A big out of date tin of SPAM!

Mate of mine's selling his Mk1 MR2. Now before I start, I'm sure at least a few people will probably say "HFM?" so let's get out of the way now:

Thanks. Are you quite finished? Good.

Right - in short he bought it on eBay about a year ago (possibly slightly less) for 1400 quid and it was in bloody good condition and still is now. It was a 2nd (or 3rd or 4th) car for some bloke out in Oxfordshire who was ok for a few quid and didn't skimp on servicing it - most or all of the receipts up to when my mate got it are main dealer invoices - (that bloke also kept it garaged), and he's serviced it super-regularly since then (I *think* he said he's done 3 oil changes in the last 6000 miles or so - he'd be servicing it no expense spared as this was going to be the good car to gradually make mint over time that he was planning to keep for ages).

It's got around 8 or 9 months MOT and needed two small patches of welding for that MOT to the rear of the sills (one on each - about £300 worth in total to get it through the MOT), but other than that there's no rust anywhere on it (I'm pretty sure that's what he said - I've seen it and it is in bloody good nick).

Mechanically it's basically spot on - engine runs superbly - no nasty surprises as far as I know - he might have given it new brake pads and/or discs recently - basically it's not due any work in the immediate future, and comes complete with a good month or two worth of tax as well. Reason for selling is that he's just got a job in Central London, so won't need a car from day to day and would rather not see an old car deteriorate through lack of use, and fancies spending a lot more money on something more modern that'll cope much more happily with only being used now and again.

Only bad points are a slight dent in the wing (seller said it's barely worth mentioning - he says it is but I've seen the car a few times and not noticed it), and the paintwork is a bit faded in places. Having said that though, he's had a lot of people comment on how good it looks, and whilst the paintwork would benefit from a proper afternoon's compounding + polishing, it's not terrible by any means. He reckons £300 or so chucked at it would make it absolutely mint, but I'd say it's in pretty decent nick as it is.

And that's about it - one important thing is that it's a 100% original and unmolested example, in need of a little bit of work to make it absolutely perfect. It currently needs a new exhaust (not sure how much of it - probably just the back box) and he's going to get that sorted before selling it. Says he'd like to see £1200 for it, but isn't too sure what to ask as he doesn't want to sell himself short, but at the same time doesn't want to pitch it too high and have people expecting something absolutely mint (or just not call up).

So in brief, it's a D reg or a G reg (I honestly can't remember....), red, decent condition all round, 100% original, medium-long length MOT, a couple of months' tax (end of September I think), 85,000 miles with a recent service. Think he had the cambelt replaced as well, but might not have got around to getting that done yet. Oh, and it's in South-West London suburbia - around the Sutton/Croydon area.

Questions/Pisstakers/"HFM"-ers all welcome.

Reply to
AstraVanMan
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From your description I'd say around £1k would be a fair price once the exhaust is done and if the cambelt has been done. Definately worth putting it up for £1200 though if he's not in a rush to sell. Might get lucky!

Also worth putting some elbow grease into the paintwork - red is notorious for fading on mark 1s but looks fantastic when its all cleaned up - so my advice would be to spend that afternoon sorting it out so it looks good for new buyers!

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

Repaired quite a few of these, and if its come from Ebay, then its almost

100% certain that its likely to have a lot of bodged body repairs, and probably poorly done chassis welding.

Personally unless you have one you are restoring properly and are looking for a spares donor, these old Jap cars can be a total nightmare, and are really something to be avoided at all costs................

Reply to
Ken

Yeah, I agree but you forgot to mention a couple of things. In my vast experience of older Japanese cars, scraping your knuckles when working on them poses a great threat of AIDS infection. And if you change the oil without using a mosquito net, you'll catch malaria.

Reply to
fishman

Not quite as much risk of AIDs infection, as you having unprotected sex with a partner you have met in the gents though!

Reply to
Ken

Are you sure about that?

Reply to
Depresion

No, but I imagine you are!

k
Reply to
Ken

So you come in here making unsubstantiated comments then back down. TFTSHDLL.

*Plonk*
Reply to
Depresion

AIDS isn't an infection, and you can't 'catch' aids off anybody through unprotected sex. You can however acquire HIV.

Don't you love the silly people :D

Reply to
Robert

You have AIDS of the face.

Reply to
Doki

Is that worse than Cancer of the hair?

Reply to
Depresion

Sounds quite nice. I might have been interested but circumstances dictate not until next year sometime.

On a related note, what's the story with these so-called classic car limited mileage insurance policy, where the car is more than 15 years old? I am coming up to the minimum age requirement (which is 25 I believe) and was considering taking advantage. Who's got one? Does it need to be a 'second car'? How much cheaper is it than normal insurance?

Reply to
Tom Robinson

I thought the general thing was over 10 years old, but it may well be

15, and some may be picky about the model too. It's a D reg btw, and he's just sent me some pictures (some of them aren't all that great), along with a word file detailing the service history (he's had it since last September, so anything since then is stuff he's done himself), which I've uploaded to
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Anyone interested drop me a line, circumcising the reply address.
Reply to
AstraVanMan

Different insurance companies have different rules on what constitutes a classic. When I had my XR4x4 and was looking for quotes some considered it a classic, some didnt.

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

I have a classic policy and I think the mk1 MR2 was listed a grp 2 or 3 (on a scale of 5) there is an age limit with that company of 25 and that policy is limited to it being not a main vehicle. (Thankfully not limited to being a

2nd car) And I think with me on an agreed value of £8500 it's £160 a year but it can get down to £80 if you tick all the right boxes for things like age, job, car clubs.
Reply to
Depresion

How does that work then? You only have one car but it's not your "main vehicle"? Limited mileage I'm guessing...

Jesus, that is cheap. What kind of quotes were you getting on "normal" policies?

Reply to
Tom Robinson

Hou can get it if you only have one car yourself but use a company vehicle as your main transport.

I didn't even look at normal policies to be honest as it's a 1969 car. My father's paying £80 for his MGB but he's an old fart. :)

Reply to
Depresion

They all vary in conditions and prices. Some or all of the conditions may be:-

1 Must be not the only car you own 2 Must be a member of a suitable car club 3 May not be used for commuting. 4 Must be parked off road overnight. 5 Regular high quality photos showing the condition inside and out required. 6 Restricted mileage. 7 No no claims bonus earned. And probably some more I've forgotten.

I've been with two 'classic car' insurance companies but am now with Direct Line as they give a discount for a second car, and it costs about the same as my last premium, but without any restrictions other than annual mileage.

Reply to
Dave Plowman (News)

In fact my Volvo is on a Classic policy I believe. I don't earn any NCB, there's a limited mileage, but modifications are pretty much free. Plus it let's me drive other cars 3rd party, which is nice (for a 24 year old).

Reply to
Carl Gibbs

I've got one on my Capri. It's my only car but is insured FC as a=20 Classic with agreed value and 8000miles allowance. BEST BIT: Class 1=20 Business Use is FREE and is unlimited mileage so in effect I've got a=20 FC Classic policy with agreed value and unlimited mileage for =A3200.

--=20 Conor

"No trilogy should have more than four books" - Arthur C. Clarke

Reply to
Conor

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