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SW20 Toyota MR2 - Buyer's guide - the main things to look out for

Reel E Motoring

2,853 views

As these 90s cars get older, find a good example to buy is getting harder. I outline some of the things to look out for...RUST being important.

Big appreciation to PrimeMR2.com for saving me time hunting for engine bay shots 😁👍

Watch all my other MR2 content with the link below
MR2 Turbo Videos

Instagram - Odin_S8 - DM for enquires
Email - stevelaxy@gmail.com

0:00 - Introduction, market differences
1:35 - Revision 1 SW20 MR2
2:42 - Revision 2 SW20 MR2
4:07 - Revision 3 SW20 MR2
5:07 - Revision 4 SW20 MR2
5:56 - Revision 5 SW20 MR2
7:08 - NA engine options
11:37 - Turbo engine options
15:28 - What to look out for. Rust/maintenance history
26:07 - Test drive - What to look out for. Turbo and NA
30:46 - Gearbox
31:46 - Car prices and running costs
34:28 - Closing thoughts

8 Comments

@briancorrigan5350 2 months ago

I enjoyed your video, thanks. One thing you missed are the suspension revisions over time. In order to address the dynamic rear wheel toe change as the suspension moved through its range of motion ( and the toe out for the outside rear wheel when braking or even throttle off in a corner), Toyota lengthened the rear lower link by moving the chassis side mounts further inboard. This resulted in a more gradual arc of motion, reducing the rate of change in toe as the rear suspension rebounded from laden to unladen while braking, for instance. There were also other changes to tame the unforgiving handling near the limit.

@skatetown100 1 month ago

nicely done .. learned a lot .. whaat whaaat 🙂 I am MR2 curious

@mcblackhawk4244 2 months ago

Man sweet mr2. I currently work at an upholstery shop and common issue on most cars we have in for water leaks is actually the vapor barrier inside the door panel. Easiest way to test this put a plastic wedge between the window and door(on the exterior) and run some water inside. If water leaks that’s how you know your vapor barrier has gone bad on you. Ofc there are drains as thats how it is designed. And with the leak where the jute pad was on the drivers side being wet. It’s usually either a side window leak or a ttop leak. Easiest way to test the window spray soapy water around the water and use an air hose on the interior around the window to see if you see any bubbles. I know how frustrating water leaks can be. I hope this helped!!!

@matthewnicholas6365 2 months ago

Had a zircon blue rev2 turbo for 5 years in the 00s.
Fitted a rev3 ct20b turbo, aftermarket intercooler exhaust, ecu and boost controller and it made about 320bhp.
Eventually I needed to sort my finances out and also started to find the coilovers, 18s, blow off valve etc all quite irritating 😂
Sold for a loss and now they're worth 5 times as much. Just my luck.

The next owner thought he was better at modding and blew it up.

@danbrittain9530 2 months ago

You also haven't mentioned the different rear subframe and control arms from revision 2 onwards, or the revision 3 onwards turbo models getting an LSD gearbox as standard, etc.

@c.o.n.collectingofnostalgi889 2 months ago

Mine is being put back on the road hopefully soon, my clutch went so that and my calipers are now in there way along with the hand break cables so hopefully soon 😅

@S2K_Korey 2 months ago

Debating on purchasing a 300k 92 mr2 turbo. All original 1 owner. Clean body. 6-7k? Worth it? Its dirty and sat for about 5 years. I owned one before.