9 replies to this topic

[sam g]

Hi guys,

As in my last post I am new to minis so excuse any daft questions.

I have been offered a Mini Mayfair, Automatic. It has had one lady owner who has just had her licence taken off her due to age! The car is in good order with just a little rust on the driver door and on the rear side window sill. It's got 12 months MOT but unfortunatley no documentation on the MOT.
The car is completely original even has the sterio it came with.

Here are my questions:

Is it worth £1000?[/u]
How easy is it to instal rear seat belts (over the shoulder type)
Would it be easier to fit new seat all round? (Could probably do with it although they are in really good condition)
How much would some nice seats cost me second hand?
Is there any real reasons why I should staer clear of an Automatic?

Thanks for any feedback.

Cheers.

[Danny_California]

How old is it? When you say it has 12 months MOT but no documentation.... doesnt that mean it DOESNT have an MOT? Afterall Mr. Plod aint gonna take kindly to "Yes officer it has a valid MOT, but no certificate, honest!"
I couldnt bring myself to buy an auto, I really just dont like them. Its personal preference at the end of the day though, unless you have to have one as some people do. Not sure how much work dropping in a manual is, but someone will know.

Try to get a few pictures up, that will give people a better idea of what its worth

[NETTY]

hi there, if you havent got an mot cert with the car you can always ring the garage it was mot'd at for a replacement certificate, or I think you can check online (VOSA I THINK) whether it has a certificate and it will give you any advisory's too. I think you need the registration number and maybe the chassis number for this tho....

Cheers.
[/quote]

[mymini007]

Hi guys,

As in my last post I am new to minis so excuse any daft questions.

I have been offered a Mini Mayfair, Automatic. It has had one lady owner who has just had her licence taken off her due to age! The car is in good order with just a little rust on the driver door and on the rear side window sill. It's got 12 months MOT but unfortunatley no documentation on the MOT.
The car is completely original even has the sterio it came with.

Here are my questions:

Is it worth £1000?[/u]
How easy is it to instal rear seat belts (over the shoulder type)
Would it be easier to fit new seat all round? (Could probably do with it although they are in really good condition)
How much would some nice seats cost me second hand?
Is there any real reasons why I should staer clear of an Automatic?

Thanks for any feedback.


Cheers.

In one of the mags last month or so, it was telling you that an auto may be a better bet, as they tended to be owned/driven by the exact same person you are describing, so not ragged and only done maybe 20k miles in 20 years.

It also gives you a step by step guide to changing the engine and box for a manual. About 2 hours (according to my local mini experts) even with limited knowledge.

Anyway back to the car. seats get something funky. front seats=4 bolts and out they come. rear seats=2 screws in the boot under the parcel shelf and out they come. 20 mins even if you have never picked up a spanner in your life

a full brand new set of seats from the mags are about £400 and thats for the lot including the rear covers to match

I have an auto in (bits) and a manual and in normal driving, it dosent really matter. its only if you are going to drive like a loon that the manual becomes a little more fun and obviously faster through the bends.

Have never fitted rear seatbelts but looking at mine, it just looks like they bolt through the rear shelf and into the seat base, but someone that has done it may know different.

The door may be an issue if its really rusty they are about £150 for a refurbed one on ebay. and find out where the mot was done, and they can issue a new one, last time i lost mine, i think it cost me a tenner.

Edited by mymini007, 27 January 2009 - 04:23 PM.

[mymini007]

Mini magazine issue 154 december 2008 "put a proper gearbox in that mini automatic"

£1000 seems a bit steep for an auto unless its really tidy/low milage and service history

Edited by mymini007, 27 January 2009 - 04:20 PM.

[Joloke08]

hi there, if you havent got an mot cert with the car you can always ring the garage it was mot'd at for a replacement certificate, or I think you can check online (VOSA I THINK) whether it has a certificate and it will give you any advisory's too. I think you need the registration number and maybe the chassis number for this tho....

Cheers.

Ive just tried it apart from using my actual MOT certificate number the only way it would let me have the details was both My Registration and Reference Number from the V5

If you have that it will tell you if it indeed has an MOT or not?

