MR2 Spyder: A Love/Hate Relationship, Chapter 1

Itsy Bitsy** Saga, A Verbose Love Story:

Approximately four years ago, for six months my doctors treated me for intractable abdominal pain and extreme lethargy by giving me various antibiotics, pills, and potions. At least once a month, they had me come to their offices and the laboratory for physical exams, blood tests etc. All to no avail.

About two years later, I was finally taken to the local hospital’s Emergency Room in critical condition.  In less than 15 minutes over 6 physicians began to swarm around my bedside and attempt to stabilize me.  As various electronic monitors were hooked up, I was able to both see and hear my vital signs failing rapidly. My heart rate was very low.  I was breathing too slowly.  My pulse oxygen was severely below normal and I was feeling very, very sleepy even though I was in a lot of pain. All of the spoken discussion centered around my “Grave, Dire, Important” symptoms.  Apparently, I was the odd man out. Everyone around me spoke only to each other, rarely directly to me.

Very quickly I realized that I was probably dying. Rather than being alarmed by this possibility, I was really quite angry that I would be going out very quietly, rather than with the very loud bang that I had always imagined. I then languidly began to think: was there anything I regretted not doing during my long life?  The only thing that immediately came to mind was a reoccurring fantasy/dream where I saw myself speeding down a winding country road in a bright yellow two seat sports car. So that was it, my hope for the future.

I immediately vowed, that if I were lucky enough to survive my current health crisis, I would look for, buy, restore, and happily drive the bright yellow two seat sports car I had thought about so often.

After being hospitalized for nearly a week, I was stable enough to be discharged to start my estimated six months to a year home recovery period.  My post-discharge pharmacy prescriptions numbered more than half a dozen and some were filled with the expectation that I would be taking them for months into the future.

Week 1 back at home, I mostly took medications and slept.  Whenever I was awake for more than 15 minutes, I would get on the Internet and research classic sports cars.  Living within a budget, like most folks, and having a decent repertoire as a “Shade Tree Mechanic,” I searched for the make and model of sports car that appeared to me to have the best mix of reliability/fun/affordability. Who would have thought that my criteria would someday include camaraderie!

Having experienced nearly every British sports car in my youth, due to their poor reliability, they were subtracted from my list first.

The Corvette, America’s only true sports car, was the next to be eliminated.  While I knew that I would love the high performance of the Corvette, I knew that either my driving privileges or my life could soon end due to some fool hardy spirited driving experience if I were to get behind the wheel of a Corvette.

Porsches, BMWs, anything Italian: too expensive to buy and/or maintain. Rejected.

After all of my Internet research, all that remained for my consideration were the Mazda Miata and the Toyota MR2 Spyder.

While the Miata certainly has a loyal following, with lots of opportunities for upgrades, options, and various performance driving opportunities; I had previously driven one and found it seriously lacking in panache, performance, and personality.  Even the actual car design is, IMHO, seriously “Ho-Hum.”  So, the Miata was discarded as well.

On the other hand, the Toyota MR2 Spyder:  had a long and distinguished family history; had shown new and/or unique design elements (you either love or hate the way it looks, generally); and, due to its having been abandoned by its manufacturer, has a somewhat rare (and possibly someday, hopefully collectible) quality to it. Put simply, the Spyder is rarely seen on the road, and when it is, typically folks react positively or appreciably to it.

Additionally, years ago I had test driven an older (Mark 2) turbo Spyder and --- even though I could not afford to buy a new one then--- absolutely loved how fast it was and how well it handled!

Not to be forgotten: the Mark 3 Toyota Spyder, was available painted in “Solar Yellow” direct from the factory!

Week 2, between extended sleep episodes, I began to search the: Classified Ads, Cars For Sale; the Internet; and various Craigslists in order to find the Spyder of my dreams.  Almost immediately, I found a local, black, SMT Spyder for sale at a local dealership. When I went for my test drive in the dealership’s car I was underwhelmed with the overall curb attraction of their Spyder.  Having priced their car at the higher end of the Kelly Blue Book’s selling range, I expected to see a car that had gone through an intensive cleaning, conditioning, and detailing process.

Instead, the black Spyder before me appeared not to have been washed or cleaned at all in the preceding six months. As dirty as the car was on the outside, the inside was worse.  No effort had been made to even remove or empty the full ash tray of month’s old smokes. Nor were the car’s interior “Smoked Glass” subject to any kind of cleaning.  In short, it smelled as if I were driving a moldy, mildewy, ash tray; not an actual used car for sale from a so-called legitimate car dealership.

I took the car for a test drive any way.  I liked the way that the Spyder fit me.  I felt part of the car and really appreciated the immediate road and engine feedback.  Being short myself, the car’s small stature seemed appropriate, not ridiculously small. Even with the SMT transmission, I came to appreciate the Spyder’s quick revving small engine.

I stopped the car along the side of a residential road and opened it up for a complete inspection. Having never heard of “Spyder Chat,” I had no idea of what issues or problems to look for.  Instead I conducted my own typical “Pre-Purchase Used Car Inspection Procedure” that had served me well in dozens of previous used car purchases.  In less than 10 minutes I found defects in the black Spyder which I estimated would cost at least $2,000 to repair (If I knew then, what I know now, my estimated cost of repairs would have doubled… at least!)

Resigned to the probability that the black Spyder was probably a lost cause, I decided to drop the convertible top and, at least, have an exhilarating ride back to the dealership in the cool early Spring temps. It was then that I noted the wear spots and small holes in the convertible top.

