55 replies to this topic

[CityEPete]

I came to the same conclusion regarding the Cooper over a Cooper S Buckers, the S ones are quite cheap used so the Cooper looks to be the best at holding its value probably due to the running costs. Mine is a Chilli pack car so its actually lower and harder sprung with 16" rather than 15" wheels, fully loaded with privacy glass, chromline interior and exterior, cruise, no roof bars etc etc it's good fun and given the choice over our 1986 mini on a long drive it wins everytime, nipping to the shops I'll take the old one! The runflat tyres with the chilli pack suspension ruins the ride and handling so they have gone in exchange for regular tyres, cost us £8500 a year ago with 23k on the clock, its on 32k now, which with the options list it has was a bargain!

[CityEPete]

Oh and the R55 is both more practical and much cooler than a hatch :-D

Re the advice about chipping a MINI One to Cooper spec, the newer ones are not the same as the Cooper, 1.4 rather than 1.6 for a start.

[Ben_O]

When looking for Classic Mini's, does it have to be an MPI?

 

If so, why?

[buckers]

When looking for Classic Mini's, does it have to be an MPI?

 

If so, why?

 

No, just thought younger would be better nick, and generally get a nicer interior the younger it is. I'll take the kids occasionally, so thought better protection with side impact bars. Generally felt an MPI offered a more comfy version and better performance. to be honest I think I also had a mental block spending 5k+ on a car from 1990 that I last sold for £450.... at least an MPI was only 15 yo. 

 

This sounds crazy to those of you in the know, but it's not easy to readjust to the classic mini parallel universe where price, age, mileage, looks and condition do not appear to be correlated.

[Alex_B]

Oh and the R55 is both more practical and much cooler than a hatch :-D

Re the advice about chipping a MINI One to Cooper spec, the newer ones are not the same as the Cooper, 1.4 rather than 1.6 for a start.

Ahh balls, ignore me on that one, I thought they kept the engine size between the two models the same from first gen but apparently not 

[Alex_B]

 

When looking for Classic Mini's, does it have to be an MPI?

 

If so, why?

 

No, just thought younger would be better nick, and generally get a nicer interior the younger it is. I'll take the kids occasionally, so thought better protection with side impact bars. Generally felt an MPI offered a more comfy version and better performance. to be honest I think I also had a mental block spending 5k+ on a car from 1990 that I last sold for £450.... at least an MPI was only 15 yo. 

 

This sounds crazy to those of you in the know, but it's not easy to readjust to the classic mini parallel universe where price, age, mileage, looks and condition do not appear to be correlated.

 

Stick around here and you will see the MPIs do offer a more luxurious experience as the interior is much plusher however they offer the worst bodywork, its not uncommon to see later models rustier than the earlier counterparts just because the factory rust proofing was reduced to save costs in the last few years 

[Ben_O]

The late MPI Mini's are terrible when it comes to rust, no other rusted as badly and that was due to Rover being stingy with paint and underbody protection.

I have seen photos of some examples where there is bare primer or paint so thin you can see the primer through in really vulnerable areas.

 

I would start looking at late 80's, early 90's examples and If MPI interiors are important, then i would consider fitting an MPI interior to an earlier car.

 

Same goes for side impact bars, you can quite easily fit MPI doors to an earlier mini.

 

As for the Airbag, i wouldn't be putting alot of faith in a 15 year old airbag anyway so you may as well not worry.

 

There are some lovely 80's restored examples around and with the much simpler Carb setup, looking after them is much easier for a beginner.

 

Ben

[CityEPete]

Oh and the R55 is both more practical and much cooler than a hatch :-D
Re the advice about chipping a MINI One to Cooper spec, the newer ones are not the same as the Cooper, 1.4 rather than 1.6 for a start.

Ahh balls, ignore me on that one, I thought they kept the engine size between the two models the same from first gen but apparently not

Yes im not entirely sure where the engines overlap, the R55 only ever had a turbo rather than a supercharger on the S models afaik, to confuse things I think they did a 1.6 One and a 1.4 One, the convertible stayed as the older model after the Clubman came out too so that adds some confusion regarding the models and change over years as does the Clubman being made even though the hatch is now the 3rd generation F56 (?), lol

[CityEPete]

The late MPI Mini's are terrible when it comes to rust, no other rusted as badly and that was due to Rover being stingy with paint and underbody protection.
I have seen photos of some examples where there is bare primer or paint so thin you can see the primer through in really vulnerable areas.
 
I would start looking at late 80's, early 90's examples and If MPI interiors are important, then i would consider fitting an MPI interior to an earlier car.
 
Same goes for side impact bars, you can quite easily fit MPI doors to an earlier mini.
 
As for the Airbag, i wouldn't be putting alot of faith in a 15 year old airbag anyway so you may as well not worry.
 
There are some lovely 80's restored examples around and with the much simpler Carb setup, looking after them is much easier for a beginner.
 
Ben

I agree with this and for the budget you might get one already done for you.

[Anthony30]

I think if you buy an early BMW mini for 3k ish it would be cheaper to run, more reliable and better at motorway speeds. 😐

[Spud21]

 

When looking for Classic Mini's, does it have to be an MPI?

 

If so, why?

