26 replies to this topic

[sonscar]

The value argument always amuses me,buy a new car say 40k drive it round the block and try to sell it back.Probably loose more than a nice Mini costs.Or rent a new car?Sure they are less safe but recent events show little is truly safe.Usually seen on dirty Landrovers. One Life,Live It.Just my elderly drivers opinion,Steve..

[Icey]

The value argument always amuses me,buy a new car say 40k drive it round the block and try to sell it back.Probably loose more than a nice Mini costs.Or rent a new car?Sure they are less safe but recent events show little is truly safe.Usually seen on dirty Landrovers. One Life,Live It.Just my elderly drivers opinion,Steve..

Apples and oranges comparing the cost of classics vs current range. I’ve owned a few new cars fresh off the forecourt, it’s a depreciating asset, everyone knows it, it’s not a revelation. But a classic, once its price has bottomed out, it’s an appreciating asset. So you treat it differently.

In the same way that some people wear a £100k ‘Moon Landing’ Rolex on their wrist everyday, you can drive a Mini everyday but be cognisant that if you wrap it around a tree (the car, not the watch) that’s one less than there was before - there’s no factory making them anymore.

I will agree, however, that cost vs value is a personal choice. The buyer and the seller agree the cost, it’s only the owner that can define the value and that’s part set by the objects utility. If using the *whatever* is of a higher value than it’s pure monetary cost - game on.

Edited by Icey, 10 July 2021 - 09:45 PM.

[vx220]

Thanks all for replies so far.

[vx220]

Just a thought, any good mini specialists in my area? Either general mini stuff, or specifically injection mini?

I'm in Basildin, work in Southend

[Colinmac1330]

I'm always amazed on here that everyone tries to put people off driving their minis everyday   . I guess it depends on where you live and the journeys you need to make but a mini suits me down to the ground as a daily.

[cal844]

The Mini is fun as a daily but is definitely not good in the winter, been there, done that!

[vx220]

I've daily driven them previously, but I was much younger then! Got to be better than the MR2 in the snow? Not that we get loads... MR2s both got me to work in the snow.

I think my main worries are it rotting away before my eyes, and something SPI or MPI related that can't be fixed

[sonscar]

Everything can be fixed;see this rusty wheelnut?.Finding someone to do it?Rust is a consideration but modern rustproofers can help until you become bored of applying them.I would suggest the more "hands on" type you are the more viable it can be.Shot down in flames time but it is only a car at the end of the day,respect it and you can get sterling service.If aircon ABS stop/start airbags traction control brake assist etc etc are important to you rent a modern hybrid.Just my views and I fully expect others to differ.Buy one,drive it for a while and if you cannot get on with it sell your appreciating asset.Have fun.Steve..

[MiniCarJack]

I personally daily drive my '91, which is a fairly basic Mini Neon with a carb'd 998 engine. It has an electronic distributor so no faffing around with points, and I've upgraded to a stage 1 kit for a little extra "go" which just helps it to keep up with modern traffic and improves motorway cruising ever so slightly - it's never going to shatter the earth with land speed records being a little 998 but it goes pretty well. I have had to spend a fair bit getting the car to a good standard in terms of rust and other worn components such as suspension cones, but am able to do a lot of work on it myself which I wouldn't necessarily feel as comfortable doing on a modern car, and this helps keep costs down of course. If kept in good order with preventative maintenance they can certainly be reliable but it helps to be handy and have a set of basic tools and spares to carry with you, just in case. There are also some things you can do to personalise and improve the car especially from a daily-driver point of view, for instance I've fitted comfy leather seats from an Alfa Romeo along with a nicer steering wheel, and will be adding some extra sound deadening soon to make the cabin a little more refined.

 

However it is worth commenting on the safety aspect - if you do loads of miles in heavy traffic, you do have to bear in mind that you're much smaller and therefore less visible to other road users, especially when they're in big 4x4s and are distracted by their phones along with having a generally poor standard of driving. I was unfortunately subject to a rear-end crash in my Neon a few months ago, luckily the at-fault driver's insurance has paid for all the repairs but after going through that experience, I'm going to be fitting a high level brake light and brighter bulbs for extra visibility, so that's something I would definitely recommend for a daily driver as well. You really do have to be quite aware of what's going on around you in a built up area when driving a little mini, I like to think I stay pretty alert and am a confident driver, but with other drivers sometimes a crash is unavoidable - so definitely do bear in mind that not only are you a smaller less visible car on the road, you've got practically no passive safety features like airbags to prevent injury (or worse) in a bad accident. With that in mind I'm personally OK with a little extra risk to myself as I really enjoy driving my mini around, but if I for example had young kids or took other passengers more frequently, I wouldn't be so keen.

[Shifty]

For daily use I'd go MPi, I think they are one the most usuable minis.

 

The gearing means they are happier on fast roads, decent MPG as well.

 

Utter rot boxes though, Rover really skimped on the paint.

[Mini Manannán]

I drive my '77 clubby estate every day, rain or shine.  I love it.  I have  a few 'mod cons' to make it nicer, modern seats etc.  Soon to be fabbing/grafting in a modern heater system which is making me look forward to the winter

[bpirie1000]

If i had my way i would have 2...

A winter preped on that i build in summmer and a summer one i build in winter...

Sure mini spares would build a few extensions from the profits though....