Retiree Trades Quintet of Toyota MR2s for One Mazda MX-5
Last week, a retired college professor walked into Missouri’s Coad Toyota with an interesting proposal. He was willing to part with five first-generation Toyota MR2s as a trade-in for a gently used 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata.
Considering the amount of maintenance five vintage MR2s must require, maybe he’s not the absolute madman we initially presumed. Since the deal went down in Missouri, he probably spent a ludicrous portion of his time on rust prevention alone.
According to The Drive, the Mk1 models include one example from each of the first five years of production (1985-1989) — three of which have fewer than 85,000 miles on the odometer. However, that wasn’t even the entirety of his collection. Last year, the man sold another first-generation MR2 before purchasing a new Toyota Tacoma.
After posting about the trade-in on social media, prospective buyers reached out to the seller from across the nation in the hopes of purchasing one of the cars. If you’re interested in one, you’re out of luck. They’ve all been sold at this point.
Ben Brotherton, sales manager at Coad Toyota, said the man claimed he had fulfilled his dream of collecting every model year of the first-generation MR2 and no longer wanted to deal with the hassle of maintaining them. He felt the MX-5 would provide sufficient thrills in their absence. Here’s hoping he’s right; it’ll probably be a while before he comes cross half a dozen replacement MR2s.
[Image: COPI at Coad by Ben Brotherton]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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In the early 2000s I test drove a MK2 turbo, before the handling upgrades were made to this platform and it was a bit hairy if you lifted off mid corner, but ridiculously fun.I should've bought it , I'd probably still have it today. I ended up with a mint Emerald green 5.0Lx hatch 5 spd with a rebuilt motor, mainly because it was a car I wanted in high school (and had a back seat)
He is smart that the stunt went viral and he now got what he wanted.