I returned to the dealership with the top still up, made what, IMHO, was a reasonable offer on the car ---that was immediately refused.

Week 3, found Spyder Chat.  Started reading posts, particularly what to look for in a used Spyder.  Continued search for used yellow Spyder. Quickly exhausting all local and national used Spyder “For Sale,” forums, I decided to try doing a Google search for the terms “Craigs and MR2 Spyder.”

Sorting the Google search results geographically, I found a Solar Yellow 2001 Toyota MR2 Spyder for sale in Richmond, VA. Hmmmmmm? According to the Internet, the trip should take approximately two hours and fifteen minutes by car.  Based upon my actual travel times going into and out of the Washington Metro D.C. area for more than 30 years, I conservatively doubled the time to account for road construction, highway congestion, car accidents, and the mixing bowls at both River Road (Maryland) and Springfield (VA).

I immediately called the Seller, found out that he was selling the Spyder for a grown-up son (this was never satisfactorily explained ….so I can only imagine why Dad, not son, were selling the car), and made an appointment to see/test drive the car the following Friday.

Left Silver Spring, Maryland at around 11 a.m. on a Friday in early Spring 2017 experiencing a warm, sunny, dry Spring day and experienced expected, but irritating delays all the way to Richmond, VA.  Arrived at the Seller’s address around 4:30 p.m., found the car; but could not get the Seller to answer his door bell.  Spent about 15 minutes by myself just inspecting the Spyder.  From the outside the car looked pretty good.  Had the regular scrapes, dings, and rock damage to the hood typical of a 16 year old car.  Also had a slightly bent driver’s side door.  Based upon both my interest in the car and really not wanting to make trip to Richmond a second time, I decided to summon the Seller by any/all means possible. 

Found the Seller in the garage behind his house, where he was working on a broken lawn mower.  Made my introductions, got the verbal history on the car, and then went to take a test drive.  Seller’s home had no driveway or parking area, so car was parked on a very busy residential street closely packed between two neighbor’s large SUVs. Started Spyder and noticed that idle speed was set too low. Cautiously and carefully extracted the Spyder from its parking space.

My driving impressions were mostly positive.  However, I noticed that front windshield had a large crack in it.  Struts felt to be worn out.  Clutch pedal engaged too close to the floor and emergency brake engaged too close to top of travel for my taste. Previous owner was definitely a heavy smoker who cared little for keeping the interior of his car clean or organized. Almost everything seemed to work properly. Car accelerated smoothly and even though there was a strong oil burning smell, no excessive smoke from the vehicle’s exhaust was seen. Returned back to Seller’s home and began conducting my own typical “Pre-Purchase Used Car Inspection Procedure, plus Spyder Chat’s Used Car Inspection guidelines.”

Opened up the: convertible top; Frunk; and engine compartment. Noted that car tires were not staggered. I saw and smelt burnt engine oil along the car’s front and rear valve cover area and determined that there was a leaking and/or broken valve cover gasket. Noticed a couple of “Not-quite-done-right engine repairs,” and found out that car had been serviced by local mechanic…. not an authorized dealer. Even though the car’s odometer indicated 160 K mileage, other than the car’s tires which appeared to be about a year old, everything on the car seemed to be factory OEM.  WTF?

Asked the Seller about the pre-catalytic converters, which he knew nothing about.  I then explained to him about all of the problems with failed converters and told them that I would have to inspect them prior to purchase to determine if they were or were not intact.  Seller was fine with my inspecting the pre-cats.

Having brought a full set of tools, including a floor jack, I then attempted to access the pre-cats.  After 30 minutes of complete failure of hand tools to remove even the first heat shield; I then headed off to a hardware store to buy an electric angle grinder.  Approximately another 45 minutes of work with the grinder gave me partial access to a pre-cat’s oxygen sensors, but even with a dedicated oxygen sensor removal tool and a 36” breaker bar, the sensor proved impossible to remove.  So, I moved on to inspecting the bottom part of the car instead.

Due to the car’s low ground clearance, I found it impossible to get my floor jack under the car on the Driver’s side until the Seller partially lifted the body up for me. Carefully located my floor jack at the indented side panel and began to lift car.  Was it just my imagination, or did I just feel/hear the side of the car sigh?  Did my jack just bend the car’s body sill? I immediately stopped jacking and completed the rest of my inspection by rolling about the left side of the car on a floor dolly, one hand held a flashlight, while the other held a large mirror.  No major floor panel damage or broken parts noted, good.

Upon lowing the floor jack completely, I immediately and instinctively let go of the floor jack’s handle to get out of the way of a fast on-rushing car. Bang!  I had just added another ding to the side of the car.

Based upon my inspection, and the fact that I could not determine the condition of the pre-cats, I offered to pay the Seller 25% less than his asking price to close the deal immediately.  After 15 minutes or so of negotiation, Seller sold me the car for 10% less than his actual asking price due to my having verbally documented the repairs that needed to be done to the car immediately in order for the Spyder to pass a Maryland State Vehicle Inspection.

Because I had driven to Richmond, VA in my regular DD, there was no way I could take possession of the Spyder and drive it immediately back to Silver Spring, MD.  One driver, two cars, no way.  So I gave the Seller a 25% deposit and returned a week later (via bus) to pick up my New-To-Me Solar Yellow Spyder.

And so it began.

** My older Sister, the first family member to see my New-To-Me Spyder, immediately named the car: Itsy Bitsy; and said that my young nieces and nephews would love the name.

TO BE CONTINUED….