As an everyday car?
Discussion
Absolutely, but it really depends on what mileage you're doing though some would argue that even this isnt a hiderance. I use mine as a second car but my wife takes the main car most days so really I'm in it most days to and from work and running about errands. Might get tricky if you do a large shop each week or need to tow a trailer regularly! 
I use mine as a daily, and its never a problem. it makes the mundane journey to and from work much more entertaining and fun. and the smell of oil and petrol combined wakes you up nicely 
but on a serious note, like you said the only thing to worry about really is rust. i must add though that i dont have to do any motorways on my commute. cant imagine doing those everyday in mine (it does have a straight cut box so extra noisy, which is the main reason).
but on a serious note, like you said the only thing to worry about really is rust. i must add though that i dont have to do any motorways on my commute. cant imagine doing those everyday in mine (it does have a straight cut box so extra noisy, which is the main reason).
I was thinking a fairly standard 998 Mini from the late 80's or early 90's. I've got a shortish commute of 8ish miles. It would also be used for the occasional blat to the coast and the odd mini show.
I had an MX5 before and got rid of it when we purchased a flat last year. It was replaced by a Fiesta 1.25 which cost more in repairs in 1 year than the mx5 did in 5 years. Part-exed the Fiesta for a E36 318ti which I'm not that keen on. (Desperatly needed a working car at the time).
I've been recomended giving Paul Higgs Cars a look at, anyone on here had dealings with them?
I had an MX5 before and got rid of it when we purchased a flat last year. It was replaced by a Fiesta 1.25 which cost more in repairs in 1 year than the mx5 did in 5 years. Part-exed the Fiesta for a E36 318ti which I'm not that keen on. (Desperatly needed a working car at the time).
I've been recomended giving Paul Higgs Cars a look at, anyone on here had dealings with them?
I do about 8k miles in mine every year, commuting about 40-45 miles a day mostly dual carriageways, year round. It used to be 50+ miles on the M4.
as long as you watch the oil level, keep up to speed with the routine maintenance there's no real reason not to use them.
Having said that, my car is an MPi so perhaps that little bit more comfortable for motorway type journeys, and I'm just starting to make enquiries about having a rebuild - rust is taking ahold and after 5 years or so of this type of commuting the routine maintenance is becoming more routine. This in itself wouldn't be too much of a problem (the mechanical stuff anyway) but it's keeping me from doing other projects.
As it is, I swear the car started running better after I started doing these longer, regular journeys in it and I'd rather put the money into getting it sorted out than get another boring box on wheels
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as long as you watch the oil level, keep up to speed with the routine maintenance there's no real reason not to use them.
Having said that, my car is an MPi so perhaps that little bit more comfortable for motorway type journeys, and I'm just starting to make enquiries about having a rebuild - rust is taking ahold and after 5 years or so of this type of commuting the routine maintenance is becoming more routine. This in itself wouldn't be too much of a problem (the mechanical stuff anyway) but it's keeping me from doing other projects.
As it is, I swear the car started running better after I started doing these longer, regular journeys in it and I'd rather put the money into getting it sorted out than get another boring box on wheels
.Alex said:
Over 5 million people used a Mini everyday, so I think you'll be alright.
I spoke to a guy from a mini shop a few weeks back now and he was telling me that the number of minis on the road in the UK is very small. He said numbers was around 90k in the UK and only approx 60k on the road. ??? How true that is I don't no. He was going on that a lot have been exported to Japan and Amercian.
I've been thinking of getting a mini again too, having had 2 as my first cars back in the 80s ( a mk1 850, with pudding stirrer gearbox handle and sliding windows , then a '74 998 with full length webasto sunroof ).
Happy days, but I do wonder how they cope day to day with say, dual carriageway work ? I've got a 20 mile each way commute on a dual carriageway.
My memory of my minis was that at 70mph it was
a/ flippin noisy
b/ pretty stressfull
c/ drank petrol
and anything over 70 was only going to happen downhill..
So, are standard minis still really upto it, or are you guys all in tuned 1275s, or pottering around at 60mph with earplugs in ?
and what mpg are you getting ?
I guess mini's are no longer 'cheap' transport that they were when I had mine, but I still fancy one again, just not sure how livable it is day to day..
Happy days, but I do wonder how they cope day to day with say, dual carriageway work ? I've got a 20 mile each way commute on a dual carriageway.
My memory of my minis was that at 70mph it was
a/ flippin noisy
b/ pretty stressfull
c/ drank petrol
and anything over 70 was only going to happen downhill..
So, are standard minis still really upto it, or are you guys all in tuned 1275s, or pottering around at 60mph with earplugs in ?
and what mpg are you getting ?
I guess mini's are no longer 'cheap' transport that they were when I had mine, but I still fancy one again, just not sure how livable it is day to day..
In 1992 I bought a brand new mini mayfair (J121JVK - where are you now?) and used to do 50 miles each Friday / Monday. This was one of the last 998cc minis produced, and it used to cope with the A1 at 70+ quite well I remember. There wasn't a lot left after that mind!
