by "Laurence" (mrlaurence)
Published 02/11/2017 at 07:38
by "Laurence" (mrlaurence)
Published 02/11/2017 at 07:38
Tags: Mini
; valuation
STARS: 0
I’m really short on money at the moment, and due to a lot of issues, I feel like the best way to sort them is by getting rid of my Mini. I honestly thought I’d keep it forever, and I know I’ll probably regret selling it, but right now, it seems to be the best solution. As a result, I’m looking for a rough valuation. Mini prices are all over the place, and I’d rather have a realistic price than a ‘I don’t really want to sell it and want every penny I’ve put in back’ value, so I’m asking for oppos opinions on what it might be worth. Heres the best description I can come up with of the car (if I’ve left anything out, ask in the comments and I’ll do what I can to help)
1999 Rover Mini 1.3i MPI - Nightfire Red with ‘Balmoral’ half leather interior and Pepper Pot alloys. About 81,000 Miles.
The good
- MOT Until 27th July
- Full service History; every repair and bit of work on the car has been documented with the paperwortk to prove it
- Pretty solid, especially for a Mini, though there is some small spots of rust
- almost entirely original, though it has got some small changes and went through a minor restoration in early 2016
- Runs fine, with no unusual noises or problems I know of
- £600+ worth of work done for the last MOT, including two new front tyres
- The worlds most amazingly powerful heater.
Now, the Bad
- Some areas of rust - the worst areas are below the Drivers-side headlight (see Photo below) , and some bubbling along the bottom of the doors. Other than this, it is mostly rust free, and as far as I know, original (somehow). The only repair I can see has been a patch welded to rear of one sill.
- Alloys, especially the fronts, have some Kerbing and damage.
- The glovebox rattles and squeaks so much, that I’d say it makes more noise than the engine. Someone also drilled a hole about the size of a small coin into the plastic back piece of this. (I’ve covered over this using a sticker)
-Could do with an alignment, as the steering wheel is at a slight angle when the wheels are straight.
- Shitty aftermarket Sony CD Player, with tiny, hard to use buttons and two equally crappy speakers on the rear parcel shelf (though the speakers are OEM as far as I’m aware)
- Some small pieces of trim are starting to fall off in places.
- Dent on the roof from where an idiot sat on it.
- A couple of chips on the passenger side of the windscreen. The MOT tester said nothing about them, so they’re probably far enough away from the driver to not be an issue.
That’s all I know of, if anyone has any idea what it might be worth, or if I’ve missed anything off, please let me know.
These photos were taken a few months ago, but it’s grey and miserable outside, and the car is currently in a tiny garage, so getting decent photos could be an issue. I’ve posted plenty of photos on here, and can try and get a few more though.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
02/11/2017 at 07:47, STARS: 1
No idea what I could tell you the value is....I’ve not enough knowledge of these little fellas to tell you. :(
That being said, I hate that you have to sell the little thing. It’s a shame when us Oppos have to get rid of our pride and joys. :(
Do you still have a DD ride to get around?
"OPPOsaurus WRX" (opposaurus)
02/11/2017 at 07:58, STARS: 1
Option B get more monies
you could whore yourself out to a thousand fat chicks for 50 bucks apiece. Or - or - or 50 *really* fat chicks for a thousand bucks.
If it was that easy I’d still have my wrx
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 08:04, STARS: 0
I really don’t want to sell it haha, I’m hoping I can find a way to keep it somehow.
This is my only car, but I also think that I could pretty much cope without it, for a year or so, at least.
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 08:04, STARS: 0
Haha, I wish it was that simple XD
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
02/11/2017 at 08:06, STARS: 1
not a lot i’m guessing.
"Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell." (oppisitelock)
02/11/2017 at 08:07, STARS: 1
Considered doing some delivery work? Ive started doing it recently and I make about 50 quid for 5 hours work a night.
