Ok, toying with the idea of going from my current 05 MCSCa to a classic. It would be my daily driver. Why am I thinking about doing this? The difference in price would allow me to pay down a great deal of a debt we currently have. Also, I'm beginning to have a bit of wanderlust.

My thinking is that I can get about 19K private sale for my MCSC and can get a pretty decent classic for about 9 K.

Here's my questions with the whole deal. Would a classic be reliable enough for a daily driver? What kind of gas mileage would I get? Would I be able to get a car seat in the back?

I noticed on ebay that there are some coming over from England. Are grey market cars still a pain to bring over? What would I expect from a deal like this?

Finally, do you think it would be a good deal if I could find someone to trade a classic and cash for the cabrio.

 

Here's my questions with the whole deal. Would a classic be reliable enough for a daily driver? NO

What kind of gas mileage would I get? 28+

Would I be able to get a car seat in the back? YES

I noticed on ebay that there are some coming over from England. Are grey market cars still a pain to bring over?NOT IF YOU KNOW THE RIGHT PEOPLE

What would I expect from a deal like this? YOU WOULD EXPECT TO BUY IT HERE SINCE IT WOULD BE CHEAPER

 

Well, I guess the first answer sort of does it for me. Asked the question because of visions of lucas wiring in the back of my brain.

 

old cars can be reliable, but since most parts are not available at your loca parts store, it may put your car off the road until UPS shows up.

 

One of my biggest fears/concerns when driving my classic is getting rear-ended by someone. I would be very fearful of putting a car seat in the back. Just my 0.02.

Edwin

 

Personally (and this comes from someone with a cabrio AND someone that uses their classic as a daily driver, keep in mind), I'd be VERY wary of having a classic as a daily driver without backup. I'm really glad I have my 2005 MSC cabrio as backup.

I get 38-42 MPG most of the time on my single carb 1275 engine, and it's fairly reliable. The issue comes in when something DOES break - basically, getting parts is easy (GBCarparts and MiniMania carry everything you need and ship fast), but since I usually have to be my own mechanic, every time something does go wrong, it shelves the car for a week or two at least - I have to get diagnostic help here or on another forum, then order the needed parts, then find time to install them since no garage near me can do the work. If the classic was my only car, I'd get very stressed, but since I have reliable back-up I only get minorly irratated when something fails (mainly because I don't get to drive her).

Plus, it's good to have a modern, underbody-coated car for rainy/snowy days, as the classic Mini's mild steel body is HELL with rust, and it's nice to be able to keep the car in the garage on rainy days.

LAst - safety IS an issue. Basically, the classic is a tin can with no door stiffeners, air bags (unless you get a VERY late-model car) and I worry every single time I put my son in the car with me. I try to compensate by driving very definsively, but I know that this can go pear-shaped easily if someone else makes a mistake. It's a definite risk, ut one you take every day with the cabrio as well...

All that being said, if you still want to go classic, getting a Mini on places like MiniMania'com's classifieds is totally do-able. the benefit to doing it that way is that, by definition, the "gray market" (read as: re-VINned) car is ALREADY HERE with no possibility that customs will crush the car if they get wind that it'snot a true 25-year old classic. You'll pay a bit more, but I think that's well worth it for peace of mind. In my case, I got a very clean, mechanically sound 92 Mini (VINned as a 76) with just a few trusty spots under the paint for only $6K. I had to drive to New Jersey to get it, whgich added about $450-$500 to the total cost all-told, but I feel like I got a hell of a deal. I've heard of plenty of others that got similar deals, after searching on places like MiniMania for a few months - just have patience and a deal will eventually go your way, I guarantee it.

 

Have to agree that having a classic as the sole daily driver is a little tough. It really depends how handy you are at fixing the little things that will crop up. I drive mine all the time and have gotten to the point that I feel comfortable fixing most things. The biggest reason for my car sitting for periods of time is simply not having the time to dedicate to fixing the little things.
I would not discount the safety side of things as well especially where kids are involved (Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who drove his classic 200 miles to MOTD with 4yr twins in tow.) You really are much more exposed in the classic than you would be in even the smallest of modern cars. I think you really have to think of it as if you were on a motorcycle. It took us twice as long to make the drive from Charlotte to Fontana simply because I chose the route to limit high speed and high traffic along the way to try to be a little safer. When it's just me I have no problem taking it on the highway but with the kids.... Just something to keep in mind (also not all classics even had rear seat belts (I had to install mine.)