Used Car of the Day: 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder

by Tim Healey

Published: October 10th, 2023

used car of the day 2001 toyota mr2 spyder

We're going back to the convertible well today with this 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder.

Five grand will get you a manual-transmission Spyder with just under 100,000 miles on it. It is apparently in good running order and has recently passed inspection.

A Stage 2 clutch has been installed, and some notable parts have been replaced -- the water pump, spark plugs, springs, bushings, and shocks are all new. The shocks are adjustable and the car is slightly lowered.

The axles have also both been replaced within the past two years. The audio has some aftermarket upgrades, such as a touch-screen stereo, subwoofer, and amplifier.

The bad: The car has a rebuilt title after an accident and some holes in the top, though no water gets in. And there are some dents and dings.

Check out this Asheville, North Carolina-based car here.

[Images: Seller]

Become a TTAC insider. Get the latest news, features, TTAC takes, and everything else that gets to the truth about cars first by subscribing to our newsletter.

#UsedCaroftheDay #UCOTD #Toyota #ToyotaMr2Spyder #2001ToyotaMR2 #2001ToyotaMR2Spyder #ToyotaMR2 #Spyder #MR2 #UsedCars

Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

More by Tim Healey

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 14 comments

Vvk on Oct 11, 2023

I briefly considered one but found out they blow up their engines due to a design flaw. If you want one, get 2004+ where the issue has supposedly been resolved.

1 Reply
ToolGuy on Oct 11, 2023

Nope.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Ted Bryant Agree with Mikey.Manual. Any manual transmission car. 1) can't text-and-drive, 2) forces driver to pay attention, 3) perfect security because most thieves can't drive stick, 4) fun to drive, 5) friends won't drive the car (they can't drive stick), 6) compression start -- never get stuck, and 7) will always be able to drive any vehicle anywhere. Did this for both kids -- after a couple weeks of complaining, they finally got to it, and now only drive manual. And they are both great drivers. But their friends do poke them for driving stick -- "oh neat - a manual. do you bake your own bread and sew your own clothes too..."
Mikey My youngest girl ( now 48 ) dated a guy that had a Beretta with a stick shift. The Dude liked Beer and weed. too much for my liking..I borrowed my buddy's stick shift Chevette and give her short course on driving a manual .. I told her if the new BF has more than 2 beer or any weed ..You drive ...I don't care how many times you stall it, or or of you smoke the clutch . She caught on quite well ,and owned a succession of stick shift vehicles...An as an added bonus she dumped the guy.
Blueice "Due to regulation/govt backing, China is poised to dominate BEV/battery production, just as they do solar panel production, drone production, etc.Taiwan dominates production of certain types of chips due to regulation/govt backing and we saw how precarious such a situation is (especially with the PRC increasingly becoming aggressive towards Taiwan).That's why regulation/govt backing is aiming to build up local chip manufacturing."BD2, these businesses and or industries are not free market enterprises, buttcorporatist, bent on destroying their competitors with the use of governmentalunits to create monopolies. How safe are world consumers when the preponderance of computer chipsare made in one jurisdiction. Do you what Red China controlling any industry ??And it is well known, concentrated markets control leads to higher prices to end users.
Master Baiter I told my wife that rather than buying my 13YO son a car when he turns 16, we'd be better off just having him take Lyft everywhere he needs to go. She laughed off the idea, but between the cost of insurance and an extra vehicle, I'd wager that Lyft would be a cheaper option, and safer for the kid as well.
Master Baiter Toyota and Honda have sufficient brand equity and manufacturing expertise that they could switch to producing EVs if and when they determine it's necessary based on market realities. If you know how to build cars, then designing one around an EV drive train is trivial for a company the size of Toyota or Honda. By waiting it out, these companies can take advantage of supply chains being developed around batteries and electric motors, while avoiding short term losses like Ford is experiencing. Regarding hybrids, personally I don't do enough city driving to warrant the expense and complexity of a system essentially designed to recover braking energy.