7 replies to this topic

[luismx123]

Hey guys!

Found a fairly good lookin mini which im interested in getting for a semi project -daily driver car.
Its a mini 1000- year 1986, aftermarket wheels and exhaust. Apart from that its all standard. A carburetor rebuild was done a few months ago.

The owner says there is no rust and the car is well maintained. (expect for the spot under the read window???)

If you guys could give me an honest opinion it would be great. It's the best Ive found for the price in central europe (LHD needed) - not sure if the price is comparable to cars in the UK.

The asking price is 4.900 €

This would also be my first mini. 

Thanks

Luis

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Edited by luismx123, 10 June 2018 - 12:00 PM.

[KTS]

Hi Luis - it's very difficult to give an opinion just from the photos, but they don't seem to show any obvious issues apart from the rust you've already noted, and that the car is sitting very high on it's suspension

 

i would very cautious about the owners claim that there's no rust - it's a 32year old mini.  it will have rust - if you get another chance to look at the car;

 

    - lift up the carpets and examine closely all around the edge of the floor, especially the driver/passenger footwells, for rust or damge

    - check carefully the bottoms of the doors for signs of corrosion, and around the hinges for any cracking

    - examine the bottoms of the rear companion bins (..each side of the rear seat - you'll need to remove the liners..) - for evidence of corrosion

    - get under the car and examine the rear subframe for signs of excessive corrosion

    - from under the car examine the boot floor especially around the edges where it meets the wheel arches, and where the rear valence attaches

 

the best thing you could do is find someone local to you or the car who has experience of minis to help identify what (if any) issues the car has, what it may take to get them resolved, and whether or not the price is fair

 

hope this helps 

[luismx123]

Hey kts thanks for your reply.

I totally understand. My only issue is it's 14hr drive from here to go visit it, so I'm kinda hoping people say yay or nay. But the point you gave are good. The owner is very chatty and has no issues send me Fotos. I'll send him a list of "id like to see the Xxxxx" and see how it looks.

Just by the looks of it, what is your opinion?

[MatthewsDad]

I'd ask for some photos of the boot without the stuff in it - seems a bit crusty which might indicate underbody corrosion. Any photos of the underside of the boot and the underside of the car generally would be helpful.

[dyshipfakta]

That outer sill looks rotten to me. It is a proper outersill though which is good

[KTS]

Hey kts thanks for your reply.

I totally understand. My only issue is it's 14hr drive from here to go visit it, so I'm kinda hoping people say yay or nay. But the point you gave are good. The owner is very chatty and has no issues send me Fotos. I'll send him a list of "id like to see the Xxxxx" and see how it looks.

Just by the looks of it, what is your opinion?

 

that's a long way to go and look at a car !!

 

from the photo's it's not a bad looking car - no obvious rust showing along the bottoms of the doors, round the headlights or scuttle corners.  paintwork and brightwork looks good.  childseat in the back, so you'd hope it's been driven responsibly (..or could just be 'dressing' for the sale..)

 

on the negative side; rust around the rear window, rust staining around the sill as dyshipfakta has pointed out.  both suggest corrosion has taken hold.  both are areas that are prone to rusting, and if there's corrosion there you can be certain it's in other places

 

ride height looks very odd - much too high. could be that it's been raised to prevent the larger wheels from fouling on the front wheel arches, or just that they like it that way.  i'd want to know why it's like that though.

 

no mention of what condition the car is in terms of mechanicals - were you able to take it on a test drive when you saw it ?

 

most important things to remember if you're looking to buy a mini:  

 

  1.  corrosion is like an iceberg - what you can see is probably only 10% of what there is.

  2.  the most expensive part of the car to repair is the bodywork - fixing engines, suspension etc is relatively cheap compared to fixing corrosion damage

 

you might be lucky and have found a car that genuinely has been well looked after and is in good condition, or you may be looking at a far more common example of a mini that looks like it's in good condition but actually has a lot of rust lurking beneath the surface

 

do the dutch use salt grit on their roads in the winter ?  that's what's destroyed most of the british mini's over the years...

[Van13]

That’s what I call a distance car ie the closer you get the worse it gets and at 4900 I think it’s over priced good luck

[harrythehat]

Hi Luis

Over priced for over here that's for sure not sure on price over there are like, BUT no rust there having a giraffe go looking deep an you will find more than enough just looking at rear bumper and insde boot you can see bubbles of rust, that's gong to need whole or partial boot floor and rear panel that holds boot lid on is suspect, that's near a grands worth of work

 

2k project car that's its worth