Should I buy a MINI?

[bob540]

So I've wanted a mini for over 5 years now and I'll finally be able to get one pretty soon but I'm wondering if it's the right decision. I've never even sat in one let alone driven one so I'm a bit unsure and I'm looking for advice from someone who uses one as their main car. I just want to know about reliability, I'm hoping to get a later model 98 or 99 cooper. Fuel consumption, I'm driving a 1.0 corsa at the moment which is pretty efficient (but soul-destroyingly boring). And practicality, I don't do a huge amount of miles, just around town and a 50 mile round trip once or twice a week and I don't really carry anything in the car except shopping and that kind of stuff and I don't have kids so I don't think practicality regards size will matter. It seems like a perfect fit but I don't want to get one and then find out that it doesn't suit. Any help or input would be greatly appreciated

[MiniMpi]

Welcome to the forum
I used to have a 1998 Mini which I used as my daily drive for a few years.
Obviously it's a car designed back in 1959 so not modern(they have no power steering for example) but the later one's like you have selected, 1997 to 2000 are the best ones for day to day driving and also the most reliable.
They did a bit more maintenance than for instance your Corsa, much more regular oil changes with the CORRECT oil are ESSENTIAL as the gearbox and engine share the same oil.
They are outstanding FUN with a capital F.
Also ideally having it garaged overnight out of the elements etc for rust prevention.
The boot is not what you could call large.....
But saying all that they are great to drive.
There is a fabulous example for sale at the moment by a club member and has lots of added parts which would make it ideal as an every day car.
And it is for sale for a ridiculously cheap amount of money for a well sorted car that it is.
Check out the link here : viewtopic.php?f=11&t=4193

[bob540]

Thanks for the reply. The regular oil top ups are exactly the kind of thing I want to know about. Maintenance isn't something that would put me off, I'm a bit of a home mechanic so don't mind getting my hands dirty as long as I don't have to spend too much. The lack of power steering doesn’t bother me either, I've had cars without it before and I'd imagine with the mini weighing so little that it probably isn't that bad. I don't have a garage and I was a bit worried about rust alright, if I get a mini that has a completely rust free body to begin with would I be likely to hit rust problems in a short space of time keeping it outside? I thought about a good car cover for it but whether I'll actually put it on the car every night is another thing. I was actually looking at that mini on done deal, I think the tahiti blue is probably my favorite colour and it looks to be in exceptional condition and very well looked after, the only problem is that I'm not a fan of the interior (no offence to the owner it's just not the style I'd go for) and I don't think I could afford the car and a replacement interior.

[MiniMpi]

Sadly there probably isn't such a thing as a totally rust free Classic Mini.
But just looking after it with preventative Maintenance and you should be fine.
That's the thing with Mini's, everyone has different tastes so as some adore that interior some don't like it.

[bob540]

Do you think there would be a market for the interior? If I could sell it and recoup some of the money that I'd need to spend on a new interior then it could definitely work.

[bob540]

Had a quick look on eBay there and one sold for £250 not too long ago, time to do some maths I think

[AdyP]

Don't rush to plan changes before you buy it. My advise is to buy the car for the car, in the case of a Mini it is all about bodywork, followed by the mechanical bits. It you can live with an interior you are not crazy about then a bit of patience will find one you do.

I guarantee once you drive one of the little suckers you may forgive quite a lot

I like the tartan actually, reminds of my old Grandad's Austin 1300 GT!

[MiniMpi]

There is always a market for Mini bits, trim etc so it would sell.
As Adrian said though I would see what it's like for a week or two as it could grow on you.

[bob540]

Thanks for the reply lads, I appreciate the input. See I've been looking at minis for 5 years and at this stage I have a fairly specific idea of what I'm looking for, I'm not too bothered with colour as I'm a fan of pretty much all the colours so body, mechanics and interior are all I'm concerned with. My plan was to just wait for the perfect one to come along but by now I've realised that I may not find it so i figure the best thing to do is find the perfect body and mechanics and then change the interior if needs be because it's the easiest to deal with. Interior is the big thing for me cause that's what I'll be looking at most of the time and I get what ye are saying about it growing on me but I also don't want to end up with an interior I don't like and no cash left to change it out. The members mini looks really solid and it seems like it's been well looked after so I think it'd be a great car to start with I just want to be sure I can change it if I want to, definitely seems to be a good market out there for interiors so I should be able to claw back some cash. I can't find any Balmoral interiors for sale around, not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing though.

[AdyP]

Changing the seats and door cards is extremely easy compared to a modern car, you can even get them re-trimmed later on if you decide you need a custom job.

Sounds like you have the right idea about priorities now, and from what I heard the club car is an excellent starter for you. Light years better than my first one!

Welcome to the fun of Minis, you may take a break but there is no staying away unfortunately

[MiniMpi]

The Balmoral interior is quite rare to be honest so it should sell easy enough and it's literally a few minutes tops to change out the interior.
If you are interested in the car for sale, do make contact and view the car.
Whereabouts are you in the country

[bob540]

I'm living in Athlone here. Still doing a lot of miles every day and I don't want to put big miles on the mini plus I need to sell my own first so I'm not in a position to buy just yet and I don't want to waste the members time having him show me the car if I'm not in a position to buy it, I'll definitely get in touch when I'm ready to buy if he still has it. Anybody know what part of the country he's in?

[AdyP]

He is in the People's Republic

[Masterbiker]

He is in the People's Republic

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