31 replies to this topic

[oli8925]

and just to add, my new daily car is a 1975 vauxhall viva, bought for £500. so i know old carb'd cars can be great daily runners, and not necessarily unsafe.

You are kidding me Oli? You Paid £500 for it, its georgous.

£570 to be precise. 38000 miles and just a few small patches of surface rust. sorry to say it but minis are very overpriced lol

[taffy1967]

Well my 1990 Mini Cooper (which I've owned for over 15 years) with a carburettor has now just gone past 99,000 miles and is still going strong (touch wood).

This is a link to a badly crashed Mini which hit another larger car at around 50-55mph. The Mini owner survived and is back in a Mini, although it is a later model with the air-bag etc: -

http://desinihotos.f...t/c1184982.html

[benb12]

The Mini gets it's reputation for being unreliable because for many years people took advantage of how cheap they were and never actually maintained them. People would drive it until something went wrong, usually avoidable if it had been serviced and maintained. There's no reason for a well looked after Mini to be unreliable.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

The Mini gets it's reputation for being unreliable because for many years people took advantage of how cheap they were and never actually maintained them. People would drive it until something went wrong, usually avoidable if it had been serviced and maintained. There's no reason for a well looked after Mini to be unreliable.

Unless its owned by GingerJoe *hides*

[oli8925]

The Mini gets it's reputation for being unreliable because for many years people took advantage of how cheap they were and never actually maintained them. People would drive it until something went wrong, usually avoidable if it had been serviced and maintained. There's no reason for a well looked after Mini to be unreliable.

Unless its owned by GingerJoe *hides*

[lgreenwood]

Craig: Thanks for that link to the mini safety/crash thread, real eye opener, just read all 10 pages. Some very scary stuff, parts made me want to never drive again, but the chances of serious stuff is so low it doesn't make sense to live your life like that, still scary none the less.

The rebuild threads are making me want a mini more than ever though. It seems that bucket seats are popular in mini's seems to make sense that coupled with a good harness it's a vast safety improvement for the more frequent, low speed collisions.

Thanks to everyone that's contributed to the thread. Any suggestions on a good model mini's to look out for (possible earlier rebuild) are more than welcome!

Also, does anyone know of any sites/threads with a good rundown of most mini models w/ images and details so i can get up to speed?

Thankyou

Lou

[lgreenwood]

just got a quote on this mini (all theoretical, not showing interest if the seller sees this) Link, 1993 mini sprite (carb), quoted at £551 third party fire and theft. 1500 with upto £1000 to spare on work (inc getting a gps and decent stereo and road tax sorted) ain't too bad!

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

The Mini gets it's reputation for being unreliable because for many years people took advantage of how cheap they were and never actually maintained them. People would drive it until something went wrong, usually avoidable if it had been serviced and maintained. There's no reason for a well looked after Mini to be unreliable.

Unless its owned by GingerJoe *hides*

Poor Lad, he really doesnt Deserve it, But his clubby really does have character doesnt it .

Personally i would say the first thing you need to decide is wether you would prefer Clubman (Square Front) or a Normal saloon mini (round nose), that will play a large roll.

10/69 Clubman (saloon and estate w 998cc engine) and 1275GT (with 1275cc – non-S -- engine) introduced

08/80 Clubman and 1275GT discontinued

Theres your important Dates for the clubman, anything will do as they bearly changed but obviously, money wise, The earlier the better.

If your looking for a mini that is really going to hold its price, get a LTD edition, there is loads most of which are Limited to 1500, 2500, or 3000 Including Exports. The list could go on for a while, but heres a few, Jet Black, Red Hot, Designer, Park Lane, Chelsea, Piccadilly etc etc. There is also minis like the blue star (Made for the german market) which were Export only, these are very rare as tiny number like 300 were produced. This is why many enthusiasts get Annoyed when there car is called a "cooper", there really is so many variety of mini to choose from that many wouldnt belive it.

Edited by Mini-Mad-Craig, 15 March 2009 - 12:37 AM.

[taffy1967]

The Mini gets it's reputation for being unreliable because for many years people took advantage of how cheap they were and never actually maintained them. People would drive it until something went wrong, usually avoidable if it had been serviced and maintained. There's no reason for a well looked after Mini to be unreliable.

Yes I know a woman at my local University whose 3 year old Ford Ka (which she bought last year with a low mileage) recently needed a new steering rack and clutch, plus there was a funny noise coming from the engine which they haven't sorted out yet.

So she wasn't happy when I told her that my 18 year old Mini has gone past 99,000 miles, is still on it's original steering rack and is still running like a dream.

And yes, I've always taken good care of it and seen that it's been serviced (mostly by myself) as and when required.

[taffy1967]

Also, does anyone know of any sites/threads with a good rundown of most mini models w/ images and details so i can get up to speed?

Have you checked out mine yet?: -

My Rough Guide To The Mini 1959-2000 link

Okay it's only 4 pages long, but the Mini Cooper and Mini Times pages should help make things clearer.

[lgreenwood]

Hi Taffy, just finished reading through your page, some good info on there, esp clearing up the safety features of post '96 models. Thanks for the info.

@Anorak: Regarding the insurance category of the cooper, maybe this is what my workmate was referring to

nsurance Group Guide

Cooper 1275 cc Group 8

Italian Job 1275 cc Group 6

Open Classic 1275 cc Group 4

Mayfair 1275 cc Group 4

Sprite 1275 cc Group 3

Racing Flame 998 cc Group 1

City/Mayfair 998 cc Group 1

http://www.classicca...uk/1275cars.htm

If this is fairly correct and up to date, and consider that my quote of 551 was on a 1275 sprite i wonder what a mayfair 998cc quote would be...hmmms

[oli8925]

try it. as i said, 998 with stage 1 rr'd and properly tuned is more than adequate. when it comes to mini's dont worry about speed and bhp, worry about how many g's you can pull through corners

and when it comes to LE minis, take some pictures and get some details, then come on here and show us lot before you make any offer. there are very few of any LE's left with their standard LE parts, and theres no point spending a bit more on an LE when its lost its LEness

[taffy1967]

Hi Taffy, just finished reading through your page, some good info on there, esp clearing up the safety features of post '96 models. Thanks for the info.

Well it goes into greater detail on this site: -

http://www.roblightb.../1997/index.htm

But before buying a Mini, no matter how good it looks it would be a good idea to take someone with you who knows all there is to know about Minis and their problems. So getting in touch with your local Mini Club might be a good idea and perhaps someone there might be selling a decent Mini that's not been abused or botched.

Yes Minis are probably one of the most bodged cars in the history of the world, simply because people and rubbishy garages can't be bothered to repair them properly and so they get badly bodged.

The biggest concern is rust, more so when you can't see it and even worst when the main body consists of filler, cardboard or newspaper. So it's worth arming yourself with a magnet and using it to ensure all the problem areas consist of good steel and are not hiding the aforementioned bodged repair horrors.

I don't want to put you off, no not at all, because if you buy a good Mini, you'll be happy forever and ever. But buy a badly bodged Mini that fails it's MOT big time because it's literally held together with filler, cardboard and newspaper and you'll then hate it with a passion.

So I wish you luck and hope you manage to own a little gem like mine, because if I could afford to, I'd have it completely restored with no expense spared as it's been a fantastic little car and I don't think I could live without it now.

[samg2007]

Hi lou, welcome to the magical world of mini's! Its slightly addictive.

[samg2007]

Oh yeah, and thins one is really nice and for sale:

http://www.theminifo...howtopic=118925