didn't disconnect the battery initially. No surprise, the battery completely died after less than year, to the point where even a battery charger wasn't able to bring it back to life. I do have a new battery for it that's currently not installed.

I did start up the car and drove it around the block a few times, but I can't even remember if it was last year or two years ago. The car ran, but I noticed the clutch slipping quite a bit, which it wasn't prior to us storing the car.

We also have a dent and paint scratches on the right front fender from when my wife accidentally scraped a pillar in a parking garage.

On top of that, the convertible top needs to be replaced. It got slashed by thieves literally days after my wife bought the car, and the professional patch job we got actually held up remarkly well over the years. However, a few other holes have appeared since then, so some water does seep in if left sitting out in the rain.

I had checked on what it would cost to replace the top, and I think I found it could be done for around $1200. Buying a replacement top on eBay would cost about $700, and I did find some place in Richmond that said they can do the labour for less than $500.

I've found three local listings on Craigslist for MR2 Spyders:

2000 Toyota MR2 Spyder (low km) - 2000, 66k miles, $10500
Toyota MR2 Spyder - 2002, 129k miles, $8500
2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder - 2003, 81k miles, $11500

Don't know the exact mileage on our's, but it should be lower than any of those. Obviously these other ones are in much better condition.

Basically with these facts...

Should we try to sell it as-is for a much reduced price?

Should we bring it to a mechanic to at least get it into decent running condition before selling it?

Should we spend the money to replace the convertible top before selling it?

We're not desperate in terms of needing the money from the sale or anything, but at the same time it's been sitting around doing nothing long enough, so we would like it gone.

Would appreciate any advice, especially from those who may have been in similar situations before.

Thanks!

320icar · 05-27-2015, 10:31 AM

Most of the problems the car has really could be solved with an Italian tune up. Get some friends over for a pizza and mechanics party. Drain out what gas u can and put in new fuel. All new oil and coolant and pretty much any other fluid you can. Throw on a day or two insurance and drive it!! The clutch slipping is almost always just surface crud that has materialized from sitting for 3 years. It will be brushed off with driving. Spend the weekend getting it running right. The top is probably not worth going through the hassle. Just reduce the sale price by ~1000 and just list it as something that needs doing.

How are those cars anyways? Pretty fun?

Edit: if you do decide to sell, spend another weekend and do the full detail. Engine bay, Door jams, spare tire well etc. get a 6 pack of beer and a 6 pack of tooth brushes and go mental. If you really want your asking price, you gotta work for if! And maybe just maybe you'll fall in love with the car again and keep it

InvisibleSoul · 05-28-2015, 02:19 PM

Thanks for the reply, 320icar.

The MR2 Spyder is like a go-kart for the road... and about equally functional. The only cargo space to speak of is what's behind the seats, and we're talking about only enough room for a few bags of groceries at most.

It's decently fun to drive, I suppose, and it's pretty good on gas. By no means is it a fast car though, that's for sure.

fliptuner · 05-28-2015, 02:36 PM

It really comes down to how much time and money you're willing to invest. Having a young kid, I know time is at a premium.

Do you really want to spend nights after work and sunny weekends working on a car or buying permits to take it to and from the shop? Are you even able to DIY some things, being in a condo? Even after it's cleaned and mechanically up to par, there's still the issues of the top and paintwork. Are you willing to get those done too?

IMO, if you can just wash/vac it and get a decent price, without having to do anything, it might save you a lot of hassle.

smoothie. · 05-28-2015, 02:41 PM

sell it to me, ill fix it up and share the profit

Spoon · 05-28-2015, 03:21 PM

Sold my 97 Prelude for $5k around 6 years ago. It sat there idle for maybe 8 months and I recently found out I was going to be a Dad. Market price for it was probably around 10k back then, but I didn't care. At some point, it just became a hunk of metal that just sat there and was slowly deteriorating and depreciating. I was and still am happy with commuting by public transit. And honestly, I loss passion for driving at that point in time (the daily point-A to point-B driving at least).

From that day onwards, we kept an SUV as our family car. And every year, I'm glad I made that decision. Because when it's time to contribute to my two kids' RESPs, I realize that that $5k could easily have evaporated into insurance+gas just to have a car under my name.

underscore · 05-28-2015, 03:37 PM

I'd do what 320 suggested, or at least take a day or two (difficult with a family I know) and at least cosmetically clean it up as best you can. Giving the car a good scrub down should help you get a little more for it and sell it faster.

godwin · 05-28-2015, 04:35 PM

You should take your top back to ICBC and argue for the "life time" repair guarantee. ICBC should had replaced it in the first place.

Gas "freshness" is not a big deal. Car storage aren't that much work in all honesty (I have a Z3M shoe, e36 and a M5 in storage). Even if you don't prep, new car batteries are cheap, same as oil and filters, wheel flats evens out after a few km. One thing you didn't mention is did you keep it in doors or outdoors. That makes a big deal with AC. I would get the scrape fixed though.. the are places that would do a pretty good job for cheap.

It is a rare car for Canada, you should be able to sell at a good price in the summer. Clutch etc are easy to fix. If you can wait or have room to store, I would just store it for a few years and get Collectors ( a few years away). Once your kid goes to Kindergarten your wife most likely want to have a cheap run about.. that sounds about a right car to have around.

It depends on how much disposable income you have and how much of a car guy you are.

