49 replies to this topic

[HarrysMini]

Could always just get an MPi... they're relatively cheap for one in fairly good condition.
They're also safer as they have a airbag and extra bars in the door. Better if you just want something to drive straight away every day.

[munkey26]

i wouldn't buy a restored one, you never know if it's filler and a shiny paint job
 
try and find a one owner,  little old lady, low mileage, never been welded mini

 
Well, that is my main worry to be honest, and I know I don't know enough to be able to tell  They don't seem to be the ones on the internet, which is a pain, every single one I've looked at has either been left to rot or restored

We've just picked up a lovely Rover Mini Sprite 1275 in white which needs a little work which we will have finished in the next 2 weeks or so. Very original including original interior, sales receipt and only done 50k miles.
Looking for £3k for it when finished

Pictures please!!     Where are you or where is the car? I'd need to have a look before I buy anything and bring my wonderful Father along!

Drop me a PM with your email address and I'll send the ones I took today

[lewBlew]

90s Minis rust worse than the earlier ones. Saying that, early ones are rarer. I'd go for a nice 80s one, that way you get mod-cons like, ummm.... er....windy windows?

 

The main thing I'd look out for is rust. If you do some research (there are buyers guides out there on the net) then you will know where to look. There are SO many areas, too many to list here.

 

After checking for rust and dodgy body repairs etc, I'd make sure there was good history and check how original the car is. Take your time and if it's local, come home and put some pictures up here. You'll certainly not be short of an opinion or two!

 

Engine and mechanics come last in my book. Every part is still manufactured and available, cheap and easy to repair.

[Gracey213]

Could always just get an MPi... they're relatively cheap for one in fairly good condition.
They're also safer as they have a airbag and extra bars in the door. Better if you just want something to drive straight away every day.

Good point, the airbag is definitely a plus with my Dad, he think I'm going to be killed the second I start driving one! I'm more of a cars were made for driving person, it's definitely not just going to be sitting there. Food for thought I think!

 

90s Minis rust worse than the earlier ones. Saying that, early ones are rarer. I'd go for a nice 80s one, that way you get mod-cons like, ummm.... er....windy windows?

 

The main thing I'd look out for is rust. If you do some research (there are buyers guides out there on the net) then you will know where to look. There are SO many areas, too many to list here.

 

After checking for rust and dodgy body repairs etc, I'd make sure there was good history and check how original the car is. Take your time and if it's local, come home and put some pictures up here. You'll certainly not be short of an opinion or two!

 

Engine and mechanics come last in my book. Every part is still manufactured and available, cheap and easy to repair.

Nice mod-cons there!! Hahaha!

 

I may have found someone to take along with me who knows about cars, he's said he can show me where the rust prone areas are (lets hope he doesn't just point to the whole car....) Plus my Dad wants to see the car before anything is decided. I'll post some pictures of what I find!

 

Hopefully things will work out, I'm hoping to try and find a one off seeller, I think they'll be easier to deal with and more understanding if I bring my Dad and half of Bolton to get an opinion on the car! Thank you for the advice though, it's stuff like that I probably would just rush through in excitement!

[Bungle]

 

i wouldn't buy a restored one, you never know if it's filler and a shiny paint job

 

try and find a one owner,  little old lady, low mileage, never been welded mini

 

Well, that is my main worry to be honest, and I know I don't know enough to be able to tell  They don't seem to be the ones on the internet, which is a pain, every single one I've looked at has either been left to rot or restored

 

 

they take a lot more finding and it's often word of mouth that gets you the car

 

join your local mini club and put the word about your looking, ask family members if they know of anything

 

they are still out there

 

a late 80's 998, with disk brakes should get you miniing for not too much money

 

but please remember this is a classic car and will need more tinkering than a modern euro box and you will need to be handy or have deep pockets, but on the bright side servicing is something you can do at home with a simple tool kit and less than £50 parts

 

you won't be into main steelers and big bills

[Gracey213]

they take a lot more finding and it's often word of mouth that gets you the car

 

join your local mini club and put the word about your looking, ask family members if they know of anything

 

they are still out there

 

a late 80's 998, with disk brakes should get you miniing for not too much money

 

but please remember this is a classic car and will need more tinkering than a modern euro box and you will need to be handy or have deep pockets, but on the bright side servicing is something you can do at home with a simple tool kit and less than £50 parts

 

you won't be into main steelers and big bills

 

I don't even know if there is a local mini club! I've never even thought of this!  Well, I was hoping joining here might help which it has already proven it will! I'll just have to have a hunt around.

