21 replies to this topic

[Unkle Paulie]

Good Evening All

I have been looking to purchase a Mini for quite some time and have finally found one, probably the wrong time of year but that's life!

However I am very nervous about storing it over the winter and am wondering if I should buy it...

Sadly I don't have a garage nor one I can use at present so it will have to stay on my drive.

I will of course seek to buy a quality cover and would like to run it at weekends when dry but am I running the risk of it rusting?

Are there owners who store their Mini's like this and if so have you suffered with rust etc?

Thoughts and advice very much appreciated...

Thanks...

P

[wile e coyote]

Don't be too paranoid - if it's fairly rust free then treat any obvious, nicks, scratches, rust patches (at minimum, and concentrating on the easily available  rub down slap some jenolite on, followed by some zinc based stuff and that should hold it pending proper repairs at your convenience / better weather........ a few coats of wax wouldn't hurt either.....

 

It won't dissolve being outside for winter and personally I wouldn't bother with a cover........ I'd be more worried about leaving it on your drive - make sure it has some security .....

[Unkle Paulie]

 
It won't dissolve being outside for winter and personally I wouldn't bother with a cover........ I'd be more worried about leaving it on your drive - make sure it has some security .....

Many thanks for your reply. I did wonder about a cover as I had heard that they can do more harm than good.. As for security what are the best options?

[wile e coyote]

With the desirability of decent minis only on the increase, worth of cars in parts, the ease of changing ID and their pathetic locks they're very easy to "liberate" - some easy free precautions -  personally I'd park it in if at all possible disconnect the battery, remove the rotor arm put the steering on full lock, remove the steering wheel and take three wheel nuts off a wheel....(latter one a bit of overkill and you must remember you've done it - otherwise things could get very nasty very quickly)

 

....should make sure you've still got your car ready to be enjoyed come spring.....

[1984mini25]

If you leave a mini parked up in even a moderately dry garage it will rust, rubber parts will degrade, brakes will seize and the battery and tyres will go flat.

 

If you leave a mini outside unused, it will still rust along with the other stuff. But depending upon how good the window and door rubbers are, you'll mostly likely end up with damp mouldy carpets and seats too. A car cover seams like a good idea until it starts scratching the paint, trapping moisture witch will also ruin the paint.

 

The best thing you can do is just drive the bloody thing. It will still rust anyways, but at least with being driven the car gets to dry out and air and might be more reliable than a pampered one that never gets used. Just when it does come time to fix the rust, do it properly and not just slap some chemical treatment and filler or paint over it expecting it to go away, it won't. There is no such thing as surface rust on a mini as most of the panels rot from the inside of panels and seams first.

[mab01uk]

For security a Disklok should be used as your minimum defence......see tests in links below:-

http://www.autoexpre...s/95033/disklok

 

http://www.ovat.be/A...AutoExpress.pdf

 

Many Mini's have been stolen from peoples driveways, so if possible also block it in with a modern more secure car behind.

Special TMF section for reports of stolen Mini's:-

http://www.theminifo...en-mini-alerts/

[Sag]

I keep mine in a portable garage,had it a good few years now,it's just stood up against all the bad wind we've had and were right up on the tops Holmfirth
https://www.machinem...instant-garage/

Edited by Sag, 29 December 2016 - 05:16 PM.

[billy big skid]

We have a Halfords cover on ours. I like the idea of covers because they afford a little camouflage, we also have a disc lock on it too. In winter it lives in a unit i hired to do renovations.

[humph]

A good quality outdoor cover with straps pulled tight & a disklock as a bare minimum.  I have disklocks on all our cars and can't stress how important they are, they're the only reason we still have one of them as the theiving scum couldn't get it off even with the key!.  Worth every penny in my opinion.

[Mini-Mad-Craig]

 

 

The best thing you can do is just drive the bloody thing. 

 

Sorry but this just isn't true. You would be crazy to drive a classic Mini, especially a restored one through winter if you don't have to. With the quality of a lot of the parts these days they will be rusty come next years summer from our experience! And that's even if you're using decent products like Bilt Hamber to protect them. 

[AlexMozza]

 
 
The best thing you can do is just drive the bloody thing. 

 
Sorry but this just isn't true. You would be crazy to drive a classic Mini, especially a restored one through winter if you don't have to. With the quality of a lot of the parts these days they will be rusty come next years summer from our experience! And that's even if you're using decent products like Bilt Hamber to protect them. 

It's a car, designed to be driven.
Even a restored one will rust again one day.
Might as well get out and use them, or sell them to someone who will :)

[greenmini1275]

I drive my car daily, I've owned it for two years, the previous owner for 10 years, the one before that from new (1990). It got restored 5 years ago, I drive it all year round with no issues, well apart from cold starting, I see no issue with it. My car sits in the street all year round with a number of descreat and a number of obvious security devices. Had no issues with that. Rust is sadly a fact of life, you could spend £40k on a BMW M3 (or similar) and it will still rust. Unfortunately that's what happens when you mix metal, water and rock salt. Ask any Alfa Romeo driver about this this. If you worry about a car rusting then you might as well not bother buying one. You can spend as much money preventing rust as you can repairing it, besides half the fun of owning a classic car is working on it. Security, however is always worth investing in.

[greenmini1275]

I drive my car daily, I've owned it for two years, the previous owner for 10 years, the one before that from new (1990). It got restored 5 years ago, I drive it all year round with no issues, well apart from cold starting, I see no issue with it. My car sits in the street all year round with a number of descreat and a number of obvious security devices. Had no issues with that. Rust is sadly a fact of life, you could spend £40k on a BMW M3 (or similar) and it will still rust. Unfortunately that's what happens when you mix metal, water and rock salt. Ask any Alfa Romeo driver about this this. If you worry about a car rusting then you might as well not bother buying one. You can spend as much money preventing rust as you can repairing it, besides half the fun of owning a classic car is working on it. Security, however is always worth investing in.

[1984mini25]

 

 

 
 
The best thing you can do is just drive the bloody thing. 

 
Sorry but this just isn't true. You would be crazy to drive a classic Mini, especially a restored one through winter if you don't have to. With the quality of a lot of the parts these days they will be rusty come next years summer from our experience! And that's even if you're using decent products like Bilt Hamber to protect them. 

It's a car, designed to be driven.
Even a restored one will rust again one day.
Might as well get out and use them, or sell them to someone who will :)

 

 

Exactly, or other wise al these barn finds would be in immaculate condition.

 

Mine has been parked up on the dive for the last few months, so hasn't seen any salt this year (not that its really been cold enough this year). But the battery is now past a recharge, and there is rust already bubbling up behind the paint along the wing to front panel seams that were replaced 2 years go.

[AlexMozza]

Mine lives in a garage, but if I want to drive it, I will. Even in rain, sleet, snow, mud.
Why, because it's just so much fun. The price of replacing panels every 8years or so is worth it!