1988 Toyota MR2

1988 Toyota MR2 GT

This MR2 features long term original ownership (purchased in 1988 and I recently acquired the car earlier this year). The original owner purchased this car to use for commuting to his engineer job. He maintained the car meticulously, performing preventative maintenance on time and always ensuring the car was garage parked to keep the paint in excellent shape. There are a few minor stone chips commensurate with use and highway driving, but they are few and far between. The maintenance schedule also shows through in the fantastic mechanical condition of the engine and drivetrain, the engine compression is well within spec at 178-180psi across all 4 cylinders. The car was only driven an average of 5600 miles annually since new.

The original owner ultimately decided to sell the car his neighbor/ caretaker as he was no longer able to drive due to his advanced age. I acquired the car from the 2nd owner who was assisting the 1st owner sell the car.

In the last 5,000 miles, the car has received a new clutch, rotors turned and new brake pads, belts, and a battery. The timing belt was done approximately 7,000 miles ago. During my ownership, I have installed 4 new Cooper tires, replaced and flushed the brake master cylinder and clutch master cylinder. I've also installed replacement floor mats, new shift knob, shift boot and shifter bushings, as well as an OEM Toyota cassette deck. I've also installed new Kicker dash speakers and replaced the 5" woofer in the OEM subwoofer box. After all, what's a joy ride without your favorite mix tape? Original factory-installed parts are retained, should the next owner decide to reinstall them. The best part about maintaining this car is that the drivetrain is shared with the Corolla of that time period, better known by it's model code - AE86. Parts availability, from Toyota and aftermarket parts vendors, is excellent.

This MR2 is a very uncommon spec, featuring a hard top, 1985-1987 style side skirts (MK1a), steel wheels and fewer standard features. The MK1b features a revised 5 speed transmissipon that resisted 5th gear pop outs and was generally a much better transmission than the outgoing C50 transmission from the earlier generation. This car is commonly referred to as an "enthusiast" spec as there are fewer features and functions to distract from a direct driving experience. It also means fewer seals to leak (like a T-top), few parts to break and great simplistic cockpit.

While extremely well-taken care of, this MR2 is without some faults, as any 33 year old car. There was some minor paint damage due to the original clutch master cylinder leaking, so I remove those parts, cleaned the area and had a professional respray the interior front trunk area in the original Toyota Super Red paint. During this process, the A/C condenser was disconnected to ensure proper paint coverage and the parts were retained. I have not reconnected the system, but the condenser just needs two lines connected and the system recharged. The A/C system worked flawlessly before it was disconnected. The original struts are beginning to show their age, and a new set of strut inserts would bring this car back to 100%.

I've had the car fully detailed in preparation for the sale and maintained the car's garage kept history.

Included with the sale:

-original Monroney sticker (window sticker)

-Toyota factory service manual (BGB or big green book)

-Haynes repair manual

-maintenance receipts

-factory floor mats, shift knob and original AM/FM radio

-original owners manual and supplemental owners info

Also includes a few boxes of OEM parts to cover a tuneup, timing belt change, new brakes (rotors and pads), etc.

If you are following the 80s and 90s Toyota and Honda market, you know all Japanese-built cars and trucks are rapidly increasing in value. This is a great chance to get in driverseat of a road-ready, mid-engine sports car. AE86 values have gone through the roof recently, with clean examples going well beyond $30k mark. These cars really are in the sweet spot for value, driver enjoyment and rarity. Unfortunately, so many of these cars ended up abused, neglected and unmaintained, making clean, unmolested examples like this one harder and harder to find.

There is no warranty expressed or implied with this sale of this vehicle.

Also published at eBay.com

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