1 reply to this topic

[stormintrooper]

im lookin to buy one but need to know what to look out for
im lookin to spend no more than £3000
any and all help is apreciated

[roofless]

im lookin to buy one but need to know what to look out for
im lookin to spend no more than £3000
any and all help is apreciated

welcome to the loony bin - here are the basics to look for

check every inch of the car for heavy rust and perforations - if its got holes or the start of them its gonna cost money to sort out
lift all the carpets front and rear to see if there are any holes or water penetration
drive it - make sure it starts and stops well, corners properly and there are no nasty noises.
check all the gears up and down the box for any crunching
check the vin tags against the owners papers - there are alot of fakes coming to the surface as the minis get ever more popular.
check every electrical device to make sure it works
leave the car running and see what the temperature gets to after 5 minutes or so after a test drive
any smoke coming form the exhaust? walk away if there is, or be prepared for complex and expensive engine repairs
check the rocker cover top plug to see if there is any gunky white / cream mess - if there is the head gaskets gone
take the radiator top cap off ( carefully if its hot ) top up with fresh water and see if there are any bubbles being created in the water system - if there is the head gasket may be suspect
check the wheel alignment and the rear subframe alignment
if you can jack it up and check for play in the wheel bearings
have a look at how good or bad the electrical connections are like in the engine bay - they perish quickly
check under the back end and see that there are no bad rust problems or bad repairs around the back end rear subframe mountings.


for 3K you should get a really good car, but check everything twice. not everything that is shiny is good.