 

I know I will have to learn the little tricks to keep everything on top form, I'll just have to try and learn them on the job as it were!  but that's why I'm looking for something that doesn't really need much doing as it is my first and I don't want it to be a bad experience. Lets bloody hope there aren't any big bills!! XD

[Alex_B]

Another option which is defo worth investigating is old school lews offer, the work I have seen in his thread looks fantastic and only been hearing good things from his customers, also having it tailored to your needs allows you to get pictures of the process and you will know what's been done rather than a filler and spray over ebay job which looks nice for a few months till the rust comes back which does happen when it's not been done properly

[Badboytunes]

Unless daddio is paying, id tell him to bugger off and get what you want within your budget  .

 

On a serious note you should be able to get a pukka car for that price. Look at loads and don't buy the 1st one.

 

As for later ones being safer with air bags ect, take that with a pinch of salt, get hit by an arctic at speed and your in trouble

 

whether you have an old or a newer Mini!!

 

Good luck and keep us posted. Lots of valuable info and advice on here.

[lewBlew]

Unless daddio is paying, id tell him to bugger off and get what you want within your budget  .

 

On a serious note you should be able to get a pukka car for that price. Look at loads and don't buy the 1st one.

 

As for later ones being safer with air bags ect, take that with a pinch of salt, get hit by an arctic at speed and your in trouble

 

whether you have an old or a newer Mini!!

 

Good luck and keep us posted. Lots of valuable info and advice on here.

 

Old ones are safer though because there is less of them for the arctic to hit - FACT!

[olds_kool_lews]

Another option which is defo worth investigating is old school lews offer, the work I have seen in his thread looks fantastic and only been hearing good things from his customers, also having it tailored to your needs allows you to get pictures of the process and you will know what's been done rather than a filler and spray over ebay job which looks nice for a few months till the rust comes back which does happen when it's not been done properly

Cheers for the kind words! All the minis we build/restore/repair all come with guarantees too, should anything break/fail, just bring it back and we'll sort it!

Should you want us to build your ideal car, or even just to take a look at the quality of our work in person, your more than welcome to our unit to see all the processes each mini goes through, from strip down, repair, sand blast, prime, paint and finally assemble! We even have our own paint mixing service, so you can have your mini ANY colour you want! Everything is done in house, which keeps costs down :)

[Badboytunes]

 

Unless daddio is paying, id tell him to bugger off and get what you want within your budget  .

 

On a serious note you should be able to get a pukka car for that price. Look at loads and don't buy the 1st one.

 

As for later ones being safer with air bags ect, take that with a pinch of salt, get hit by an arctic at speed and your in trouble

 

whether you have an old or a newer Mini!!

 

Good luck and keep us posted. Lots of valuable info and advice on here.

 

Old ones are safer though because there is less of them for the arctic to hit - FACT!

 

I meant newer classics  , which I think are just about the same sie as the earlier ones

 

[Steely]

 

You'd probably get a decent conditon standard 998 for that much, they do come up every now and then. I paid just over 2k for mine and when I first had it, it was bordering on mint. It's not so good now and I do try to look after it the best I can. So just have a good look around and look at a load.

I've already started having a look around but a lot of them seem to be unfinished projects which as much as I wouldn't mind buying my Dad would probably have a heart attack if he saw me buying one! How long ago did you buy yours?

 

I got mine just over 3 years ago from an old guy who restores MG's. I think I was pretty lucky to be honest, I didnt go to view the mini, I was actually there for a suzuki alto. It was raining so we went to his garage and thats when I saw the mini, said I'd love that mini really and next thing I know he's selling it and money paid and its mine! Didn't know anything at the time about what to look out for. Just bought it and luckily it was all good! All original unwelded panels underneath, very solid.

 

So it just shows that a bargain can be had, you just have to look in the right places. My one was never advertised anywhere. What places have are you looking?

 

There's:

Ebay

Car and Classic

Classic Cars for Sale

Gumtree

Pistonheads

Preloved

Edited by Steely, 16 May 2013 - 10:15 PM.

[sonikk4]

If you go for a car that has been "restored" ask for pictures or receipts for all of the work done. No pictures or receipts then walk away.

