Buying my first car
Discussion
Adcuz said:
Tomos Nolan said:
I was wondering if anyone has any tips for buying a classic mini and what type of mini is the best ?
Rust = Avoid basically! Try and pick one up that has had the welding done recently and has some tax and mot, Lower miles the better. It will be reliable if it has been looked after so try and buy one from someone who is an enthusiast.
HTH
The hard part to fix on a mini is the rust. All minis rust but there are a number of good minis out there. New or old can be good or bad. Try and find one that has been loved with a good mantance record as a good start. If you can get some one how knows minis to go along with you its good.
, Depends how much money you have really.
From past experience these are the key tips I would want to be aware of:
Rust. All mini's rust. You just have to find one that doesn't have major rust problems. The places to check are the sills, floor, scuttle, boot floor, to be honest just about everywhere. Make sure if there is a bit of rust its just cosmetic, as once the rot sets in.
There are a lot of rebuilt mini's going cheap at the moment as people are in need of the money. This could be a good route to go down if the job has been done properly. Also, someone mentioned that all 90's mini's are made from poor quality metal. This largely relates to cars after 96, therefore all MPI's. They were made from Cheap Italian material and are known to rust badly. Best bet is to go for something earlier.
The single injection mini's of the 90's can have ECU issues and this can be costly.
Watch out for carbed mini's registered after 93 as they will struggle for an MOT due to emissions testing.
In terms of mechanics, watch out for gearbox issues such as crunching and slipping out of gear, usually with second gear.
Check the color of the exhaust smoke, if blue walk away.
Make sure the engine ticks over nicely without skipping a beat.
Look out for oil leaks, its a common problem but if its major could be a serious.
I've probably missed loads but the best bit of advice I can give you is to take someone who knows mini's along to view.
From past experience these are the key tips I would want to be aware of:
Rust. All mini's rust. You just have to find one that doesn't have major rust problems. The places to check are the sills, floor, scuttle, boot floor, to be honest just about everywhere. Make sure if there is a bit of rust its just cosmetic, as once the rot sets in.
There are a lot of rebuilt mini's going cheap at the moment as people are in need of the money. This could be a good route to go down if the job has been done properly. Also, someone mentioned that all 90's mini's are made from poor quality metal. This largely relates to cars after 96, therefore all MPI's. They were made from Cheap Italian material and are known to rust badly. Best bet is to go for something earlier.
The single injection mini's of the 90's can have ECU issues and this can be costly.
Watch out for carbed mini's registered after 93 as they will struggle for an MOT due to emissions testing.
In terms of mechanics, watch out for gearbox issues such as crunching and slipping out of gear, usually with second gear.
Check the color of the exhaust smoke, if blue walk away.
Make sure the engine ticks over nicely without skipping a beat.
Look out for oil leaks, its a common problem but if its major could be a serious.
I've probably missed loads but the best bit of advice I can give you is to take someone who knows mini's along to view.
Some fairly useful info here on what to check for, but IMO some of the comments about the cost and ease of certain repairs are a little dubious.
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Buying-and-owning-a...
http://reviews.ebay.co.uk/Mini-Buying-and-owning-a...
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