Hi! I've been keeping my eyes peeled for a pristine 2005, and this popped up at a Toyota dealer in Phoenix. I am in Texas, so have not seen it, but she looks perfect in pictures. Single owner, perfect Carfax, brown top and leather interior. The price seems high, but in talking to the saleswoman it can be had for under $14k (plus the $429 doc fee, which really PO's me). Still too high for me, and way over KBB, NADA, or Edmunds, but might be worth it as these are getting harder and harder to find. The miles are so low that it may be a concern, considering the car must have sat for long periods of time. I'm really tempted, but I'm trying to retire early and can't rationalize the cost and effort to fly-n-drive and sell my 2003.
The saleswoman at Bell Road Toyota has been extremely nice and responsive, including sending me a bunch of pics. If you do check it out, ask for Tatiana and tell her I sent you.
Sounds like it was owned by a snowbird and maybe only driven during winter months. A bit steep, but 9k miles! Wow! I am guessing the dealer has 4-6k profit built in this.
No doubt the dealer got it at or below their book value wholesale price and if they can match it up to an enthusiast will do well.
If you gotta have a low mile example you can't do better than an '05. I'd avoid low mile 00-02 models altogether. I think to most people who really value this platform and have a burning desire $14k out the door is a no brainer, provided the car's cosmetics are factory perfect. I wouldn't worry for a second about extended storage issues provided it was stored inside. However, I wouldn't buy it sight unseen.
The Spyders seem to sell quickly at a Toyota dealer if they're priced right. We had one at our dealer last summer and it didn't even make it to the service department. The dealer took it in on trade and sold it where is as is to a customer. I think we had it for maybe a day.
That's a reasonable price from a dealer for a nice clean example. There are fewer of those so imo it doesn't pay to hard ball negotiate and chance missing out. I paid the same price for my current one from a private party 5 years ago and like you, have no regrets.
That car is on my 2005 list and I have communicated with the owner. I have the bill of sale on that white car and he is losing money on that car at the selling price. Been for sale at 20k for a long time and now lowered to match his purchase price. Only the color is killing him because others are selling with higher mileage but better colors. Lee
In my opinion the white MRS gives the car a lot of definition that makes the car look like a newer model and not dated compared to the other colors. It seems to have aged very well. White paint is also tough and will not chip as easy or show fade as much.
The paradise blue color looks the worst but when you at the TRD stage 1 body kit it transforms into a swan.
Unfortunately red, silver and yellow makes the car look dated, particularly red as it fades the worst. Black can look bad if the paint is littered with spiderwebs blemishes otherwise it can hide many of the undesirable lines.
Dev, I agree with this assessment. Spot on. I always wanted a RED sports car but after about 10 years, they all look faded. I also wanted a Yellow MR2 but when I saw the white, I thought it was better. Yellow is a tough color to pull off.
Now that I have the 2005 car list I can say there is color preference and color rarity. Silver, black then red are the most common colors and I am guessing based on sales the most popular. Then white p. blue gray dr blue, green and finally yellow. That is how Toyota produced the 2005 model. Yellow are almost non-existent with only a couple produced. Everyone has a color preference but someone made the decision to produce this model based on demand for certain colors. I communicated with the owner of the white car and he admits the color has been the issue in the sale of his car. If his car was paradise blue I would be in play on the purchase in the 16-18k range.
I didn't realize that this car has a brown top. I hate the brown top especially on black.
Having said that I have seen two white Spyders with the brown tops/ brown interior and it looks fantastic. It looks more like a high end vintage British roadster exuding elegance. It also looks better then the phantom gray with the red top theme.
I think people have an inherent white bias when it comes to cars and there is some merit to it because white doesn't work for most cars but when it does it can be stunning.
I get compliments on the green color of my 2005 all the time. Only issue is it shows rain spots, dirt, and dust really well, but it is a 'nice day' car so not much of an issue.