Seems a little strange though if it has only just had an MOT how on earth could you misplace the certificate that soon?
Unless said little Old lady has been conned by a "Cowboy" Garage?

I Hate Peeps Slating Automatics as long as the Gearboxes are in good order there fabb!!!

Boris is Automatic and goes great though i must admit his Gearbox could do with a bit of a service
Get one with a Good Gearbox and so long as you keep doing oil changes every 3000 miles without fail they wont give you any trouble

Allways Use a Good Quality 20w50 mineral Oil, Castrol, Duckhams,Pentrite,Millers,Valvolene Etc and you cant go far wrong

How old is it?
£1000 seems reasonable if all is as seems and isnt hiding any secrets?

Just imagine if everybody started converting old valuable Coopers and Radfords into standard Minis there wouldnt be any left
If people keep buying good Clean Autos and Converting them to Manuals likewise there will be Non Left

The Mini Automatic is an important Part of Mini History we should be saving them not converting them to manual and acting as if the Mini Automatic Never Existed

Those who knock them but havnt actually driven one why not have a go?
They are the nearest you will ever get to a Street Legal "Go Cart"

Huggz
Jodie

[mister bridger]

Out of ALL the cars I've ever had - and I've had a few- the most fun was a mk1 850 auto. Was like driving a dodgem - foot down all the way so you don't lose momentum and go round corners on two wheels!

[mymini007]

hi there, if you havent got an mot cert with the car you can always ring the garage it was mot'd at for a replacement certificate, or I think you can check online (VOSA I THINK) whether it has a certificate and it will give you any advisory's too. I think you need the registration number and maybe the chassis number for this tho....

Cheers.

Ive just tried it apart from using my actual MOT certificate number the only way it would let me have the details was both My Registration and Reference Number from the V5

If you have that it will tell you if it indeed has an MOT or not?

Seems a little strange though if it has only just had an MOT how on earth could you misplace the certificate that soon?
Unless said little Old lady has been conned by a "Cowboy" Garage?

I Hate Peeps Slating Automatics as long as the Gearboxes are in good order there fabb!!!

Boris is Automatic and goes great though i must admit his Gearbox could do with a bit of a service
Get one with a Good Gearbox and so long as you keep doing oil changes every 3000 miles without fail they wont give you any trouble

Allways Use a Good Quality 20w50 mineral Oil, Castrol, Duckhams,Pentrite,Millers,Valvolene Etc and you cant go far wrong

How old is it?
£1000 seems reasonable if all is as seems and isnt hiding any secrets?

Just imagine if everybody started converting old valuable Coopers and Radfords into standard Minis there wouldnt be any left
If people keep buying good Clean Autos and Converting them to Manuals likewise there will be Non Left

The Mini Automatic is an important Part of Mini History we should be saving them not converting them to manual and acting as if the Mini Automatic Never Existed

Those who knock them but havnt actually driven one why not have a go?
They are the nearest you will ever get to a Street Legal "Go Cart"

Huggz
Jodie

I like my auto too, especially in traffic, plus the less there are the more they will be worth

[sam g]

Hi guys

Sorry was a bit vague on the MOT thing. It has got an MOT Cert just not the list of stuff that was wrong/wasn't wrong with it at the time. Also has 6 months Tax which is a brucy bonus.

The Mileage is 32000 miles only and Ithe Year is 1987.

Still think its reasonable???

Thanks again everyone. Your help is appreciated.

Edited by sam g, 27 January 2009 - 06:16 PM.

[mymini007]

Hi guys

Sorry was a bit vague on the MOT thing. It has got an MOT Cert just not the list of stuff that was wrong/wasn't wrong with it at the time. Also has 6 months Tax which is a brucy bonus.

The Mileage is 32000 miles only and Ithe Year is 1987.

Still think its reasonable???

Thanks again everyone. Your help is appreciated.

If its passed they will not issue a sheet, it will have a box that says advisories. if this says "YES" there will be a yellow sheet that will list the advisories for the future that you need to keep an eye on. If its "NO" it means a clean bill of health. With that milage it sounds good. post some pics let us have a look.