14 replies to this topic

[Climber47]

Mini reliability...

Hello all! I am looking at buying my first Mini! My mind is pretty much made up. I have spent many an hour reading your comments on the forum but I was hoping that you could help give me a better insight into what I'll be getting my self into...

So I had my heart set on a mk1 VW caddy as my other half has one and I have spent many many thousands of miles traveling in it and working on many of them on a collectors yard. So I am extreamly accustomed to the woes of owning a car with bags of personality.
However, I recently discovered my insurance on a mini would be half that of any VW (talking about saving a grand a year... dodgy postcode).

I know a lot of you like to keep your minis wrapped up in the garrage but I intend on using it as a daily drive.... We are only talking 15 miles to work and back a few days a week.

Are there many of you out there that actually use your minis regularly through out the year?? Could you please share some of your experience of this? Such as... Common problems you have experienced and any advice?

I know that there are many influential factors to the reliability of a car and I plan to look after it by my self ideally... No breaking the bank with garage fees.

I am looking at the early 90's Rover mini's (not coopers) again due to insurance and Ideally want to avoid too much tin worm!

Cheers guys

[mini-luke]

Most breakdowns are due to poor maintenance. I do ~300mi a week and have only broken down once when the alternator failed and the battery went flat.

[RossKnight]

I drive mine daily, takes me to college and back, twice a day mostly, about 14 miles each way

I've done 11,000 miles since august, haven't had any real problems to be honest, wheel bearing went, had a few electrical problems and my wipers were a bit annoying, keep falling off haha

longest I haven't had it on the road is 2 days, so not bad

[markosparko1994]

you will have to keep her maintained but should be alright, would be easier to for on if you didn't rely on the car as you could possibly leave it a couple of days for certain jobs or whilst waiting for a part to come in the post etc. Get one without much rust because mechanics are easier and cheaper than bodywork

[adam davies]

Like RossKnight I always use mine daily and it takes me to college every day. I've had mine on the road for a year now and I have only broken down twice. And that was because there wasn't enough oil in the dashpot which was my fault My distributor did break once though and that meant my car was off the road for a couple of days until I fitted my new one. But overall a mini is a great car to drive on the weekends or every day. I thought I would experience a lot more problems than I have.

[A362 TTU]

You say you are looking at early 90's (still carbed?) - I would extend your search to 80's minis too - the tech won't have changed much, and there are more 998's which will see cheaper insurance and I have been led to believe that the 998cc engine is more robust (and will do better MPG's)

[mini-luke]

I have been led to believe that the 998cc engine is more robust

Don't know who said that, if anything it's going to wear out quicker as they have to be revved more.

[twink]

I've had minis as a daily for over 10 years. The only problem that happens regularly (twice a year ish) is me leaving the lights on!

[JP Detailing]

I drive a 93 Mayfair as a daily (its garaged over night).

Great thing about Mini's are that they are cheap to run and insure and also when things do go wrong, its usually quite simple to fix - even a mechanical noob like me can learn and do it.

As stated above if its serviced regularly and looked after it should look after you too. Like any car to be honest. Although rust can be a pain with Minis :|

[TORZIEnJIM]

I think unless it's a recent rebuild be prepared to splash some cash initially to sort that bits that the seller didn't when they started to lose interest to sell.

Afte that, as all others have said, actually a very reliable car if looked after properly. All of my issues have been down to normally wearing items like bearings and steering gaitors( at the end of the day, you've no way of knowing how long they had been there before you got it really)

Ive never actually had an unexpected fault with my car,

[Climber47]

Cheers guys! Thanks for the help :) I'll be keeping my eyes peeled for one in about a months time when I'll be back down in Cornwall.... If anyone knows of anyone planning to sell down there... Feel free to give me a shout :)

And yeah, I fully intend to keep a large contingency fund for wheel bearings, cv joints and the likes :) Plus I would love to paint one antalope brown or similar. I'll be sure to post loads of pictures up when I find 'the one'

Keep the advice flowing though!

[Bungle]

i know this is a mini forum but i'm also a VW lover

the caddy will have high insurance because it's a commercial vehicle, if you went for a VW classic it's likely to be in the same insurance group as a mini

my VW type 2 (camper) costs £100 a year to insure fully comp with all mods declared

[Richey]

My Mini is a daily driver. Since I first bought it late last year, and had it serviced, I've never had a breakdown.

[Climber47]

To Bungle: turns out.... It's completely due to my rubbish post code.... The caddy insurance was just the same for any other car I tried.... Peugeot, Renault... Even a rubbish Nissan micra! I could have a brand new mini out the show room for the same price as an old banger worth £300... All my quotes wouldn't drop below £2,000.... Got a caddy quote for £1,700 at best.... And a mini for £900 :) old VW's in general where all quite expensive.. Tried mk1/mk2 polos and golfs and still came in at over £2000 interestingly.... Parked on a public road at my uni address made a caddy £900 a year! (Must be the desirability for joy riding by the local children). But I'm leaving in a month so I'll have to grim and bare my parents address!
Sorry that's a bit wofflie!

[cal844]

Mini reliability...

Hello all! I am looking at buying my first Mini! My mind is pretty much made up. I have spent many an hour reading your comments on the forum but I was hoping that you could help give me a better insight into what I'll be getting my self into...

So I had my heart set on a mk1 VW caddy as my other half has one and I have spent many many thousands of miles traveling in it and working on many of them on a collectors yard. So I am extreamly accustomed to the woes of owning a car with bags of personality.
However, I recently discovered my insurance on a mini would be half that of any VW (talking about saving a grand a year... dodgy postcode).

I know a lot of you like to keep your minis wrapped up in the garrage but I intend on using it as a daily drive.... We are only talking 15 miles to work and back a few days a week.

Are there many of you out there that actually use your minis regularly through out the year?? Could you please share some of your experience of this? Such as... Common problems you have experienced and any advice?

I know that there are many influential factors to the reliability of a car and I plan to look after it by my self ideally... No breaking the bank with garage fees.

I am looking at the early 90's Rover mini's (not coopers) again due to insurance and Ideally want to avoid too much tin worm!

Cheers guys

Mini reliability...

Hello all! I am looking at buying my first Mini! My mind is pretty much made up. I have spent many an hour reading your comments on the forum but I was hoping that you could help give me a better insight into what I'll be getting my self into...

So I had my heart set on a mk1 VW caddy as my other half has one and I have spent many many thousands of miles traveling in it and working on many of them on a collectors yard. So I am extreamly accustomed to the woes of owning a car with bags of personality.
However, I recently discovered my insurance on a mini would be half that of any VW (talking about saving a grand a year... dodgy postcode).

I know a lot of you like to keep your minis wrapped up in the garrage but I intend on using it as a daily drive.... We are only talking 15 miles to work and back a few days a week.

Are there many of you out there that actually use your minis regularly through out the year?? Could you please share some of your experience of this? Such as... Common problems you have experienced and any advice?

I know that there are many influential factors to the reliability of a car and I plan to look after it by my self ideally... No breaking the bank with garage fees.

I am looking at the early 90's Rover mini's (not coopers) again due to insurance and Ideally want to avoid too much tin worm!

Cheers guys

i have an 89 mayfair and to be honest ive not greased it since it was built 2 years ago ( its been garaged since then till march when i paid £2100 to insure it, im 18 and the car is a standard 998) also try getting a car with an electronic distributor, (lucas 65D) ive been through craters of holes which have covered the car and filled the gutter round the roof and its never let me down.