Used Car of the Day: 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder

by Tim Healey

Published: September 19th, 2023

used car of the day 2003 toyota mr2 spyder

Today's UCOTD is a highly modified convertible runabout.

This 2003 Toyota MR2 Spyder was purchased by our seller in 2010, and it received the 2z engine and a six-speed transmission in a swap in 2014.

The front end has been repainted because of rock chips, and this 109,000-mile car has been garaged and not driven in the snow.

Other mods include upgraded headers, exhaust, flywheel, clutch, a cat-less downpipe, midship and front and rear bracing, carbon-fiber strut-tower bars, modified springs and shocks, performance brake rotors, steel-braided brake lines, and an MR2 luggage set.

There are some minor problems -- a couple of rips in the top that don't cause leaks, wear in the driver's seat, a constant presence of the check engine light due to the lack of a catalytic converter, a paint chip in the rear bumper, and no doors for the rear storage compartment.

Click here to check it out.

[Images: Seller]

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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

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2 of 21 comments

FreedMike on Sep 20, 2023

I'd love to have a car like this, but if this one's missing the catalytic converter, it probably won't pass emissions. No thanks.

Like Reply
CoastieLenn on Sep 20, 2023

MR-Spyder with a 2ZZ and 6 speed? Yes please!

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Recent Comments

ToolGuy My latest vehicle acquisition is slightly older than this one, same parent company, but has a full frame, rear-wheel drive and a longitudinally-mounted pushrod V8 gasoline engine. Almost like it was engineered and manufactured by a completely different group of people. Hmmm...
EBFlex Smart people
Wjtinfwb "Rovelo" tires? Good to see TTAC is not above the shameless commercial endorsement of unknown product like it's bigger print competitors.
Wjtinfwb Looks in decent nick for a Junkyard car. Other than the interior being partially gutted for some trim pieces, you could probably drive it out of the junkyard. Maybe a transmission issue and the cars value precluded a $2k or more fix? J cars were pathetic when introduced in '82 and never really got any better. But GM did sort out most of the reliability issues and with a modicum of maintenance these would run a long time if you could stand the boredom. Guess this owner couldn't.
GS340Pete I see a lot of these on the road. I can't remember the last time I saw one on my local Chevy dealership's lot. They've never in my memory had a few lined up with balloons. Short sighted to kill it off? Perhaps. But I certainly think the rows of $65k and up trucks is short sighted. That's going to bite soon. Looks like they're piling up already.And what about the Trax? Malibu or Trax? Gotta be honest, I'd pick the Trax.Although it should have 50 more HP IMHO. And why are so many preaching doom about the 'wet belt' engine?RIP, Malibu. Ride the highway in the sky with the Impala (talk about short sighted.)