Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't. 

"My citroen won't start" (lucasboechat) 02/26/2016 at 14:56 • Filed to: None

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It’s $17,500 and I want it god dammit.

JGrabowMSt > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 14:57

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Its autotragic.

My citroen won't start > JGrabowMSt 02/26/2016 at 14:58

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I don’t mind that, I’ve never seen another one IRL or for sale in Brazil.

JGrabowMSt > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:00

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Is it

bulletproof?

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:03

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If you’re happy with auto then I see no problems here. If you likes it you likes it.

My citroen won't start > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 02/26/2016 at 15:03

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I’d prefer a manual but those are impossible to find.

bob and john > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:03

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its to nice to hack apart and make this:

!!! UNKNOWN CONTENT TYPE !!!

AndyG_UK > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:05

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It’s a wee bit pricey and an auto, not beyond the skills of an average mechanic to change to a manual, what engine is in her? If it’s a 998 or standard 1275, rip it out and find either a Metro MG engine and box or an MG turbo engine and box for much more fun, swapping an engine in a mini is childs play. My first car was an 84 Mini Mayfair that ended up with the engine and gearbox out of my mates 71 Cooper S in it after he rolled it, plus it cost only £1500 to buy the strangely rust free car when my parents bought it me for my 17th in 1992.........

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:07

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The only reason I can give you is that you can find cars that I like for that price, it would be cool, cannot lie.

My citroen won't start > AndyG_UK 02/26/2016 at 15:08

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Weirdly enough the ad doesn’t mention what engine is in it. I know it is a 78 and there is this picture

My citroen won't start > JGrabowMSt 02/26/2016 at 15:08

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I don’t think I could cope with the weight.

My citroen won't start > 66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash 02/26/2016 at 15:09

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Sure, there are other cool cars, but this one caught my eye.

bingham123 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:10

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Reason not to buy it no.1 its $17.500

reason to buy it.... its a mini and minis are cool, not 17k cool but cool non the less

My citroen won't start > bingham123 02/26/2016 at 15:13

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It’s the only one for sale I could find, all the other ones in the US are more expensive

AndyG_UK > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:14

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Christ it’s got a brake servo in it! I know the A plus engines it was yellow block for 998 and red for 1275, I aint sure on earlier ones, am sure all later ones had the 1275 with the auto box, the Cooper S block in mine was green but that was from a 71 model, god knows! lol

PS9 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:16

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Brazilian drug lords/crooked g-men will steal it from you.

My citroen won't start > PS9 02/26/2016 at 15:16

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A 1978 Mini Cooper auto?

McMike > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:17

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$17K is really expensive for an non-cooper. Not sure what an automatic transmission is doing in that. I don’t think they made any Coopers that weren’t manual.

http://www.minimania.com/Cars4Sale_list…

AndyG_UK > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:17

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BTW, how much is the lovely blue Stag inside the showroom in the background? God I love Triumph Stags, especially in that blue!

bingham123 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:18

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ohhhh yeah your in ‘murica. it makes me think i should start exporting cars to america, i could pick up a decent mini for around £500-2k and then spend around the same for shipping, then sell it for 15-20k.

i think that iv found my next job lol

My citroen won't start > bingham123 02/26/2016 at 15:20

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Naah, I’m in Brazil, so it is even rarer here.

PS9 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:20

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You underestimate your oppo fame. It’s just a cooper now, but if you buy it, it’s value will appreciate by about 10,000x.

It’ll be at mecum auto auctions in florida 3 months from now if you buy it. Opening bid will be about $500k.

My citroen won't start > McMike 02/26/2016 at 15:21

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I’m curious as to what engine is in it. The block is green, the normal Mini have red and yellow blocks according to Andy.

