Thinking of buying a Mini (old skool)....

[ace-t]

... so your thoughts on the matter would be appreciated!

I need a car for getting to work and it needs to be fairly cheap to buy (c£1000-£1500), cheap to insure, cheap to run, reliable and fun.

Now my question is will a Mini fulfill these requirements. My other car is a TVR Chimaera (without PAS) and where I will be working has the nastiest car park so a small car would be more suitable.

Am I hoping for too much here from the Mini?

Over to you chaps and if any of you have one to sell/know of a good one in my price range, please feel free to e-mail me.

Ohhh, and what models are best to go for and what dates?

Thanks!

Ace-T

[UpTheIron]

ace-t said:

reliable

Hmmm....not convinced that a Mini will meet this requirement.

Now before I get flamed, I am thinking of a Cooper for myself, and I am sure they are at least as reliable as a TVR, but there is no Germanic build quality here, nor Japanese reliability.

Still, running cost is measured in pennies!

[UpTheIron]

Ooops....double post

>> Edited by UpTheIron on Saturday 13th March 22:02

[Cooperman1]

No-one could love the Classic Mini as much as I do, but I don't think I would really want one as an everyday transport. They are too 'old technology' and really do require much more love and attention than a modern car. If it were me I would go for an L or M reg VW Golf 1.4, a Vauxhall Corsa, or, do what I do and drive a 1995 Fiesta 1.6 Si Zetec Twin Cam. It's very reliable, the bits are cheap, it goes like a Mk 1 Cooper 'S' on the road and as a little town car I love it. For longer journeys I have my BMW 728, but the Fiesta is just more fun.
Of course, I guess I'm lucky, as I have two Coopers, a '64 'S' and a 1991 Cooper 1275.

[miniman]

If you go for something standard you shouldn't have any major reliability problems. There's plenty of decent cars in your price range. I paid £400 for my 1989 Mayfair so you should be able to get something more recent with good bodywork.

I have a buyer's guide on my site that has some info on what to look for: www.minispecial.com/technical/buyersguide.asp

There's plenty of ads in the back of Mini Mag and Mini World - these will be pricier than average, and plenty in your local free rag.

[ace-t]

Thanks very much for the replies guys.

A bit more info, we have had classic MG's for a while and ran them as everyday cars so not that bothered about the more modern comforts . Judas will be driving the Chimaera and I will be driving the Mini for the most part however swapping occasionally would be on the cards (and he is 6' with disproportionally long legs) so possibly this may need to be taken into account too.

Cheers

Ace-T

[S Works]

ace-t said:

Judas will be driving the Chimaera and I will be driving the Mini for the most part however swapping occasionally would be on the cards (and he is 6' with disproportionally long legs) so possibly this may need to be taken into account too.

A mate of mine who's 6'3 had a mini for several years - fair enough it was a bit tight but he got some brackets (heaven only knows what they were called - I'm sure miniman or cooperman may know) which extended the drivers seat position backwards for extra legroom.

If you're not going to be using the rear seat for more than extra luggage space you could always fit some buckets to sit the driving position back a bit, and fit a drop bracket for the steering column (an easy job for a competent home mechanic with a decent sockets set and some gumption).

The older cars don't like the rain at all (comes pouring in through the front grille and soaks the points and distributor) and this can lead to inopporune stoppages in heavy rain. However you can stop this ingress by various simple cheap means so not a major worry.

The only thing you will probably find is that in that price range you're not likely to get anything with low miles unless you're lucky, and it's likely to be rotting by now.

Having said that, trawl the ads, drive loads of 'em and ask plenty of questions on here. Even a standard 998 is a hoot to drive if you get a good'un and midly mod it (stage one kit).

I wrote a "things to look for when buying" thread a while back [url]www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?f=90&h=&t=63513[/url] which might help. I'm sure those with vastly more knowledge than I will be able to augment that with more info but I think it's a pretty good checklist.

All the best, Mini's are such great little cars.

[mustard]

Tut tut Ace-T.... this cheap as chips car has already gone up in budget £500!

Me thinks its turning into ANOTHER plaything!

Just buy with care, as they are little oil leaking rot boxes

In my Rover era '88-'96 we used to joke after 30+ years they might just get the hang of making them

If you can find a good one, its not gonna lose much money


Edited to say... I can see this Mini costing £5k before you've finished!
useful link for you www.miniman.com/

All a bit too expensive, but might be worth giving a call

>> Edited by mustard on Sunday 14th March 18:04

[mustard]

What you need Tracy is a Golf GTi Mk1

£2k will buy you a good 1.8 version (non Campaign model) classic insurance circa £200, does 35mpg, VW turn-key reliability at it best... absoloute hoot to

[swindorski46]

I run a Mini as my everyday car AND it doubles as a plaything too. What more could you want? Park it next to a TVR and you've all but got a British Motoring attraction!!!

If you're used to the MGs a mini will be no bother what so ever.

