What to look for when buying Minis-know what you are getting
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From: Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
What to look for when buying Minis-know what you are getting
To pick up on the locked thread below regarding fraud, a suggestion was made on how do you spot questionable items on a Mini. To provide a learning experience for potential owners, I'll tell my little tale.
I purchased a 1973 Mk III Mini 1000 in 2005 from a fellow in Dallas (www.mynewmini.com). This car was originally on ebay, but did not meet the reserve price. I negotiated after the auction was over and picked up the car. Here is how the car was described on the ebay ad:
My first car was a Mini (20 years ago) and I watched/helped my brother restore one as well, so I thought I was fairly up to speed with Minis and consequently quite confident with the car that I purchased.
Fast forward to this summer when I decided to sell it in order to purchase a Mk I. I put together a website and posted it here and various other places. A good samaratin saw my listing and gave me the grave news about my "museum quality" Mini. For those that want to see if they can spot the incongruities, go to my website now and have a look at the photos and see if you can spot the issues.
http://www3.telus.net/73Mini1000/index.html
Here is a list (in no way complete) of the discrepancies with this car:
the rear subframe is from a hydrolastic car
all post 1970 Minis have black engines - the brown overspray on heater hoses is also indicative of a non-original treatment
the radiator is a replacement
the brake master and slave are from later cars
the Bosch coil is a replacement
the air clearner is from an 850 engine
the wiper motor is from an earlier car
the number tags in the engine bay have been restamped; original tags are stamped from behind not from the top
the engine tag should be an alloy one attached to the block, not a stamp on the block
highly likely that the car was reshelled and that the vehicle was created from two
original shells would have a VIN tag on the driver's inside A pillar
serial number on the passenger side floor was added as stock Minis had a reverse punched metal plate spot welded to the passenger floor if they had any at all
If you can find more, please let me know. The car is nice to drive and look at-I can't complain about that; however, there are a lot of rebuit/refurbished Minis like it and I was under the impression that this one went that much further in that it was all original. Lesson learned.
PS I emailed the seller with this information a month or so ago to see if he had an explaination. He replied that he would check into it but I have not heard any more.
I purchased a 1973 Mk III Mini 1000 in 2005 from a fellow in Dallas (www.mynewmini.com). This car was originally on ebay, but did not meet the reserve price. I negotiated after the auction was over and picked up the car. Here is how the car was described on the ebay ad:
1973 Mini 1000
Good Stuff: See Additional Photos and other Minis.
This is absolutely the nicest Mini I've ever seen in person and I've owned a lot! It's an extremely nice, genuine, Classic Mini.
The photos tell it all. You're not likely to ever come across another Mini in as perfect condition as this.
This collector owned and rarely driven Mini is in almost perfect condition.
It's a recent left-hand drive european import originally sold in Switzerland in 1973.
Perfect original center guage console.
Perfect original interior.
Seats are in perfect condition. Headliner is perfect. Original trunk mat. Original carpets. 10 inch Steel wheels with chrome hubcaps and relatively new tires.
Perfect running 1.0 liter carburated engine.
34,000 original Kilometers ( 19,000 miles).
Body is in perfect condition.
Brand new battery.
There is absolutely no rust in any of the common Mini problem areas. Let me rephrase that, there is no rust anywhere!
It runs perfect and gets (and deserves) a lot of attention.
This car belongs in a Mini museum!
The car is located in Dallas, TX and welcomes any inspection. You absolutely will not be disappointed in this vehicle.
Bad stuff:
While nothing big, I feel it's worth mentioning the following:
There is one tiny nick (2mm) in the paint under the rear side window. It appears to have scratched when the window was opened/closed.
Other than that, there's nothing at all that distracts from this car. It's 99.99% perfect!
I guarantee your friends will be jealous
With this car what you see it what you get.
This car is for the very discerning Mini collector who is looking for a valuable car thats appreciating in value.
If you're looking for an excellent classic Mini, you absolutely can not go wrong here. It's ready to bring home some car show trophys!
Good Stuff: See Additional Photos and other Minis.
This is absolutely the nicest Mini I've ever seen in person and I've owned a lot! It's an extremely nice, genuine, Classic Mini.
The photos tell it all. You're not likely to ever come across another Mini in as perfect condition as this.
This collector owned and rarely driven Mini is in almost perfect condition.
It's a recent left-hand drive european import originally sold in Switzerland in 1973.
Perfect original center guage console.
Perfect original interior.
Seats are in perfect condition. Headliner is perfect. Original trunk mat. Original carpets. 10 inch Steel wheels with chrome hubcaps and relatively new tires.
Perfect running 1.0 liter carburated engine.
34,000 original Kilometers ( 19,000 miles).
Body is in perfect condition.
Brand new battery.
There is absolutely no rust in any of the common Mini problem areas. Let me rephrase that, there is no rust anywhere!
It runs perfect and gets (and deserves) a lot of attention.
This car belongs in a Mini museum!
The car is located in Dallas, TX and welcomes any inspection. You absolutely will not be disappointed in this vehicle.
Bad stuff:
While nothing big, I feel it's worth mentioning the following:
There is one tiny nick (2mm) in the paint under the rear side window. It appears to have scratched when the window was opened/closed.
Other than that, there's nothing at all that distracts from this car. It's 99.99% perfect!
I guarantee your friends will be jealous
With this car what you see it what you get.
This car is for the very discerning Mini collector who is looking for a valuable car thats appreciating in value.
If you're looking for an excellent classic Mini, you absolutely can not go wrong here. It's ready to bring home some car show trophys!
Fast forward to this summer when I decided to sell it in order to purchase a Mk I. I put together a website and posted it here and various other places. A good samaratin saw my listing and gave me the grave news about my "museum quality" Mini. For those that want to see if they can spot the incongruities, go to my website now and have a look at the photos and see if you can spot the issues.
http://www3.telus.net/73Mini1000/index.html
Here is a list (in no way complete) of the discrepancies with this car:
the rear subframe is from a hydrolastic car
all post 1970 Minis have black engines - the brown overspray on heater hoses is also indicative of a non-original treatment
the radiator is a replacement
the brake master and slave are from later cars
the Bosch coil is a replacement
the air clearner is from an 850 engine
the wiper motor is from an earlier car
the number tags in the engine bay have been restamped; original tags are stamped from behind not from the top
the engine tag should be an alloy one attached to the block, not a stamp on the block
highly likely that the car was reshelled and that the vehicle was created from two
original shells would have a VIN tag on the driver's inside A pillar
serial number on the passenger side floor was added as stock Minis had a reverse punched metal plate spot welded to the passenger floor if they had any at all
If you can find more, please let me know. The car is nice to drive and look at-I can't complain about that; however, there are a lot of rebuit/refurbished Minis like it and I was under the impression that this one went that much further in that it was all original. Lesson learned.
PS I emailed the seller with this information a month or so ago to see if he had an explaination. He replied that he would check into it but I have not heard any more.
Last edited by 73Mini1000; Sep 27, 2008 at 12:45 PM. Reason: appearance and post script
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