My citroen won't start > AndyG_UK 02/26/2016 at 15:24

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17,700 British Pounds. Looks really nice too.

bingham123 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:24

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dont worry mate, i will ship you one over lol

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > bingham123 02/26/2016 at 15:24

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Find me a decent mini for £500 and ill buy it right now. You can just about get a shell for that. £2k gets you an okay low spec car.

bingham123 > McMike 02/26/2016 at 15:25

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they did make a auto mini as far as i remember, theres not that many about, even here in the uk

Twism > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:26

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It’s been said, but here goes:

it’s an automatic MINI for 17,500.

You can get something with 5 times more HP and twice as fun for about half the price (very rough estimates here, but I’m too lazy to find an example).

My citroen won't start > PS9 02/26/2016 at 15:27

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“Lot N 289 -Mini Cooper Auto that belonged to the famous Brazilian suspension oil trafficker Citroen Escobar"

bingham123 > Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. 02/26/2016 at 15:27

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theres one for sale near me for 550, it needs a new passenger door and tires. will see if its there tomorrow and get a picture

Steve in Manhattan > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:29

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1) slushbox; 2) death trap; 3) parts likely difficult to get; 4) death trap; 5) did I mention death trap?

My citroen won't start > Steve in Manhattan 02/26/2016 at 15:32

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But it would be perfect for city driving, still a death-trap.

My citroen won't start > bob and john 02/26/2016 at 15:34

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It’s even the same color!

The problem is that I have the mechanical prowess of a blue lobster.

Shane MacGowan's Teeth > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:34

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Seventeen five will buy you a lot more speed than that. Or fun.

Maybe not personality. But since that personality is all “I can look at the bottom of brodozer’s bumpers”...

My citroen won't start > Shane MacGowan's Teeth 02/26/2016 at 15:35

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Speed I agree with, fun and personality I’m not so sure.

Dasupersprint - base trim is enough > Steve in Manhattan 02/26/2016 at 15:35

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3) isn’t true, there’s plenty of suppliers and you can buy every single part new. I agree with 1)

Jonee > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:37

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They’re so much goddam fun. If you want it and can afford it, there are no reasons not to do it. How come they’re so hard to find in Brazil? They were never exported down there?

Jonee > Steve in Manhattan 02/26/2016 at 15:39

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Every car made before 1995 is a death trap now relatively. Are we supposed to lock all those cars away?

66671 - 200 [METRIC] my dash > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:39

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Yeah you should probably be careful about impulse buying, but I don’t have to worry about it because I don’t have the money lol.

KnowsAboutCars > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:40

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Probably the original 1.0 or 1.3 A-series. According to Wikipedia the earlier ones were painted green but that car is probably from the 80's or 90's so the engine has likely been repainted.

Steve in Manhattan > Jonee 02/26/2016 at 15:40

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Not at all - but if I’m driving it every day, I want every airbag you can stuff into the thing.

My citroen won't start > Jonee 02/26/2016 at 15:41

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During the military dictatorship imports were prohibited as an incentive to the national car industry.

Jonee > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:42

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Ah, right. Well, you got all those cool VW variants. And Gurgels.

My citroen won't start > KnowsAboutCars 02/26/2016 at 15:44

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The ad says 78, but yeah, probably repainted or not the original engine.

fourvalleys > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:45

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Reasons 1-100 not to buy it: It’s an automatic.

Mine has less power than that one, sure, but I couldn’t imagine giving up any of the pep I do have left for an automatic. Parts for the automatic are much harder to find, too. I don’t know what the market is like down there in Brazil, but I wouldn’t ever touch an automatic Mini unless someone was giving me the deal of the century.

My citroen won't start > Jonee 02/26/2016 at 15:45

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Most Gurgels are rotten by now, and as much as I respect Beetles and the air-cooled bunch they are too common here, so they do nothing for me.

My citroen won't start > fourvalleys 02/26/2016 at 15:49

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The market situation is: this is the only one to pop up for sale in years.

fourvalleys > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 15:50

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Alright, another question. How’s the import situation? Hah.

My citroen won't start > fourvalleys 02/26/2016 at 15:52

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Probably about 150% import tax plus all the shipping fees and costs plus the bureaucracy.

