That Orange one has been for sale for some time, it could be the buyer trying to twist your arm to commit to a sale, or he has finally  found a buyer. I have met the owner before on a previous cruise. Seemed like a nice bloke.
 
Number One in that List, have you seen that? Actually looks quite nice - I was actually contemplating buying it.
 
MR2s do come up, I picked mine up for less then $5000 but has higher km and has and still does need work put into it, but as would 95% of mr2s that usually end up on the market.

Are Parts for the Engine expensive?, say if a Water Pump or similar needs replaced= some guys are telling me any Toyota parts are very,very expensive!?. With the Nissan, its not too bad but some things were horrendously expensive ie: Air Flow Meter,Ignitor Chip
 
Number one on the Link List on the previous page,Ive emailed the guy twice  now......but those wheels ( stock?) are really  terrible and the body looks very plain,paint damage on front bar,higher kms than the Orange one, he says the roof doesnt leak though. Second handy motor that had done 90,000km was just installed,new clutch,belts,alternator,upgraded turbo,new battery,new rotors and brakes too or so he said in an email tonight but this one too has a non working aircon but overall sounds mechanically sound.....

I wouldn't bother with considering putting wheels as negative, just think of it as a blank canvas.
 
I am 90% the orange one had an engine transplant too.
 
As you can tell none are perfect. They are at the end of the day a 20 year old car.
 
As for price of parts, I cant comment personally, many people have good luck sourcing bits from the states or through some of our forum sponsors for great price. Labor on the other hand can add up quickly if you get a mechanic to do the work for you.
 
Aircon can be as simply as a damaged hose/seized compressor all the way to having been completed stripped.

Ive just knocked back the Orange one,it was an extremely HARD decision but after the Nissan 180SX probs over the years I had to put looks aside and think of mechanical functionality instead. I'll now run with looking at that stock looking red one and tee up a test drive, hopefull to buy an MR2 and stay on these forums....
 
If I do buy that red one,I then will straight away be looking at what wheels to buy, but unaware of what offset wheel to buy that will look good without fouling on the car and how big a rim and tyre profile on MR2 I can go without messing up speedo readings. I believe that the Wheels generally make or break a car's appearance...
 

As stated earlier the MR2 shares the same stud pattern as Skylines, Silvias (200sx/S15) and many other jap RWD cars so finding wheels are easy. I do agree with you on wheels affecting a cars appearance.
 
Many wheel discussion threads on here.
Many people choose 17s.
 
When the time comes, this website is a great resource.
http://mr2.gordaen.com/wt_calc.php
 
 

Guys, I need some more info= when you need to rplace something like maybe= Turbo, Water Pump, alternator etc I'm guessing you can get access to any of it from the top so the motor has to be removed everytime to replace most parts.Is this correct?

All those part you mentioned and more can be replaced with the motor in the car. Timing belt job etc is doable with motor in.
Some parts are removed from the bottom and some from the top.
Only if you were doing all of them or multiples at the same time would you drop the motor as it would be quicker (cheaper) labour wise.

A lot of work requires starting from the top, then working from the bottom, THEN back to the top, etc. It can certainly be a pain compared to some cars, but most stuff is reasonably accessible. Again, not something to put you off.
Parts aren't too bad. There's nothing crazy exotic about the drivetrain, its a FWD Celica engine moved to the rear. There's plenty of cars being wrecked out for parts, or online dealers for new stuff. At least you'll know everything is available, even if the less common things might cost you a bit.
As for when to replace things, by this stage most cars won't be up to date with the standard servicing schedule. I'd usually just go by condition and replace whats needed. They are 90s Toyotas, things last.

the timing belt etc can be done with engine in. But Like most cars I advise doing the water pump, alternator etc.

Cost me a touch over $2k.

Find a car with one done recently...like mine :)

That one is too pricey for me, I wont spend over $ 10,000 and will NEVER buy a Black car ever again!!, my 180sx is black and the Aussie sun kills the paint cause Black attracts heat, impossible to keep clean, and every single minor dent or scratch shows up very easily...
 
Still looking about and keep wondering if buying an MR2 is such a good idea as a daily driver( cause it wil be), I dont want to end up in the same boat as driving that damn 180SX every day and constantly having to buy tyres and parts to keep the **** thing going?.