Besides that last I looked this was a £4-5000 car but I dont know what the market is like now. I would get the alignment fixed too, its a 15 quid job that can add a lot of value.
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 08:17, STARS: 0
Sounds interesting. May look into that. A tenner or so an hour doesn’t sound too terrible to me.
The 4-5k figure sounds promising though, since that’s about how much the car owes me at this point.
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 08:17, STARS: 0
This doesn’t sound too promising...
"pip bip - choose Corrour" (hhgttg69)
02/11/2017 at 08:25, STARS: 1
then again i could be wrong as i’m not familiar with the UK used car market
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 08:34, STARS: 0
It depends how you look at it really, the market in the UK for minis is pretty good, even cars that have sat in a field for 20 years and really ought to be scrapped generally make more money than they should do, but equally, lots of purists don’t like the later cars like mine, so actual, realistic prices can be hit and miss, especially for one with a few little faults that isn’t in pristine, as new condition
"In a Mini; let them mock me as My Mini Countryman is higher than you" (hoontheangelsing)
02/11/2017 at 09:59, STARS: 0
In the US he would get a lot for it
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
02/11/2017 at 11:04, STARS: 1
In the UK, not much unfortunately :(
It’s a late model with enough problems to keep the price down. I would say around 1500 GBP for it if you plan on actually selling it... More and I think the car will stay unsold forever.
Minis prices are all over the place because they simply don’t have the same collectability. A 1972 model with the 1275cc is not going to be worth like yours unfortunately.
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 11:27, STARS: 0
Hold on, 1.5k? I understand that mini values vary massively, but I’ve seen rolling shells of a similar vintage to this sell for around that price...
I certainly appreciate the input though. If that’s all it’s worth, it’s definitely staying.
"SpeedSix" (speedsix)
02/11/2017 at 11:45, STARS: 1
Keep in mind that most on Oppo won’t fully understand the British used car market and the effect of MOT, of company cars, and how Minis fare as used cars versus other options, etc.
"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
02/11/2017 at 14:23, STARS: 1
I hope you can keep it too.....I would feel terrible having NO car, let alone losing my pride and joy! :(
Good luck mate!
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 15:00, STARS: 1
Thanks! I’m lucky enough that I could rely on public transport if I had to, but I really don’t want to sell it - it’s hopefully just a last resort for if things get really tough
"Flavien Vidal" (flyingfrenchy)
02/11/2017 at 15:29, STARS: 1
That’s roughly how much it would sell for privately in Japan and I can’t imagine it being much more expensive than that in the UK... In the US you could get good money if you had a 1991 model and exported it. But yeah, fuel injected late model with rust bubbles and issues are cheap. Very clean, it could fetch 3500 to 4000 gbp though so restoring it might be very well worth it...
It was the case for mine. Bought a carbed 1991 1000cc one for 1700 euros 2 years ago. It needed a new paint and a few dings needed repair. I spent about 1200 euros into it but I could sell it for 4000 euros fairly quickly now. French market is noticeably higher than UK’s one though.
"Laurence" (mrlaurence)
02/11/2017 at 15:58, STARS: 0
Ah, that’s possibly why - towards the end of production, most minis ended up getting exported to Japan, so most survivors are there now. When I bought this one, I considered reimporting one from there, as it could have worked out slightly cheaper, but I didn’t want the stress and hassle of doing that, so I bought a more local one instead.
I like to think I’m not too unrealistic, but considering how much I’ve paid for this car, and how long it took to find one at that price, I just think that 1500 is a loss I wouldn’t be willing to take. I’ve perhaps been a little harsh on the car too - none of the rust is terminal, and none of it is anywhere near structural areas, just small spots here and there.
That said, you are a mini owner yourself, so I’ll certainly bear in mind what you’ve said. Thanks.
"190octane" (admiralcb)
02/12/2017 at 13:04, STARS: 1
I want one of these because I’ve heard they’re like little go karts to drive... unfortunately I live in the US so we can’t get the real ones here for cheap.