1 reply to this topic

[joninlondon]

Hi there, my name is Jonathan and I'm a Brit living in Melbourne, Australia coming back to the UK in December for 2 years as the Aussie partner wants to do the London thing for a bit! We are planning on buying a 1990-2001 Mini Cooper to visit the parents in Southampton, sites around the UK and Europe - maybe even taking the ferry from Portugal to Morocco!

I am torn which mini to buy - my head says a cheaper 1990 Mini Cooper RSP but my heart says a late as possible 2000 odd Mini Cooper John Cooper Le (the one with the red leather seats!). But the price difference is about double (2500 pounds for the 1990 to 5000 + pounds for the 2000). Are the later ones worth it? I am amazed about all the ads on Autotrader that say "Usual mini rust". Having owned heaps of classic cars in the UK (Triumphs, MG's, Alfas etc) all with rust I know that it can cost more than the car is worth to cut out the rust... so is it worth sticking with the later ones? I guess a 2500 pound one with "usual mini rust" could end up costing more! Also what is the power difference between SPI and MPI? I think I like the sound of an airbag too with the crazy European drivers out there! Or maybe a Japanese import with Air Conditioning for those hot European holidays?! We are also thinking of maybe shipping it back to Australia where a sorted Mini Cooper can get $30,000 (just check www.carsales.com.au). Anyhow, hi and I look forward to posting the pic when we buy one in December! Cheers Jon

[Ethel]

They are all knocking on a bit so I'd go off condition more than any particular model type. Ease of maintenance and any emissions restrictions in European cities you want to visit might be other factors to consider. Also don't forget to factor in insurance costs.