1. Buy under time pressure.
2. Inspect the car without a friend.
3. Forego the dealer inspection.

I followed all three of the steps outlined above, and started paying for it from day one.

Almost as soon as I got the MR2, I noticed a weird periodic grinding noise coming from the rear. Turned out the wheel bearing needed to be replaced. Fuck. That cost about $800 in parts and labor, and I could have avoided it if I had actually taken the car to get the safety inspection done.

The latest drama with the MR2 is a problem with the engine–some kind of periodic clanking sound coming from inside the block. Toyota wanted to charge me a few hundred dollars just to open up the oil pan and figure out what was wrong. Ugh. I took it to two other mechanics and they refused to work on it–the first one said to take it Toyota to get the engine overhauled, the second to get a used engine installed. My dad found a shop in K-town that would do the swap for $1500, which we figured was the best price we were going to find.

Hopefully this engine swap will take care of the remaining problems and keep the car running long enough for me to sell it next year.