3 replies to this topic

[samt88]

This is my mini and I'm just wondering if anyone could give me a rough valuation...I bought it about a month ago and since have had another look around and realise I may well have been twiddled! 

 

It's done 22300 genuine miles (HPI check came out clean). The interior is pretty immaculate. The guy was a bit misleading on the condition of the bodywork, it's in good nick but he was claiming immaculate with no touchups! As you can see there have been touchups...I've included in the photos below. I also think he was a bit cheeky and used some temporary method to get some scratches off of it...I keep noticing new ones! 

 

Attached are some photos of the issues I've found as well as the car in general. 

 

Cheers,

Sam

 

 

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 IMG_3668.jpg   68.79K   12 downloads

 

Rusty grill below.

 IMG_3669.jpg   64.92K   15 downloads

 

Corrosion on the bonnet

 IMG_3670.jpg   39.23K   20 downloads

 

The touch ups and some rust too

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 IMG_3672.jpg   45.6K   31 downloads

 

 IMG_3673.jpg   49.01K   20 downloads

 

 IMG_3675.jpg   47.02K   23 downloads

 

 IMG_3676.jpg   47.99K   21 downloads

 

The boot had some surface rust in...depicted is by attempt to fix that!

 

 IMG_3674.jpg   48.08K   39 downloads

 

Pretty good interior! Original stereo and everything.

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 IMG_3679.jpg   40.23K   16 downloads

 

Under the carpets looks pretty good too.

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 IMG_3681.jpg   19.89K   11 downloads

 

 IMG_3682.jpg   19.67K   5 downloads

 

A ding on the front I only noticed after I bought the car - doh!

 IMG_3683.jpg   60.21K   47 downloads

 

[JimminyBob]

£1500ish depending on the tax and MOT. Those A panels need replacing and rust is creeping in under that headlight, not to mention the dent.

[AVV IT]

Hmmm no,  it's certainly not immaculate is it? Unfortunately the "touch ups" you mention look as if someone has just painted over the rust too, as opposed to actually trying to make any sort of repair. The problem with rust on a classic mini though, is that the rust that you can see is generally just "the tip of the iceberg", there's almost always a lot more lurking beneath the surface. As mentioned above, there is clearly rust in the seams beneath the headlamps, so you're eventually going to need a pair of new wing. If you do this sooner rather than later, then you'll probably be able to salvage the front panel beneath and sort out the dent at the same time. The bottoms of the A-panels are also starting to go, so these would need to be changed when replacing the wings. Unfortunately you do tend to find further corrosion to the panels behind, when you remove the A-panels though.

 

The underside of the bonnet lip is a problem common classic mini and can be easily treated and repainted, it doesn't really need to be a perfect repair either as it's largely out of sight. Classic mini front grilles get a lot of punishment and therefore are almost a consumable item. They are easily replaced, although the grey/black version that you have, can be more expensive and more difficult to get hold of, than the more common chrome items.

 

The rear quarter panels tend to rust from the inside out, so you really need to lift the cardboard liners from the bottom of the rear companion bins and take a look at the inside of those panels and the bottom of the bins as well, to see the full extent of the problem. Surface rust on the rear sub frame is very common, but you really need to take a look under the car to see the extent of the problem. I would also be interested to see the state of the sills on this car, as these are also a common classic mini rot spot. It's also a common bodge to paint over them with hammerite, or underseal to disguise the corrosion 

 

Classic Mini Rear subframes are notorious for corrosion and left unprotected the whole sub frame will eventually need replacing. So you really need to get under the car and have a good look at the whole subframe to see the extent of the problem. Whilst your under there, have a good look at the underside of the boot floor as well. Unless you have a leak and there is rain water getting into the boot, then the classic mini boot floor tends to rust from the underside-up. Meaning there may well be rust more lurking beneath the "surface rust" that has been painted over in the boot. The rear valance (the panel on the back of the car beneath the rear bumper) is another common problem, particularly in the corners, so have a look there too!

 

As for value, if it's roadworthy and has a full-ish MOT then £1,400 to £1,600 is probably about right, if it has a short MOT then around £1,200 and if it has no MOT at all, then more like £900.

 

 

Hope this is helpfull

[samt88]

Thanks guys - looks like I was definitely twiddled! Should've done far more research apparently!

I can say though that the boot rust was just surface as I sanded it back to bare metal before repainting.