Buying a classic mini cooper

[Monstie86]

Dear all,
Me and my boyfriend want to buy a classic mini cooper together.
We do have a company car already and the mini will be my first car.

I have already read some threats about minis but I would like to know what apart from rust I must look out for. Please could someone give me some hints?

I have seen an ad for a little car I like but it is quite expensive.
It has only covered 10.000 miles and has had one owner (reg 1999) but will cost £7995.
Is that reasonable?

Or should I buy a little car from a private person for less with more miles
and get it restored etc?

Has anyone started completely from scratch without knowing anything about cars like me?

I am not afraid to get my hands dirty and do the occasional thing myself but I have no
experience whatsoever and will have to learn everything from scratch.

Phew! Enough questions for one post.

I would be very grateful if someone would give me some advice.

Kind regards,
Laura

[Furyblade_Lee]

Mini restoration done PROPERLY is expensive. £7,995 for a rust free Rover Cooper nowdays is the norm if it is a very decent example. But unless you post a link to the actual car, then we cannot really help. But the way I look at is what else can you buy for £8k new? Nothing. Even if you buy a good one, enjoy it for a couple of years and sell it you could get all your money back. At that price I'd pay for an independent inspection to be done on it and check it for rust, rust, and more rust. Some of the late Coopers were as bad as any made in the 40 odd years of production, which is quite remarkable on many levels. But if you do get one, smiles are guaranteed. I love mine.

[Monstie86]

Thank you for the quick response. I'm quite excited and have been reading up on it.

Should I be looking at how many miles it has done so far?

I have just seen this one on gumtree with more miles and love the leather seats:
http://www.gumtree.com/p/cars-vans-motorbikes/1998...

That makes me nearly want to buy it and invest in a restoration if necessary.
If it does have some rust, what would sandblasting and repainting cost?

The one I have had my eye on is this one:
http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C481910

I have also been to GC Motors today but was very late and there was not much time to look at all of the cars as the store was about to close.
The sales person there was nice but said that all cars this old will have rust which made me feel a bit insecure. :-/

[chrisj_abz]

Hi Laura have a look for a Mini owners club near to you and join them, they maybe know of a few cars for sale that would suit and might be able to help you out with checking a car over for you..

[Cooperman]

All the late cars are susceptible to rust, rust & more rust.
So a car will either:

Have been rust-proofed from new then done again every year, or,
Have had a lot of body-panel replacement and re-painting, hopefully to a good standard, then rust-proofed, or,
Will require extensive re-building costing a small fortune.

So you need to know where to look and how to check. Only then can a judgement be made. Be sure to get someone who really knows to check a car over before buying. There are some excellent cars out there, but also a lot of junk.

[Monstie86]

Thank you for all your advice!

Can somebody recommend a good mini garage in London?

How would you go about buying a mini?
If I were to buy the one in Brighton, would you bring it to a garage before
buying it?

[MJ1]

I live in kent and got our classic cooper sport from Richard Williams classic minis, he delivered for free and car was perfect, too perfect as after 18mths of fun someone decided they wanted it for free and it was stolen, looking to get another and will use him again although prices seem to have risen even more!

[Monstie86]

MJ1, I have had a look at these minis and they look lovely but
they are quite pricey... Thank you very much for your advice though!

[GreatGranny]

What about an older Mini?

http://www.carandclassic.co.uk/car/C483180

I know its not a Cooper or 'S' but it looks really nice IMO.

[Roadster25]

GreatGranny said:

What about an older Mini?

That looks great to me.

Minis should have carbs and small wheels (IMO of course). The Sportspack models look great, but the big wheels make them feel rather inert and the taller gearing of the MPIs cars kills their sense of buzzy fun. Plus the carb cars are much simpler so are less likely to break and easier to maintain.

If you want something mechanically tough then go for a standard spec 998 and just accept that no Mini will ever be fast by modern standards. It will be lots of fun though!

Nowhere near London, but I have met the guys at Rutland Minis (although never needed used them) and they seem pretty helpful with a small selection of decent looking cars and a useful website.

Good luck finding your car!