 

No, just thought younger would be better nick, and generally get a nicer interior the younger it is. I'll take the kids occasionally, so thought better protection with side impact bars. Generally felt an MPI offered a more comfy version and better performance. to be honest I think I also had a mental block spending 5k+ on a car from 1990 that I last sold for £450.... at least an MPI was only 15 yo. 

 

This sounds crazy to those of you in the know, but it's not easy to readjust to the classic mini parallel universe where price, age, mileage, looks and condition do not appear to be correlated.

 

 

Take a look at petrols build thread and you will see why a later car might not be the best if you are time constrained, it almost seems as if they were knocking any old crap from the factory as fast as they could and ditched most of the rust prevention to save money.

 

If you are thinking modern car for the money you have you could get a nice ep3 civic type R for that. Could also be worth looking at Abarth 500's if you want something small as i'm guessing they would be in budget.

[carthorse]

If you've got kids jumping in and out of the back the late cars have inertia reel belts in the back which makes life easier, but as others have said the rust issues can be epic and injection faults can be expensive to fix as well - they really were not very well built and good examples today will either be garage queens which have hardly been driven or cars which have had extensive body work and a respray.

If you want a cheapish nippy runabout how about a Pug 106 GTI or Rallye. I'm a big Pug fan of the '80s & early '90s cars and a good 106 gti is great fun, the Rallye version is getting rare now but may well be a classic of the future and there's a good owners club, forum and specialist support. In fact it's the closest I can think of to a modern take on the classic mini.

[Dzmarc]

If you've got kids jumping in and out of the back the late cars have inertia reel belts in the back which makes life easier, but as others have said the rust issues can be epic and injection faults can be expensive to fix as well - they really were not very well built and good examples today will either be garage queens which have hardly been driven or cars which have had extensive body work and a respray.

If you want a cheapish nippy runabout how about a Pug 106 GTI or Rallye. I'm a big Pug fan of the '80s & early '90s cars and a good 106 gti is great fun, the Rallye version is getting rare now but may well be a classic of the future and there's a good owners club, forum and specialist support. In fact it's the closest I can think of to a modern take on the classic mini.

 

I'm with Carthorse. I think you are potential looking at this from the wrong light, although that may be down as you say to a lack of knowledge. 

A well sorted classic or modern car that is well looked after will keep on going.

 

I acquired a Pug 205 a couple of years ago for nothing and got it running whilst I was between cars .... well that was the theory, its still ticking up the miles now. I wouldn't recommend it if you want handling though, as you can get sea sick when you go round corners there is that much under-steer and roll but still fun. Its got the most solid underside you have ever seen on a car that hasnt be touched and with routine check of all the essentials its still going.

 

I've then had work to do on a modern Ford KA and that was rusted like no tomorrow, (admittedly they are possible the worse car for it).

 

Anyway to the point, you obviously have a passion for classics, why not teach yourself the basics. If you are not doing many miles in it as a 2nd car you could easily pick up some the techniques from here and a Haynes manual and work on the easy bits. Just look for a well sorted car and enjoy it.

 

Then again if you are going down the modern route, they do have a lot better waxing and underseals and I would be surprised if you brought a modern car that had rust issues (although some are known). Mechanically they are harder to work on but again look for the obvious tell tales signs, mileage, does it look genuine, service history, body work condition, what work has been done, are there common faults in its service history, the state of the owners garden as well is a good indication of how well maintained a car is   etc.

 

Ultimately buying any car is a gamble, some pay off some don't, i've had both, i'm sure you've had both, its just about making yourself as informed as possible on the options available to you, which is what you are doing now, and I commend you. 

 

 

 

On a different note, I may have a well sorted MKIV for sale soon in your price range 

[CCX]

If you can find a restored MPi that might be better. As carthorse says, good MPis will either have really low mileage or have had lots of bodywork done - mine falls into the latter category! It's on 66k and there's no rust on the body at all, so there are solid MPis out there, you just need to look hard and be prepared to wait. That's why I like the idea of a stop gap car - you may have to wait 3 months + to get a really nice MPi at the right price. If you can get a solid, restored one, and you look after the bodywork and keep it in good order, that will cut out the main expensive area on a Mini. The mechanicals are cheap to fix compared to a modern car for the most part, it's the bodywork where things really get expensive. I always keep mine waxoiled underneath, keep the arches clean, polish and wax etc. The previous owner was very fastidious though, he even waxoiled on the inside, around the windscreen seal!

[buckers]

If you can find a restored MPi that might be better. As carthorse says, good MPis will either have really low mileage or have had lots of bodywork done - mine falls into the latter category! It's on 66k and there's no rust on the body at all, so there are solid MPis out there, you just need to look hard and be prepared to wait. That's why I like the idea of a stop gap car - you may have to wait 3 months + to get a really nice MPi at the right price. If you can get a solid, restored one, and you look after the bodywork and keep it in good order, that will cut out the main expensive area on a Mini. The mechanicals are cheap to fix compared to a modern car for the most part, it's the bodywork where things really get expensive. I always keep mine waxoiled underneath, keep the arches clean, polish and wax etc. The previous owner was very fastidious though, he even waxoiled on the inside, around the windscreen seal!

 

What sort of money is required to buy the condition you describe?