Radiator and fog-light got holed by a stone due to its exposed position, cost £250 to fix the radiator (didn't bother to fix the fog-light).
Replacement radiator leaked from a joint (mended under warranty).
Rear off-side bearing went, scoring the driveshaft, £600 to fix.
Front off-side caliper was binding, £440 to fix.
Roof panel leaks where it meets the window.
The alloys are losing their surface finish and are very pitted.
The tyres only last about 12,000 miles.
Despite the litany of faults I still like the car, after all, it is now 8 years old but has never left me stranded (touch wood!) - all faults were found during servicing and mended when convenient for me.
During the summer it is an ideal fun car, good (though not blistering) performance, good handling in the dry (but twitchy in the wet) and, most important, a seriously loud HiFi.
It is also reasonably practical as I can fit a weeks shopping in the boot, and it is comfortable enough to do a round trip from Southampton to Edinburgh (840 miles total) without leaving me needing an osteopath.
The only downside is that it can be noisy in the cabin and it's a bit unnerving on a wet motorway when overtaking lorries as your sitting 3" off the road, down amongst the spray and crap. But hey, that's just me getting old, sports cars are supposed to be an acquired taste.
You paid well over the odds for those repair jobs. Brake caliper can be sorted for £200 tops and wheel bearing/driveshaft can be done for about £300. Virtually all t-bars leak aswell hence I went for a tintop. These cars are generally very reliable, but all the problems you mention are fairly common on older MR2's.
Note: A Comments RSS Feed is available. New comments appear in the Members Area before the main site