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New Member - Looking At Buying A 1995...


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#1 Rampant

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Posted 02 July 2022 - 06:26 PM

Hello everyone, new around here and new to Minis.  Please go easy on the newb.

 

Currently looking at a bargain basement 1995 model (1275cc fuel injection) that's a bit scruffy but appears solid enough, but need help on what exactly to look out for so that I don't end up throwing money away.

 

The 2 most  concerning things I noticed were: first that the passenger side interior wheel-arch cover was a bit eaten by rust and delaminated, although I had a good poke at it and it seems solid not crumbly; and second that there was a small area on the underside of the shell, like a small dome shape, directly under the driver's seat area, that was beginning to succumb to crumbly rust - but this appeared localised in nature and not spreading  over a wide area.  Question is - would these dissuade you from buying at a bargain price of, say £5k or maybe a little less?

 

Seller took us out in it and it appeared to drive reasonably well.

 

Thanks

 

Mark H

   



#2 Carlos W

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Posted 03 July 2022 - 08:45 AM

Welcome to TMF.

Have a look at some of the projects on here to see where minis rot.

What is the front bumper lip like? The area around the windscreen, just in front of the rear wheels, the lip along the bottom of the rear side windows?

90s cars did like to rust.

Is the car for sale online?

#3 Rampant

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Posted 03 July 2022 - 10:43 AM

Hi Carlos. Thanks for the welcome.

Yes it's advertised on FaceAche. https://www.facebook...ook_story_share

The windscreen frame, rear windows and arches are all looking very sound, as is the bumper lip. One bit of small perforation on the front of bonnet shut-line area next to passenger headlamp but isn't crumbly. There's a bit of visible repair around where the scuttle meets the a pillar seams which seems to be a common area, difficult to tell if it's deep rot/alien rust/or sound repair under the scruffy DIY paint job.

I'm generally impressed with it given its age and price point.

Is it really possible that it's worthless junk or are these generally rescuable on modest budgets?

#4 sonscar

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Posted 03 July 2022 - 12:27 PM

Yes,no,maybe.I would walk away from a rusty Mini unless you are paying project money.Is 5K now project money?Replacing the scuttle could be a 2K repair.Are you able to do your own repairs?Are you happy with less than perfection?Difficult decisions,good luck with your search,Steve..

#5 Carlos W

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Posted 03 July 2022 - 06:02 PM

It's really hard to tell from the advert, a load of track day pictures.

#6 Rampant

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Posted 03 July 2022 - 07:58 PM

Couple of pics

Attached Files



#7 stuart bowes

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Posted 04 July 2022 - 09:42 PM

is £5 grand bargain basement now, I don't think so but I could be wrong

 

pricing ranges wildly have you looked at ebay to see if you can find similar age / condition as a comparison https://www.ebay.co....ni&_sacat=43123

 

it does looks tidy.. but hard to tell what horrors are hiding behind potential filler and respray

 

lift up the carpets and look at the metal in the footwells.  look in the corners of the boot underneath where the light clusters are. check the sills.  have a look at the subframes

 

check the legality on those led headlights as well because that can be a MOT fail depending on what type they are and who tests it

 

my link below on page 1 has some good examples of pretty classic rust points lol then again I only paid a grand and I'm happy to cut and weld

 

all the panels are a piece of p1s to get hold of and they're extremely simple cars in terms of stripping and rebuilding


Edited by stuart bowes, 04 July 2022 - 09:48 PM.





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