52 replies to this topic

[minifirstcar]

Hi, I'm too young at the moment but I've heard that Minis make excellent first cars (cool, low insurance ect). I was wondering what you guys think and was hoping that you would be able to answer my questions, such as- Is it possible to get a good example for around £1500, how to tell if one is in good condition, what reliability issues are there, how to look after your mini, what good upgrades to get e.g exhaust and what kind of maintenance I would need to do and how much that would cost and so on.

[jonny95]

welcome :)

minis make great first cars

insurance will still be a lot of money but all cars are expensive to insure at 17 and compared to most cars minis are very cheap to insure

the main thing to look for when buying a mini is rust, rust is the killer and can result in a lot of expense to sort out, mechanically they are very simple and usually cheap and easy to fix

reliability wise they require a lot more regular maintenance than newer cars however if you maintain them well they can be perfectly reliable and most of the maintenance you can do yourself and its good to learn to do these things

there are many good upgrades but it is worth bearing in mind that all upgrades will raise the cost of your insurance

hope this helps
Jonny

Edited by jonny95, 17 March 2013 - 09:17 PM.

[TehMarchant]

Welcome to TMF fella,

I have bought a Mini for my first car, I payed £1650 and my mini if wonderful she has slight rush here an there but really nothing to worry about. My baby starts 1st time and she is perfect for me, little problems can give you a huge sense of achivement when you cure them.

You will have the coolest car out of all your friends and turn heads when you drive around.

Would recommend a Mini to any driver, they are wonderful!

[creakyjaws5533]

Welcome
I've got mine for £1400 insurance good cars make sure you own a Haynes manual though.
I get compliments towards the car and its not a chavy Saxo or similar
It's great fun
Jack

[6joshh6]

My first car is a mini, and it has been a pretty good buy. It's easy (and fun!) to drive, and its pretty practical plus its a mini so its definitely cooler than the puntos and corsas your mates will get. It gets really good mileage and is nice and cheap to maintain so it doesn't cost much to run one, although unless you want to spend a fortune in garage fees you'll need to do your own maintenance . What you do need to be careful of doing is getting a rusty one, as even a small area of rust will quickly turn into an MOT failure if not treated. Low mileage is pretty irrelevant as there are a lot of mini's with less than 50k on the clocks and they go for a long time without much trouble. Rather you should try to get the best condition car for the money, and the best way to make sure you do that is to bring someone along who has a good knowledge of classic cars and/or get hold of the Haynes classic mini restoration manual, as that has a section on checks to do before you buy the car and it is very comprehensive.

Good luck!

[minifirstcar]

Thanks for all the replies and advice

[minifirstcar]

Would a Mini Mayfair be a good option?

[TehMarchant]

Well at this stage I wouldn't really worriy about the model, You just need to find one one that is in the best condition for your money and one that you feel is right for you.

[minifirstcar]

It,s just that Mayfairs seem to be selling cheaper than other variants and I was wondering if there was a reasom?

[miniman72131]

I have a Mayfair. any mini under 1000cc has the best prices on insurance

EDIT: thought I'd add a piccy of my Mayfair I know people like pics

Attached Files

•  image.jpg   62.63K   17 downloads

Edited by miniman72131, 18 March 2013 - 09:32 PM.

[wiffin]

i have a mini city for my first car, im 17 and cost me 1200 for insurance, and welcome to TMF and here's a pic of mine

[Chris99]

Careful, first car in 1996 and I still haven't moved on!

[TylerW53]

Mini 1000 would be good as a first car. Or a City or Mayfair. Anything with a 998 engine will keep the insurance company happy, and with a carb you can discreetly modify things such as the inlet manifold or carb set up too add a bit of power and keep you happy.

[iMurray]

right lets get this clear. yup they are very cool, they are good fun to drive, the insurance is relatively cheap... but make no boens about it, if you crash, its gonna hurt...a more modern car is going to give you considerably better protection in times of need, that doesnt make you bullet proof. But it IS something to think about.

model is irrelevant really, mayfairs aren't going cheaper than most, it probably jsut looks like that in relation to the Cooper models, which has a bigger engine and will cost you more on insurance... my opinion to you is to find either an 850 or 1000cc mini with a good solid shell

mechanically YES they are simple... but that doesnt matter if it needs alot of work, unless you can work on it yourtself you need to remember most garage rates are £40 per hour.

please choose wisely, i dont want to see you getting a lemon... minis are good first cars and you'll enjoy it, but there are other equally compelling options out there.

[iMurray]

also i remmember seeing that two tone blue mini on ebay! no chrome out it! not event he bezels! all painted light blue.