Since this board is full of people who like to buy cars cheap, once they smell blood....

punkwax · 05-28-2015, 06:45 PM

tofu will probably buy it once he reads the thread

i-vtecyo · 05-29-2015, 12:27 AM

Im interested if you are willing to sell as is. I loved my previous one (well actually it was my brothers) and it was a blast to drive. It turned heads everywhere I went and ppl kept asking me if it was a porsche. Anyways, Pm me the details if you decide to take that route.

InvisibleSoul · 06-06-2015, 04:21 PM

It cleaned up pretty nicely, and was surprised it still started up without any problems!

Literally drove it down the block, and an undercover cop car turns into my small street.

He stops and I stammer that I'm just driving it around the block to check that it still runs properly, and he gave me the lecture saying that it's a $600 ticket for driving without insurance. I acknowledged that I knew that, and I'm going to drive it right back home immediately.

Man, that would have sucked to get a ticket just for driving it around the block.

Such a nice day out... going to get insurance on it, top it up with fresh gas, dump the kid off with the grandparents, and go on a drive with the wife tonight.

swfk · 06-06-2015, 06:43 PM

If you don't need money urgently, have the extra space, perhaps just keep it

InvisibleSoul · 06-06-2015, 11:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swfk

If you don't need money urgently, have the extra space, perhaps just keep it

MAYBE if it was our only other car other than the SUV... but we also have an unused Yaris sitting around.

We only need one car right now, but we have three... so if we were to sell one, it would have to be the MR2 Spyder.

Whatever the case, took it out for a 60km drive tonight, and was again surprised that it didn't seem to have any issues with its running condition whatsoever. The slipping clutch issue that I noticed when I took it around the block a year or two ago was non-existent. Stretched its legs on the highway, and had no slippage under heavy throttle even in 5th.

So, yeah... with the battery back in, confirmed that the mileage is indeed lower than any of the others, at under 65,000 miles.

Given that there are no mechanical issues that I had thought there would be, I'm wondering if I had undervalued the car.

fliptuner · 06-07-2015, 12:54 AM

By the sounds of it, it'll take minimal effort to get a decent amount for it.

Congrats!!!

swfk · 06-07-2015, 01:53 AM

It'll reeeeally cost you if you insured them all 3 cars at once. Otherwise I don't see it as a huge expense. Besides, I doubt the MR-S will drop in value significantly in the next few years so if it sits, the price also sits.

Mr.C · 06-07-2015, 12:37 PM

Dump the Yaris, drive the MR-S.

mlum6969 · 06-07-2015, 02:01 PM

keep the mr2!

dvst8 · 06-08-2015, 02:06 AM

Keep it if you can. Those drives after the baby is asleep will help relieve the life pressures of being a dad. Congrats!

Phil@rise · 06-08-2015, 11:40 AM

why would you keep the yaris over the mr? the yaris is going to depreciate much faster than the yaris meaning its going to be worth far less down the road when you decide to sell the other sit around car.

originalhypa · 06-08-2015, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by swfk

It'll reeeeally cost you if you insured them all 3 cars at once. Otherwise I don't see it as a huge expense. Besides, I doubt the MR-S will drop in value significantly in the next few years so if it sits, the price also sits.

It's not that simple.
A sitting car still needs maintenance, and will still need to be driven every so often. Then there's the floor space that a car takes up. With square footage in the lower mainland at such a premium, there is a cost associated with storage.

The best thing I did was to sell my STi to someone who truly appreciates it. I loved that car, but the trouble of storing a car, and trying to keep it in mint condition takes a lot out of you. I now have cash, space, and a rekindled desire to work on the cars that I use more often.

Bottom line: Simplify.

GLOW · 06-08-2015, 12:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mr.C

Dump the Yaris, drive the MR-S.

What he said

fliptuner · 06-08-2015, 12:50 PM

Sell it while the sellin's good.

There's a reason you haven't driven it in 3 years.

underscore · 06-08-2015, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil@rise

why would you keep the yaris over the mr? the yaris is going to depreciate much faster than the yaris meaning its going to be worth far less down the road when you decide to sell the other sit around car.

Not to mention the Yaris should sell faster.

Simplex123 · 06-08-2015, 01:54 PM

You're asking RS for help, telling us you have a Yaris and an MR2. What kind of rational answer were you expecting? If what you want is for us to convince you to keep the MR2, then here you go: keep MR2, sell Yaris.
But seriously, if you have a Yaris that is sitting as well and you have an SUV for the baby, definitely sell the Yaris

InvisibleSoul · 06-09-2015, 12:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Phil@rise

why would you keep the yaris over the mr? the yaris is going to depreciate much faster than the yaris meaning its going to be worth far less down the road when you decide to sell the other sit around car.

A few big reasons I can think of. The MR2 can't be used to drive the kid around for at least ten years. I GUESS this can be mitigated most of the time by having the parent without the kid drive the MR2... but I imagine there may still be times where the parent without the kids need to transport stuff. The MR2 will also not be very useful in the winter. No argument the MR2 is a lot more fun than the Yaris, but that's about the only thing going for it, since it is so much less practical.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simplex123

You're asking RS for help, telling us you have a Yaris and an MR2. What kind of rational answer were you expecting? If what you want is for us to convince you to keep the MR2, then here you go: keep MR2, sell Yaris.
But seriously, if you have a Yaris that is sitting as well and you have an SUV for the baby, definitely sell the Yaris

Well, I actually didn't ask for opinions on which car I should sell.

I was asking how I should sell the MR2.