Need the mini experts!

[Yert315]

Hello there!

My name is Trey Tuzil and I live in California. Don't worry, this is not a "how do I get a mini over the pond" post. I have that under control. I will be heading to Switzerland this summer to visit my sister (who lives in Zurich). We planned to visit our friend in Glasgow during my trip. My plan is to purchase a mini in the UK and drive it to Germany, where I have a shipping container waiting. My restrictions are that it must be older than 1987 and within my budget of £1800.

Do you mini experts think it can be done?

Thanks in advance!

-Trey

[LiamB]

Mini's prices are really going up..
So, it really depends.

[fastcarl]

You won't get much for £1800, the bets thing to do is assess any panel replacement as soon as you buy/view then you can maybe put them in the container with thew car and save buying in the states,

[DanGT]

Mini prices do vary a lot. Also try local adverts as well as mini mags etc. Have a good look around and also work out what is easy to get were you are, body panels, engine parts etc. It is normaly the small trim parts that are hard to get.

[Yert315]

Thanks for the replies!

I'd like to dig a little deeper here. I'm not looking for a car that will win shows. Just a solid daily driver that looks half way decent.
From the little research I have done, any car that can pass the MOT should be leagues better than half of the cars they allow on the road out here.

I have done some market research and have found a few that have sold in my price range.
Something like this looks ideal:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/330736113316?ssPageName=ST...

I know it is eBay, but it is the only place I can track mini sales that I know of.

Any further thoughts?

[haynes]

Yert315 said:

Just a solid daily driver that looks half way decent.

There in lies the problem, solid daily drivers are few and far between. Rust is the biggest issue on a mini, all the mechnicals can be sorted easily. The last minis came off the production line 10 years ago and those late examples can be pretty pricey.

[AlleyCat]

In terms of places to look aswell,

you could try Pistonheads, the Classic Mini section is quite a decent size, although most are quite pricey now.

theres also carandclassic.co.uk which seems quite good. also check to see if there are any mini events while you are over, its worth seeing if you can get to one of those, there are usually cars for sale, but it is a bit of a lucky dip trying to find one in your price bracket.

good luck

[guru_1071]

funnily enough im helping someone is virtually the same boat as you.


forget trying to find a mini for 1800 quid, those days are gone

2-3 grand is where the tax and tested half decent stuff is now!!!


good luck with your search, we have looked at proably 50 cars so far, must have been wheeled turds.......

[fatpasty]

I think Guru is spot on here. I was looking at buying a second run around a few months back. But couldn't find anything half decent (which was tax and tested, min rust)for less than approx 2800.

You've got to be lucky to find a steal. A friend of mine who lives down the road picked up one from an old lady a few months ago for £200. All it needed was a good going over with the brakes etc and it was good to go. It had been garaged and unused for a while and she didn't drive anymore and wanted rid of it! So lucky steals may be out there but you've got to be very luck to come across something liek that!

[guru_1071]

i was amazed how the price of mid 80's on bodged up mundane stuff has crept up to the 3 grand mark, also the amount of small back street garages 'doing up' minis to punt on to unsuspecting punters.

baragins are out there - i bought my mk1 'cooper s' 1430 off ebay before xmas - a snip at 1500 quid (though it has since lunched the gearbox....)


i think good, solid cars sell so fast that they dont get noticed, its the dross and the high end stuff thats floating around.

[fatpasty]

guru_1071 said:

i was amazed how the price of mid 80's on bodged up mundane stuff has crept up to the 3 grand mark, also the amount of small back street garages 'doing up' minis to punt on to unsuspecting punters.

baragins are out there - i bought my mk1 'cooper s' 1430 off ebay before xmas - a snip at 1500 quid (though it has since lunched the gearbox....)


i think good, solid cars sell so fast that they dont get noticed, its the dross and the high end stuff thats floating around.

MK1 sounds a billy bargin! Wish I could find something like that.

[annodomini2]

As you live in California, once you add shipping costs, would it not be more cost effective to buy one there?

Additionally, due to the climate over there, the car is probably going to be in better condition than one from the UK.

[guru_1071]

fatpasty said:

MK1 sounds a billy bargin! Wish I could find something like that.

it went round ebay five times before i bought it,

im really pleased with it

it says 'cooper s' on the log book and has an interesting history - it would break for more than i paid for it, loads of s stuff on it.

[fatpasty]

guru_1071 said:

fatpasty said:

MK1 sounds a billy bargin! Wish I could find something like that.

it went round ebay five times before i bought it,

im really pleased with it

it says 'cooper s' on the log book and has an interesting history - it would break for more than i paid for it, loads of s stuff on it.

That sounds awesome. Jealous! If you ever spot another let me know!!

[Yert315]

Thanks again for all the replies!

As far as buying one here, my reasons are two-fold. 1.) They are ridiculously priced here (cheapest I have seen are $10,000 going up to $30,000+). 2.) I would like to gain the experience of this process.

I do have a hook up in the shipping industry, so that is not an issue.

I recently sold off my 1970 2002 and had very similar issues with it as you chaps are describing. One of which was being under the hood of it nearly every weekend tinkering. Not an issue at all for me as i thoroughly enjoyed that. The other issue was enthusiast owners over inflating the value of their cars. This means it is impossible to find an enthusiast owned '02 for a decent price now. From what I'm hearing, the same applies for the minis out there!

I suppose I would have to get lucky and wait for one to pop up the minute I'm there for a good deal.