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.

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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

Wolfwagen Am I the only one who thinks that this car should be saved and resto-moded with an early 2000's VTEC? Perhaps go a little crazy and swap in the power train from an S2000?
Ger65690267 Well, the TFL guys who have a Cybertruck with even more miles have noted their tires still look fine. They drive all sorts of terrain and situations, and they haven't seen the wear, which means that guy is running his truck probably rather hard more than he cares to admit.
SCE to AUX "EVs tend to chew through tires in a way that surprises many new owners". That hasn't been my experience. My EV has 210 ft-lbs of torque on 16-inch tires, 3100 lbs curb weight. Tire life has been just like a gas car, which varies according to driving habits. So I agree with the "big surprise" headline.
1995 SC Led me down a rabbit hole to see what the OEM tires were. I was curious if they were using some sort of ultra high. performance summer tire (didn't seem to be). However it does look like you need that specific sidewall design or part of the wheel cover won't fit. Not a "feature" I'd want.
Cprescott I used to love spy shots when cars changed so often. No point now in even paying attention to them since cars barely exist and the lard butt CUV/SUV's clog up our roads