£5k car buying challenge.

[Kiltox]

Pez station shot

Calendar shot right there

[Mr_Bo11ox]

SHITE LIVIN'

[Alexg]

So, yeah. I've bought a Mini. Not cheap at first glance, £3211, especially with 103k, but with many redeeming features. I first considered bidding due to the low ownership, 3 from new, with the current since 2001. The MOT history was astonishingly good, no mention of rust, not even as an advisory! Plus it had over 12 months! I always wanted a Mini, reading MiniWorld as a teenager and planning my ideal spec, but it never happened.

 

First impressions with the Mini on arrival were very good. It looked nice and bright in Tahiti Blue with far less rust than I could have hoped for. There are a few bits in the usual places, under the headlamps, a very small amount on door bottoms and under the screen, but it's not rotten.

 

It's almost all original, when most others have been patched up and repainted (badly) several times over in this price range or more. Most of the mileage is motorway from earlier in its life apparently. The bloke was in the RAF doing logistics and kept it dry stored on various bases after waxoiling the hell out of it. It's been preserved really well.

 

There's a Union flag decal on the roof that's deteriorated so needs removing ideally, a dent in a boot lid, and some lacquer peal on the front and rear where L plates were fitted. Part of the grill surround is missing, but pieces of it are in the car. Easy and cheap to replace anyway. Otherwise it's very good.

 

Inside the leather seats are in good order and the whole thing is remarkable for 100+k.

 

Driving back was a drag because of the traffic, it pulls well, drives straight and, like most Minis, is pretty uncomfortable. There's a stack off bills plus a handwritten log of all oil changes etc. The owner recently replaced the fuel pump with a cheaper aftermarket job. It's noisy, very noisy actually, sounding like someone running their nails down a blackboard. It's fine when the radios on, but that was on the back seat since it apparently stopped working. So that was fun.

 

It cruised along doing 60 at 3000 rpm, which feels plenty quick enough. I did coax it up to 70 but thought better of it. Soon after hitting the M25 there was a rattle on acceleration. Doesn't happen at idle, only when under load. I'm hoping it's just an exhaust mount or something as seemed inconsistent. The engine itself though is as sweet as you could dream of.

 

Overall I'm chuffed with it. I just hope there's no gearbox issues as there's deffo a profit in it! Just need to invest in a new fuel cap.

[SiC]

I like it! Not dull at all. Always fancied experiencing a Mini but they're all silly money now. Doesn't seem too bad a price for what they are now.

 

The British Fiat 500.

 

I guess it's fuel injected?

[3VOM]

Pez station shot

 

Most Autoshite petrol station shot ever!