It's nowhere near as fast as a Tiv but they can be as head turning, as intresting and as much fun.

BUY BRITISH.

[ace-t]

Mustard you are spot on, it probably will become another plaything. But I don't think I can go back to blandoid Eurotrash

Swind, I already have an MGB roadster too so if we do get a Mini we will start charging for entry to the museum!!!

Don't wanna buy foreign rubbish, good old British trash is good enough for me!

Ace-T

[mustard]

Ace-T, did you check that link out... you ever seen soo many Mini's?.... 4 pages of them! Must be one with your name on!

[xxplod]

I've owned a Mini for 11 years. Sure, you need to change oil every 3-4000 miles, invest in a grease gun, and be willing to poke about under the bonnet, but so what? There aren't many cheapies about these days, so you need to buy carefully. As for running costs, here's my annual breakdown:
Insurance: £150 FC
Tax: £120 (Nil if you go pre 72)
Serving/MOT £250

How cheap can it get????

[WildfireS3]

Cooperman1 said:

No-one could love the Classic Mini as much as I do, but I don't think I would really want one as an everyday transport. They are too 'old technology' and really do require much more love and attention than a modern car.

I don't know..... I could give you a good run for your money.

But I sceond Cooperman. I ran one as everyday transport for 5 years, the tuned 1 litre in my profile, and it needed full time TLC. From everything to repalcing water pump on the hard shoulder to respraying the body work every year. The other problem is you will become addicted and start tuning, then you will never stop!!

They are also a pain in the winter. But to offset the Tiv you can't get any better. Less power great handling. Stepping out of my mini and into the Tiv is always dangerous for me. Keep forgetting you can't push the tiv as much as the mini in corners. Lots of sideways.

As a reliable second car, not really. Although my father runs his racing green mini every day through all weather and fe has no problems. But we do have a garage full of mini bits.

[minimax]

WildfireS3 said:

But we do have a garage full of mini bits.

I reckon you could build a few minis from the parts in your garage!

I have never run a mini as an only car, but from what I gather, yours would be a second car anyway so you will be able to get over the "sh1t the car's facked and I've got to get to work" problem that would have had me sacked by now if it weren't for the services of my other cars

[ace-t]

An unexpected party! Well almost.

Met a neighbour tonight who has a new BMW mini (no shouting please I used to have one too ) and we got chatting. Turns out another neighbour is the head of the Notts Mini club. So we have spent a very enjoyable evening with them drinking beer and talking cars - Cool!

Going to the next meet and he is going to let me know about the price of a couple of cars he knows are for sale!

It was the least I could do to offer passenger rides in the TVR's! My quest for a Mini is well and truly started!

Will keep you posted

Ace-T

[kneegrow]

Yep, right choice. Get yourself a 12HD24 MG Metro Leaded engine, a BDK carb needle, spend £200 on shocks/hilos, £100 on Tie Rods/rear camber/tracking brackets, get a 67 auto going cheap and bolt your bits on. Honestly, minis are the best go karts. I have a nice period rally car set up as a road racer and a 67 auto (v.cheap) which I am going to "Sprint" and put a rear engine in also. Best choice possible. Get a Mk1 though (definitive model) stay away from coopers as 80% of them are V5 jobs or reshells.

I used to think minis were cheap horrible little cars with "The engine in the wrong place" and when they announced the mini (little one) was dead, I thought good.........Then I drove my girlfriends 998 mini city. Never again will I drive another car (and I have a TVR on long loan), minis are ultimately tunable and user friendly. Great and just beyond belief. I am a converted man, buy one and you will become a part of something which the rest of the human race has yet to discover......

Do it..stu

[minimax]

and so sayeth the lord... only a slight convert then?

[ace-t]

Well we did have an interesting weekend.

Went to our local Mini dealers and saw quite a nice silver Mini Equinox. 30k on the clock, P reg, neat inside, pretty good body work. Dealer originally sold the car a year or so ago and had it back as part ex for a bigger car cos they had a kid.

Now the dealer has given me a price but says it would be negotiable. What kind of numbers do you guys think it should be?

Secondly, we went to see a Mini Cooper today. It was owned by the neighbour of a close relation. We take the checklist from Minimans web site (thanks mate - very comprehensive! So we take it for a test drive after checking it and when we get back we tell the bloke that we are interested but that we have to get a second opinion from someone who knows what they are talking about and do the standard HPI check etc. He then turns round to us and gets really upset saying we have accused him of trying to sell a pup and that he is upset that we would think such a thing especially as he is a neighbour etc, says he is not selling the car to us then storms into his house.

We just stand there on his drive absolutely gobsmacked (even our relative couldn't work out what we had said to upset him so much). It was like someone had turned a switch on. It was totally Just worried now that the relative is going to get fallout from this

We of course are not going to be buying the car now. Shame because it had a few questions but didn't seem bad overall.

People are weird...

Anyway, any help with the Mini Equinox would be gratefully received

Ace-T

[miniman]

How much is the dealer asking for the Equinox?