Jonee > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 16:05

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I hear you. Shame about the Gurgels, although everyone says they were crap. I’d love to find a one myself one day. I saw one in person in Panama once and fell in love with the weirdness.

My citroen won't start > Jonee 02/26/2016 at 16:09

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They were crap if you just saw them as cars, but the ideas and concepts were far ahead of his time, Gurgel created some pretty awesome city cars.

McMike > bingham123 02/26/2016 at 16:37

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I’m aware of the 4 speed Mini-matic (starting in 1965), I just don’t think they ever made any Cooper autos.

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 16:44

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1. It’s automatic. These should only be had with the manual.

2. The steering wheel is on the wrong side.

3. It will break down.

4. After you break down, someone will smash into you and you will die.

5. You should really use the money to fix your Citroen so it will start.

Cé hé sin > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 16:57

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Quite apart from the price ( you can buy - or rather I could buy - a decent SM for that) -it’s an automatic. If it gives trouble parts for the ‘box can’t be got anymore.

Cé hé sin > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 16:59

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It’s not a Cooper! Just a plain Mini.

Cé hé sin > McMike 02/26/2016 at 16:59

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Nope, it’s a common or garden Mini.

Twingo Tamer - About to descend into project car hell. > bingham123 02/26/2016 at 17:44

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Hmm £550 mini usually = terrifying rust.

unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 18:10

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I’d tell you to get it even though it has an automatic. But isnt armoring a requirement for you? I can’t imagine a mini with armor plating.

AuthiCooper1300 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 18:40

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It is a 998. The shape of the head casting and the shape of the top radiator hose give it away. It is an A+ block: the lugs for the alternator are already in the right position.

17.000 dollars is crazy for a Mini. Are import duties so terrible in Brazil??

Not many automatics anywhere except in Japan, but as it has been said before, putting a 1275 engine with its own manual gearbox is very easy.

Notice that although it is possible to put a manual gearbox under an automatic block you do need certain special parts (some enterprising guys are manufacturing them).

AuthiCooper1300 > AndyG_UK 02/26/2016 at 18:41

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I understand you mean “all later auto boxes had 1275 engines” and not the other way round.

Interestingly by 1971 Cooper S engines were painted... black.

AuthiCooper1300 > My citroen won't start 02/26/2016 at 18:56

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There are quite a few items in that car that did not exist in 1978. The interior (seat upholstery in particular) looks suspect. Wheels, badges, stickers and trim suggest it is a very late 80s car. Or a 1990 one, right before they switched to injection. That explains the servo and the modern-style windscreen washer fluid bottle.

Someone gave the car an earlier identity to make it easier to export to other countries... maybe it was a failed US export?

My citroen won't start > unclevanos (Ovaltine Jenkins) 02/26/2016 at 19:15

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Not really, if it’s something I going to drive during rush hour or at night (like the Range) I need it to be armored. My Citroen and the Subaru are not.

AndyG_UK > AuthiCooper1300 02/27/2016 at 04:34

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The one in mine was dark green, the car had been rebuilt a few times before it was finally totalled by my mate, the engine had been rebuilt by the previous owner, maybe he painted the block? I can’t believe that a 79 mini with a 998 A+, auto box and much later interior would be worth $17k anywhere, it does look very tidy though!

AuthiCooper1300 > AndyG_UK 02/27/2016 at 07:05

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Most likely the PO painted it with Morris Green paint, as in the Mk1 and Mk2 Coopers. Your car was an Mk3, hence the black engine (which was not quite the same as the one in Mk1 and Mk2 “S” cars).

As I wrote earlier in a comment that is still grey, that is probably a much later car which has been given an old identity/title/V5.

I agree, 17,500 dollars is crazy for a 998 auto Mini (and for many other Minis besides, although prices for tidy ones in general seem to be rather high at the moment).

Shane MacGowan's Teeth > bob and john 02/27/2016 at 11:06

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Thanks for posting that and eating all my free time :/

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > My citroen won't start 03/01/2016 at 21:18

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I can’t, there isn’t one. buy it.