which is less lethal to a young man, an MGB GT or a mk1 MR2?

jellyzRL

I am an under-25 car enthusiast with a strong sense of self preservation! I am looking at both of these cars as a mechanically decent one can be got from england for a very reasonable price. the car would be mainly a toy to show off in as I live close to work,but still my only car nonetheless. the one thing steering me towards the MG is the MR2's safety reputation. now I do not THINK I am a boy racer, and I have been behind the wheel of a very similar car, a series one Elise, since the age of 14 on backroads here and there. I have pushed a mid engined car reasonably hard and understand the fundamental differences between that and the micra I currently drive. is the MR2 a dangerous car outright or does in only pose a risk to those who push it too far? it seems like an excellent beginner performance car (low power, easy to work on, reasonably practical), but the general consensus is hard to ignore.

also am I correct that all that is required to register the car here is the NCT and a 200 euro fee? am I naive or is it that cheap?

micknail

Need to pay vrt on an import. €€€€

micknail

LIGHTNING wrote: »

VRT on a 30 year old car is 200euro

Oops sorry, an 86 or older Mr2?
Daily driver?
Good luck! (",)

winnie the schtink

:rolleyes: jesus wept......

Agricola

jellyzRL wrote: »

I have pushed a mid engined car reasonably hard and understand the fundamental differences between that and the micra I currently drive. is the MR2 a dangerous car outright or does in only pose a risk to those who push it too far?

Is this a windup?!

jellyzRL

Agricola wrote: »

Is this a windup?!

In what sense? That *was* intended as a bit of self depracation, but hey if it winds you up I have no problem with that. If theres someone around to have a chat about maintenance or driving charachteristics of an aul Toyota id have no problem with that either.

jellyzRL

micknail wrote: »

Oops sorry, an 86 or older Mr2?
Daily driver?
Good luck! (",)

Ah I wouldnt call it a daily driver per say. Only car, yes, but living in dublin I dont really rely on my car, certainly not every day. Still more reliable than the Luas anyway...

Anatom

Go for the MG. Its a lovely car and if you take care of it it should last forever, but there will be many bills over those years. I'd highly recommend having somewhere to garage it overnight just in case though.

It looks far far better than an MR2 as well.

b318isp

A friend of mine had a Mk2 MR2. It was up for sale, and a person came to view it. He crashed it on a roundabout within 1/4 mile of the house.

It take a LONG time to master controlling mid engined cars, especially in the wet. Even older RWD cars can be tricky.

An older BMW may be an option, you can run then cheap enough and learn RWD. Hard to find a clean one though.

cruizer101

Have you looked into how much insurance will cost. Most, if not all, classic policies require the classic to be a second car not your primary, even if you don't plan driving it much.

alastair

cruizer101 wrote: »

Have you looked into how much insurance will cost. Most, if not all, classic policies require the classic to be a second car not your primary, even if you don't plan driving it much.

Plus wouldn't it be difficult to actually get a classic insurance quote if you're under 25 (Carole Nash excepted - if you're 23)?

Testacalda

Yes, insurance is something you should look into before buying, especially in your case.

For classic insurance, which is available on cars 20+ years old, you will most likely need proof that you have a standard motor insurance policy in your name, on a car or light commercial.

If this car you intend to buy is to be your only one, it is still possible to get a standard policy on it, but not many insurers will not insure older cars that way. You really should look into this first.

As regards the actual cars, both will suffer badly with rust issues. This is the biggest concern when buying one.

Its actually quite easy to get a car thats good mechanically, finding a genuine solid (not tarted up and full of bodge reparis for the MOT or NCT) one is the tricky part. I think you need to do more research about your whole plan in general before getting down to details like how the cars handle!