In June 2013 I took delivery of a classic Mini Cooper in Arizona from Motorland Vintage America in Maine. The car had been advertised at Hemmings.com and the dealer's Web site described it as very good to excellent in all respects, and they told me there was no rust. My mechanic found significant rust, non-original engine, evidence of a collision, and no rear brake function. An independent certified appraiser valued the the vehicle at $6,000 less, or 30% less, than the purchase price. Attempts to get Motorland to pay the difference between the purchase price and appraised value have yielded nothing. If you know of anyone looking to buy a classic Mini or other classic, please share my experience with them. Thank you.

 

I feel your pain, buddy.........


So, what are you going to do with your car now?

 

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...ssic-mini.html

SUPRISE SUPRISE SUPRISE as Gomer would say.

I try to warn folks ... since the introduction of the MINI, the Mini has become more popular but some forget IT IS A USED CAR. A damn old used car in most cases.

An ad in Hemmings (a VERY respected source for collector cars) does NOT mean the car was checked out.

When I first dug into my 100% perfect and rust free 79 (as advertised) I found something else. It died 5 miles from the sellers house and leaked so much gas from the pump I can not, to this day, figure out how the whole house didn't blow up after I brought it home and parked it in the garage.

welding classes, buy welder, paint classes, buy compressor, discover painting in garage is BAD idea, teach at VO-TEC HS to get access to paint booth, replace a BUNCH of metal, paint it, re do the interior . . .AND do normal maintenance for 10 years

I LOVE my hobby .... I'd say I've spent 5,000 easy on the car not including buying the car. If I PAID for the welding/body/paint it would be more .... I 'learned' after once 'paying' ..... I bet I saved $5k

I LOVE IT when people tell me 'I just bought this to be my daily driver' .... even better is "for the wife" !!!!!

Unless the car is in 110% perfect condition ..... bad idea. And a 110% restoration makes a Mini a 10,000 dollar car .... or more.

(MINI and Mini ... different things ....)

I was VERY VERY lucky with my buy ... the seller did not know what they had and priced low from the description. Once the description was verified I came out about even . . .

and OMG I recently heard of someone who bought a Mini with Austin Cooper badges and a MK1 grill .. but the body is a MK3 .... did they pay Cooper price? DUNNO . . .

buyer beware . . . ? ? ?

 

Mike, thanks for sharing your story. I would say most Mini owners learn more about their cars in the weeks after purchase than in the years leading up to it. You bought it on good faith listed in a respected source. Too often we let excitement get in the way of good decisions. Hopefully you can recover from this. My brother in law is in Phoenix and has some good restoration/body shop contacts. He completely restored a 69 Mustang and a 68? Camaro to showroom condition.

 

Why people buy cars sight unseen, or without a pre-purchase inspection is beyond me. It's one thing to buy a new 2014 VW from a dealer sight unseen, but a classic car!!

If I'm willing to spend thousands for a car, believe me I'd spend $500-600 on a plane ticket from Arizona to Maine to check the car out.

 

OP and others

I'm sorry if sounded like I'm dis'in you . . .

NOT my intention .. but my intention does not matter. If you feel dis'd, I apologize

I made a STUPID buy, but in the end I smell roses ..... I truly enjoy my 79 ... and am proud of the work I invested to make it a reliable weekend toy.

If you made a booboo, you can turn it around too . . .

Don't give up!

 

Mike, there is an active classic Mini community in Tucson. If you want help working on your Mini, let me know.

Jon
'61 Morris Mini-Minor
'71 Mini Cooper S MK3