Hello

[mishy99]

Hi MR2 mk1 owners and forum users,

I am a 19 year old automotive engineering student at sussex university and avid fan of MR2 MK1s. was around a lot of them as a child and i think it had an effect on me ;)

i don't currently own an MR2 mk1 but intend to purchase one in the near future. wont be a perfect one as thats part of the fun for someone like me. Currently drive a saxo :oops: and have recently become very bored of it. Does anyone think i could get insured on one for a reasonable price (less than £2000), i have 2 years NCB and a clean licence in a relatively decent post code with low yearly mileage of about 3000.
i am willing to wait if i have to but it would be a good time financially for me if i could get one. i know being a student will go against me, even though being an engineering student i don't have a lot of fun spare time :lol:

I have looked through many threads on this forum and must say many of you guys really know your stuff and have some fantastic looking cars. keep it up :+:

Michael

[superwhite90]

Hello Michael,

I know I struggled with various insurance companies when I first bought my MR2 when I was 20. I found that quite a few companies needed you to be 21 in order to take out a policy.

I think from memory my first policy cost me about £1100 and that was third party fire and theft with 2 years NCB and a clean licence at the time too. The mileage you intend to cover may help bring your quotation down but someone else can answer this as many people have limited mileage policies here.

The men and women on this site are brilliant and always willing to share their expertise and knowledge whenever its needed :+:

These cars however are a different kettle of fish compared to a saxo but are indeed a lot of fun :D

[tommundy]

Hi Michael,

Try checking out some quotes from Classic Insurance companies. Although you don't normally build no claims bonus on a classic policy, the difference in price of quotations more than covers any reduction you may get the following year. I had an MG B GT when I was 18 and most normal insurance companies wanted £2k+ 3rd party f+t, but I got a classic policy for £600 fully comp, so the savings are there!

Keep us updated and don't hesitate to ask if you need any advice when looking for your first Mk1!

HTH.

Cheers,
Tom

[Kateg28]

Much better fun than saxos and much more cool.

Am I allowed to say that I pay £200 fully comp but am more than twice your age.

Good luck, I am sure you will find one that you will be happy with. When you start looking, post the links on here and people will give you some advice.

[mishy99]

Cheers guys.

yeah i think it is time for an upgrade from the saxo and being a proper car enthusiast i looked at some classic cars, and then remembered the Mk1 MR2. the saxo is nice to drive but rattles and feels very cheap. I thought about classic insurance, but which insurance companies would consider me for it. i did have a classic mini for a week LOL, and insurance on that was really cheap and cheaper on a classic policy. I am sure on the car just a little worried the insurance companies will bend me over the barrel that is the law :lol:

Thanks for the help will do a ring around next week to see about prices both classic and standard insurance. My post code will change to an even better one in october so i may have to wait unitll then but im hoping to get it in my easter break from uni so i can get the saxo ready for sale and source the '2 and get it sorted for the time being, service and as good a rust treatment as i can do. after the mini being a fair bit broken im aware of the challenges of classic cars and have more time now than when i had the mini to fix it up. Looking forward to being a real owner. watching as many project threads as i dare, keep up the good work maintaining these brilliant classics.

[superwhite90]

I recently had to renew my insurance and fell off my chair when Aviva offered me a deal with fully comp and protected ncb for under £400 so even though i'm 7 years older than you, give them a call. I also have 3 points now.

Adrian flux are also worth a call if you can put up with the crap customer service they give you.

Mk1s are group 13 insurance which might kill it for someone you're age, but in saying that I got a quote for a Saxo diesel recently which gave me a higher premium than my modified '2!

There are a lot more parts widely available for these cars now, eBay is full of them, Toyota still stock most parts, but make sure you are sitting down for some of the prices as they are ridiculous! Rust is one of the main problems these cars are suffering with at the moment, but if you're good at welding and general panel beating it shouldn't be an issue ;)

[mishy99]

I intend to learn to weld over the summer months, as i know its a very useful skill in maintaining old cars. done my research and know where to look on an old '2 for the signs of poor maintainance. at my age insurance is rather random, very expensive but varys hugely between similar cars. Parts are the only thing that scares me about the car itself, as my cash flow is tempermental at best, being it gets boosted by a student loan and i only work in my breaks due to the nature of my university course being long hours, so some times i lack funds entirly others i have plenty of spare cash. im am quite happy to spend all my spare money on my car and intend to keep it as standard as possible, im not a boy racer looking for a cheap and quick car. A rare breed i feel at my age is a true car enthusiast. unfortunatly we mostly get tarnished with the same brush due to the immaturity of others :cry:

Just to clarify Automotive engineering isnt a mechanics course. it is to do with the design and engineering aspect of motor vehicles, such as efficiency tuning so im not trained to do mechanic type jobs although i do know my way around a car very well due to my interest in them.

[brindas-91]

hey im 19 years old and have recently purchased a mrk 1 m2 and insurance at present would be around the 3000 grand mark which is ridiculous so im waiting till i have 2 years driving a 1 years no claims then it goes down to around 1500 pound which is the same as what i am paying on my rover metro

hope this helped

ben :D

[mishy99]

Cheers, yeah thats helped alot, i know insurance varies alot but that help as i have 2 years NCB and nearly 2 years on my licence. im thinking i might be best to wait until i do have two years on my licence for the cheapest insurance i can get. now just to keep saving up the pennys

[mishy99]

its been a long time but i am finally putting a deposit down on an mr2 mk1 tomorrow morning so will become more active and put some pics up when i get it. needs an MOT but only done 1000 mi since the last, should fly through it fingers crossed. never been more excited lol i know thats kinda sad but hey.

patience has finally paid off for me i hope!

[Kateg28]

ooooh tell us more... Colour? Variant?

[mishy99]

its a white sunroof with black roof. 1988. 105,000mi

heres some pics sorry about size

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/09/mr2s-1.jpg

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/09/mr2r-1.jpg

http://www.mr2mk1club.com/images/imported/2011/09/mr2f-1.jpg

[pbradburn]

Hi - I recognise that car!!! I just bought mine from that road - my red one!

[mishy99]

the car in the pictures unfortunately failed its MOT :(

However, i got straight back online and found another white sunroof model for a similar price and its sitting on my drive now. so i am now an MR2 mk1 owner :)

[Kateg28]

Excellent. White is a popular colour and can look amazing. My first one was White (t-bar model) but that was when it was nearly new!

Hope you enjoy it and we get to see it soon

[mishy99]

ha yeah you will get to see it. need to tax it first but havent got the v5 or my insurance through yet :( so might have to wait to give it a good drive. but i cant wait. its 22 years old and only has 74,000 on the clock. fair amount of rust on the rear arches but underside is solid from what i have seen. hopefully going to restore it over the next year or so.

love looking out the window and seeing it on the drive though!