 

There are good cars out there but like already mentioned take somebody who knows what they are looking at. Remember the newer the mini the more likely it is to rust. Plus there is also the cost of insurance as well to take into consideration. 

[Gracey213]

If you go for a car that has been "restored" ask for pictures or receipts for all of the work done. No pictures or receipts then walk away.

 

There are good cars out there but like already mentioned take somebody who knows what they are looking at. Remember the newer the mini the more likely it is to rust. Plus there is also the cost of insurance as well to take into consideration. 

 

I never thought about asking to look at receipts! It's a good job you people are here because I'm clueless. Why is it more likely to rust if it's newer?? Oh lord, I don't even want to think about insurance!! 

 

 

You'd probably get a decent conditon standard 998 for that much, they do come up every now and then. I paid just over 2k for mine and when I first had it, it was bordering on mint. It's not so good now and I do try to look after it the best I can. So just have a good look around and look at a load.

I've already started having a look around but a lot of them seem to be unfinished projects which as much as I wouldn't mind buying my Dad would probably have a heart attack if he saw me buying one! How long ago did you buy yours?

 

I got mine just over 3 years ago from an old guy who restores MG's. I think I was pretty lucky to be honest, I didnt go to view the mini, I was actually there for a suzuki alto. It was raining so we went to his garage and thats when I saw the mini, said I'd love that mini really and next thing I know he's selling it and money paid and its mine! Didn't know anything at the time about what to look out for. Just bought it and luckily it was all good! All original unwelded panels underneath, very solid.

 

So it just shows that a bargain can be had, you just have to look in the right places. My one was never advertised anywhere. What places have are you looking?

 

There's:

Ebay

Car and Classic

Classic Cars for Sale

Gumtree

Pistonheads

Preloved

 

I've been hunting around on ebay and car and classic, I'll start on the others now! Bloody hell, sounds like you really were lucky!  Fancy giving me yours?? Hahaha!

 

 

Another option which is defo worth investigating is old school lews offer, the work I have seen in his thread looks fantastic and only been hearing good things from his customers, also having it tailored to your needs allows you to get pictures of the process and you will know what's been done rather than a filler and spray over ebay job which looks nice for a few months till the rust comes back which does happen when it's not been done properly

Cheers for the kind words! All the minis we build/restore/repair all come with guarantees too, should anything break/fail, just bring it back and we'll sort it!

Should you want us to build your ideal car, or even just to take a look at the quality of our work in person, your more than welcome to our unit to see all the processes each mini goes through, from strip down, repair, sand blast, prime, paint and finally assemble! We even have our own paint mixing service, so you can have your mini ANY colour you want! Everything is done in house, which keeps costs down :)

 

That would be really good! Even if I did get one, I'd want to come and see the work you do before hand. Nothing personal! It sounds like a really good place though! PM me the address please? 

 

Unless daddio is paying, id tell him to bugger off and get what you want within your budget  .

 

On a serious note you should be able to get a pukka car for that price. Look at loads and don't buy the 1st one.

 

As for later ones being safer with air bags ect, take that with a pinch of salt, get hit by an arctic at speed and your in trouble

 

whether you have an old or a newer Mini!!

 

Good luck and keep us posted. Lots of valuable info and advice on here.

Hahaha!   Well he isn't paying but he's loaning me the money and helping with the insurance which is a biggie! 

 

I'm just going to save the few that really catch my eye and then hopefully arrange to see one or two.

 

If that's how you think about it then it doesn't really matter what I do so I may as well drive round in a 'death box' because if I get hit by a tank it'll be the same in a mini or something boring like a toyota! YOLO has never been more appropriate 

 

I'll keep updating!

 

Another option which is defo worth investigating is old school lews offer, the work I have seen in his thread looks fantastic and only been hearing good things from his customers, also having it tailored to your needs allows you to get pictures of the process and you will know what's been done rather than a filler and spray over ebay job which looks nice for a few months till the rust comes back which does happen when it's not been done properly

I've already had a look at quite a lot, I'm trying to consider all the options that I have before I do anything but I'd like to see the place anyway first 

[lewBlew]

I'd consider Old School Lews offer because then you have the fun of buying a crusty old car, saving it, customising it or restoring it to your spec, and then if it goes wrong you know who to call! Be wary of other people's restorations - you will need receipts, photos etc etc of the work they've carried out.