As for fuel, after many years of checking this I average around 36-38mpg in my tuned MPi. And I suspect those remaining mini numbers are correct, if not a little high!
I'd recommend anyone thinknig of getting one to do it sooner rather than later - those that remain are only going to become more and more expensive.
Go on - you know you want to!
As for fuel, after many years of checking this I average around 36-38mpg in my tuned MPi. And I suspect those remaining mini numbers are correct, if not a little high!
I'd recommend anyone thinknig of getting one to do it sooner rather than later - those that remain are only going to become more and more expensive.
Go on - you know you want to!
I ran a 1988 998 as a daily driver from late 1998 until we could no longer find anything to weld to some point in 2004. We covered about 50k miles together in that time. Mechanically it was pretty tough, most problems coming from misguided attempts to make it go faster.
I would say it's achilles heel was the ignition system, which would suffer in damp weather. I'm told electronic ignition helps this (never got round to it), but at the very least make sure the distributor is shielded in some way. Always carry a can of WD40 for emergency water repelling.
Back then the view was that the 998 motor, although less powerful, was the way forward for problem free daily use. Mine would certainly cruise at 70-80 leptons all day without much complaint. 1275 engines had some sort of inherent weakness with the cylinder heads, if I remember correctly.
I've been running a 1984 998cc for 5 years now, it is currently my regular runaround, and it has given similar reliability. So far the only mechanical problems have been an expired battery and a failed clutch slave cylinder, both easily rectified.
Just remember to change the oil and grease the suspension (maybe an hour's work for a DIYer) every three thousand miles.
Get one.
I would say it's achilles heel was the ignition system, which would suffer in damp weather. I'm told electronic ignition helps this (never got round to it), but at the very least make sure the distributor is shielded in some way. Always carry a can of WD40 for emergency water repelling.
Back then the view was that the 998 motor, although less powerful, was the way forward for problem free daily use. Mine would certainly cruise at 70-80 leptons all day without much complaint. 1275 engines had some sort of inherent weakness with the cylinder heads, if I remember correctly.
I've been running a 1984 998cc for 5 years now, it is currently my regular runaround, and it has given similar reliability. So far the only mechanical problems have been an expired battery and a failed clutch slave cylinder, both easily rectified.
Just remember to change the oil and grease the suspension (maybe an hour's work for a DIYer) every three thousand miles.
Get one.
TBH until recently I'd have said yeah no worries go for it as a daily driver - I'm not so sure now -after this last MOT and now the damn thing won't go again (and it's looking like another f
king condenser! - doing one every 6-9 months, put a new coil on with the previous unit) it's all getting a bit much.
The mechanical maintenance is never a problem as it's usually fairly simple and cheap - but the rate of corrosion is just getting beyond the joke - I'm sure winter road salts are spiked with some kind of acids these days??? Metal and rubber that were new since last Mays MOT are now deeply corroded and perished by this Mays MOT!!! I tried to wash her weekly/bi-weekly but it's almost unrelentless! She's now stopping me from getting on with my other Mini and stuff around the house
king condenser! - doing one every 6-9 months, put a new coil on with the previous unit) it's all getting a bit much.The mechanical maintenance is never a problem as it's usually fairly simple and cheap - but the rate of corrosion is just getting beyond the joke - I'm sure winter road salts are spiked with some kind of acids these days??? Metal and rubber that were new since last Mays MOT are now deeply corroded and perished by this Mays MOT!!! I tried to wash her weekly/bi-weekly but it's almost unrelentless! She's now stopping me from getting on with my other Mini and stuff around the house
Hi everyone and thanks for the info. My 318ti began to cost too much to run (fuel and bitsnbobs started to break). Under pressure from my greater half I've picked up a fairly mint Puma for £1300. I did search for a Mini but couldn't find one sharpish. I will get round to owning one at some point (hopefully before they become crazy expensive)
I ran one as a daily for ten years, and ended up spending around 3k on various repairs, mostly rust related in that time. With an upcoming wedding, it had to go, and I was gutted when it went, but was costing too much. Replaced it with a mk1 MX-5 and bought wedding rings with the proceeds. The MX-5 has been utterly fantastic in the 2 years ive owned it, but i'd still like a Mini in the garage as a plaything.
I had a 998 that I used to run from Newcastle back to Hertfordshire regularly. I remember 70ish being fine.
I also ran it out of oil & ended up lump out rebuilding it form the bottom up. Even after that, the thing that sticks in my mind from all the mechanical travails you have to accept with Minis was the sodding bypass hose. That was an utter sod to replace when it went. I gather on the a+ engines, they modded it to a pipe, but I hated the bypass hose.
I also ran it out of oil & ended up lump out rebuilding it form the bottom up. Even after that, the thing that sticks in my mind from all the mechanical travails you have to accept with Minis was the sodding bypass hose. That was an utter sod to replace when it went. I gather on the a+ engines, they modded it to a pipe, but I hated the bypass hose.
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