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The Great Mini Rip-off


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#61 DaveRob

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 09:03 AM

£300+ for the rear louvre..........<SHOCK>......... I bought one only 4 months ago from Ebay....... got it for £63.00 when it arrived its a genuine Autoplas with all the fittings...... at £300+ I think someone got mugged and someone got lucky...... is that chaos theory???..... I agree about the Ebay thing tho....... every article is advertised as Cooper or S Works..... and most of them are actually off mid 80's 998's

Problem is the Mini isnt made and as time goes by then prices will go up..... basic laws of supply and demand.... and the demand is their cause its a Iconic classic ..... people in the future will want to be seen in a Mini cause its a British classic and it will become more and more difficult to get hold of.

Its gone past the stage where everyone could have one. And because its an aclaimed Icon it has become desirable..... Like the art works of the Great Masters.... they will never be reproduced.

So before they get snapped up and stored for the next 20 years we should all buy up the last ones to preserve the marque...... BUT THAT WOULD DRIVE UP THE PRICE........ stock market economics... are you a bull or a bear?....

Anyone got a rusty Mk1 63/64 shell with a V5?....... lol...CASH WAITING....


Rob

#62 M44K TS

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 10:49 AM

The window louvre thing in't just expensivefor a Mini. They're expensive full stop.

Like i said in the other thread, my mate has a 1984 Volvo 360 that he's using as a fun old daily drive, he's been looking for a louvre for a while, even ones from other cars like mk2 cav's, mk1 astras, sierras etc are all roughly the same price.

#63 GOODY2BE

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 11:58 AM

Mini's are cheap as far as owning a collectors car! I had one as a first car about 15 years ago then moved on got something abit bigger and dare I say better as in could go anywhere without breaking down!! then the missus got one once she passed her test then moved on too. but now with 2 kids mortgage and all the rest of the bills we have gone back to our routes. I had a focus rs before our 2nd child and the ford scene is a lot more expensive than the mini scene! I loved the focus but must admit every time I saw a mini I turned my head to look at it :thumbsup: when I was looking for a classic to have a play with the mini ticked all the right boxes you can have ago at welding,rebuilding,modifying and basic mechanics plus theres that many models to choose from you wont get stared at for ruining a classic that you put the wrong alloys on? modify it from £10 to £30,000 if you want !owning one for your first car is great too as if you are into cars theres so much attention for a mini plus for trainee mechanics theres nowt better to start learning on (sat in layby with broke down mini few tools and only a bit of knowledge to get going again :D )any way thats my 2penny worth cheers :)

#64 sazal

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 12:10 PM

Isnt it a good thing though that there going up in price? It means that people will only buy one if they really want one, so will look after it. Whereas if they were still cheaper people would buy them just because they were cheap, not look after them and then it would be another mini off the road? >_<

#65 tedmcedd

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 12:31 PM

to be honest it depends what you want from a mini... if you want a replica rally car with all original parts, then yes.... pay silly money because hens teeth are hard to come by... however i like to think that with my autojumb;e and ebay hunting skills, alongside my own built parts that i can get the same effect without paying stupid prices for things....

and yes i could buy a corsa, or a punto... but a tax free £400 insurance a year gokart that has more character than most people... i think ill stick with the mini >_<

besides... my mate had a 306 that he had for a year, cost him £900, had to have four gearboxes in it, the electric windows didnt work, and the tie bar bushes always went... he sold it... lol

#66 RobG295

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 01:17 PM

Posted Image

If only I'd kept it!!!!!!!

PS - Reason for the Grill Mod is a Pheasant went through it!!!

PPS - Those Wiper Blade "Thingies" were nearly as popular as the Rear Screen Louvre but actually did something useful (kept the wipers on the screen when running over 70 MPH)


Nick, don't suppose you bought that blue mini off a guy as a rolling shell in the cambridge or bromsgrove area did you? Looks very similar to my old mans mini he used to have back in the day!

#67 krippy31

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 02:00 PM

i must admit the price these days can get a little out of control but if you shop around you can pick some cheap bargains
(i just remind myself nothing lasts for ever so take it whilst you can)

i think i was very lucky to have a got a complete very good condition mk1 for £500 all it needed was some additive and a new wing and ok a few more bits and bobs lol

#68 Rosslin Racing

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 06:10 PM

Carlos fangdango wheels that were days!
A Mini van for 50 quid out the advertiser,
Jimmy on the radio and lotus winning every race in which they did not break down.
grand days

#69 nicksuth

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 06:46 PM

Nick, don't suppose you bought that blue mini off a guy as a rolling shell in the cambridge or bromsgrove area did you? Looks very similar to my old mans mini he used to have back in the day!
[/quote]

RobG295 - I bought the car in the late 1970's from a guy in Grimsby who told me that it was originally prepared by Dave Golightley, who was a local legend with Minis. The registartion C"EE" is local Grimsby registration so i would assume that's were it spent most of it's life?
It was a 1964, Austin Mini Cooper "S", 970cc but had be Rally prepared for local, national rallies and was thought to have competed in at least one RAC Rally?
I scrapped the shell off in 1980 due to the dreaded "Rust Worm" and sold the engine/box to a guy who had a customer for it in Finland who intended going for the under 1000cc National Land Speed Record in it as it was bored to 999cc. Not sure if it ever did?
It went like "*melon* off a stick" and used to rev right through to 8,000+ as my 3.0 Litre Capri mates would reluctantly admit to!!!

#70 Matt.P

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 07:58 PM

Agree with the comments made about all the hoo haa with cars and parts going for silly money. This is the sort of thing that is going to put off young people from the classic car scene. since finding out about classic cars and buying my mk1 mini, i've been really into classics, but the one thing that really annoys me is not just the items that go for silly money (which is a pain when us students are on a pretty low income anyway) but they often go to collectors. Whether this is a car, a part (a louvre perhaps? :)) it's all the same, if it goes to a collector, yes, it'll remain in "mint condition" but it'll never see the light of day. Same with cars, I've seen cars sold, especially mk1 cooper S's for stupid money, but chances are their rebuilt engines and gearboxes will be pointless, they'll be gathering dust in some collectors warehouse. Cars like these are meant to be driven, blimey, in the 60's think about how many minis were just parked outside no matter what? nowadays people are so tight with cash that they are forgetting the whole point of owning a classic car, it's to be driven, sure, you can get that classic car smell and enjoy the sight of it, but if you want that just go to a motor museum. Cars are meant to be driven, and stupid prices for classics is going to drive away younger people from the classic car scene, what hope is there for it then?

#71 mab01uk

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Posted 01 February 2009 - 11:07 PM

Carlos fangdango wheels that were days!
A Mini van for 50 quid out the advertiser,
Jimmy on the radio and lotus winning every race in which they did not break down.
grand days


Remember this Anglia in the Panama Cigars advert that started Carlos Fangdango wheels.............. :)

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