Getting back into the fold for £10k
Discussion
After having had two classic minis 20 years ago (a standard 1983 city e, 1986 concourse winning modified 1275 sportspack) I’ve a serious hankering for getting one again. It would be a third car that could be garaged. Looking at spending up to £10k max, and really prefer the look of late sportspack coopers.
How have those cars aged? I seem to hear that the later ones rust even more than usual.
One that has jumped out on first inspection is this 1997 Cooper, any thoughts on that one? Seems it was first advertised with the seller last September at £8k, but is now up at £9k!
Then there seems to be lots of options at GC Motors, but they are the other end of the country.
How have those cars aged? I seem to hear that the later ones rust even more than usual.
One that has jumped out on first inspection is this 1997 Cooper, any thoughts on that one? Seems it was first advertised with the seller last September at £8k, but is now up at £9k!
Then there seems to be lots of options at GC Motors, but they are the other end of the country.
The later cars do suffer more from rust than the earlier cars, and the early cars were not brilliant in that respect.
The 'Sportpack' models also have the 13" wheels which are far from ideal for the classic Mini. Rust also seems to develop under the very wide wheel arch extensions on those cars and to many those arch extensions do look a bit odd.
For £10,000 you should be able to find something much better than a late car. For example, a carb-equipped 1275 Cooper from 1990 - '91 will easily be within your budget. If I were intending selling my 1990 Cooper, which is rust-free and recently restored I would expect to be asking around £8000. It is a road-rally car and has a lot of good parts on it.
If you register on the 'Mini Forum' you will find lots of advice and cars for sale.
The things to look for are freedom from rust and originality.
The 'Sportpack' models also have the 13" wheels which are far from ideal for the classic Mini. Rust also seems to develop under the very wide wheel arch extensions on those cars and to many those arch extensions do look a bit odd.
For £10,000 you should be able to find something much better than a late car. For example, a carb-equipped 1275 Cooper from 1990 - '91 will easily be within your budget. If I were intending selling my 1990 Cooper, which is rust-free and recently restored I would expect to be asking around £8000. It is a road-rally car and has a lot of good parts on it.
If you register on the 'Mini Forum' you will find lots of advice and cars for sale.
The things to look for are freedom from rust and originality.
Do not bother with GC minis in Kent-overpriced,and a lot of their stock has been sitting outdoors for a very long time
I’m also looking to get back into a classic mini-got a budget of about twelve grand-I want a nice fast road mk3,must have at least a 1275 engine,Or a nice 1275 gt.id love a mk1 but not sure if my budget is enough for really good one .
I’m also looking to get back into a classic mini-got a budget of about twelve grand-I want a nice fast road mk3,must have at least a 1275 engine,Or a nice 1275 gt.id love a mk1 but not sure if my budget is enough for really good one .
I've just had a look at the GC Motors advert and noticed that they have a black Mini Cooper RSP with 31 miles on that they bought from a friend of mine. They bough it at least 5 years ago and paid about £8k for it, it's up at £24 995.
There's a garage called The Car Warehouse in Middlesborough https://www.thecarwarehouse.co.uk/showroom/rover that imports from Japan and usually has a selection of minis.
I don't know anything about Jap spec cars or if they are rust free, but often have a look as it's unusual to see a garage with so many minis listed.
I have noticed that the prices have gone up in the last year, not so long ago there were loads at £6995 but now they are £9995.
(I have no link to them, but found them when I was driving around looking for Greggs whilst in the area for work)
There's a garage called The Car Warehouse in Middlesborough https://www.thecarwarehouse.co.uk/showroom/rover that imports from Japan and usually has a selection of minis.
I don't know anything about Jap spec cars or if they are rust free, but often have a look as it's unusual to see a garage with so many minis listed.
I have noticed that the prices have gone up in the last year, not so long ago there were loads at £6995 but now they are £9995.
(I have no link to them, but found them when I was driving around looking for Greggs whilst in the area for work)
Edited by PH5121 on Wednesday 10th June 11:14
I'd give GC Motors a wide birth - I went down there ten years ago to view a Mk2 Cooper, a lovely genuine car but it had already been sat there for at least eighteen months, I believe they still have it it now.
OP - for less than £10k you could buy something close to to what you want and spend the rest of your budget getting it to your chosen mechanical spec / style. I bought a very solid 1990 cherry red Mini 30 a couple of weeks before lockdown and was going to spend a few grand on improvements and changes here and there, it's in limbo at the moment though as I've got my eye on some tempting Italian stuff.
Previous to the Mini 30 I had a Jap import 1993 1275 Auto which had a completely rust free shell, Japanese MOTs are very strict which accounts for the good cars being brought over from there in recent years. Quite a lot of them are autos for some reason.
OP - for less than £10k you could buy something close to to what you want and spend the rest of your budget getting it to your chosen mechanical spec / style. I bought a very solid 1990 cherry red Mini 30 a couple of weeks before lockdown and was going to spend a few grand on improvements and changes here and there, it's in limbo at the moment though as I've got my eye on some tempting Italian stuff.
Previous to the Mini 30 I had a Jap import 1993 1275 Auto which had a completely rust free shell, Japanese MOTs are very strict which accounts for the good cars being brought over from there in recent years. Quite a lot of them are autos for some reason.
Edited by P5BNij on Thursday 11th June 12:26
Thanks for the comments. Interested to hear more about the Japanese imports - will they be less desirable in any future resale? The place in Middlesbrough seems to have loads! The other places that seem to crop up in searches are PL Minis, Paul Higgs and Cambridge Mini Works. Not sure if anyone has any personal experience with any of those, though the latter two seem to have very few cars for sale.
There is what is claimed to be a 1991 Cooper for sale on Car&classic, but it is suspected that it is a 'Mini Racing' bodyshell and is not a completely genuine car, despite it having a Cooper V5.
It's a bit of a minefield out there and many cars are not what they are claimed to be.
Join 'The Mini Forum' amd you will get excellent advice from the 'Mini Doctors' on there. They will be able to confirm the genuineness of any car and tell you where to look for rust, etc.
It's a bit of a minefield out there and many cars are not what they are claimed to be.
Join 'The Mini Forum' amd you will get excellent advice from the 'Mini Doctors' on there. They will be able to confirm the genuineness of any car and tell you where to look for rust, etc.
A few months on, and...still not got one! After lockdown the ‘good ones’ seemed to be snapped up super quick and/or prices are being increased. Monitoring this particular specialist and pretty much as soon as a car is sited then it is sold (obviously these are the top cars, with prices to match, so a bit above my planned budget).
SL22 said:
A few months on, and...still not got one! After lockdown the ‘good ones’ seemed to be snapped up super quick and/or prices are being increased. Monitoring this particular specialist and pretty much as soon as a car is sited then it is sold (obviously these are the top cars, with prices to match, so a bit above my planned budget).
Don't lose heart, I'm sure you'll find the right one eventually! Richard Williams does have a good reputation and having seen some of his cars I'd say it's well deserved. The bronze yellow Mk3 Cooper S 'VKN 440J' on his website front page used to belong to a friend of mine and is a well known genuine car, it's one of the two Mk3 Ss that were featured in period road test reviews in 1970 / 71. Hope you do't mind the plug but I'm on the verge of selling my 1990 Mini 30, I'm still in two minds whether to sell it as it is or keep it and stick with my original plan to modify, upgrade and customise it. Minis can be so addictive.....
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