I'm relatively new to the world of motoring. My buddy owns a 02' Cooper S and we've been looking for one for me. I found this classic Mini.....I really value people's opinion in this MINI/Mini community. I'll lay out what the owner has given me. Any input would be great!

1992 Mini Cooper Rover
Fuel-Injected 1275 cc
62,000 miles
Stage II Tuning kit
Asking $11,500

Here's some pics. It looks really clean.....but that price seems steep.

 

Understand that the car you are looking at has nothing in common with your buddies 02 MCS other than the name. I'm not making any statement on better or worse but it is a very different animal.
Very hard to say what true value is without seeing the car (and even then not all that easy.) Classic Minis have notoriously bad rust issues (some say even more so in the later Rover cars.) That would be the biggest concern right off the bat. Also it would be worth questioning how the car is titled as you cannot legally title a 92 Mini as a 92, it has to be at least 25 yrs old. All that said, it may not be a bad price. A well sorted Mini of any vintage can easily go for that much (I am thinking of selling my 80 Mini Cabrio and I will not take a dime less than $13k for it.. for example.) Especially given the cars rust issues (as well as the current exchange rate) quality examples are getting harder to find. You can pay less (as a few here have) and get a good deal as well or you can pay quite a bit more... its what makes setting a true "value" very difficult.
Good luck with your search!

 

Yeah, bodywork and rust will be the deciding factor here... It DOES have a Stage 2 kit on it, so he invested some dough in that, but the UK forums are FILLED with people looking for help with injected Minis, so you have to keep that in mind.

Honestly, unless the car is SPOTLESS (really and truly) I'd try to get it for less - like $4k less. My car is also a '92 (re-VINned '76), also a 1275, but with a single carb, not injected, and I paid about half that price for mine. I've had no mechanical issues with it, other than a blown rod change oil seal, and I'm happy that when I DO have issues that I'll likely be able to work on it myself since it's not injected.

I'm not saying that injected is junk - some people run them for years with no issues - I'm just saying that I see many more requests for help in the UK forums for issues with injected models...

Sure is purdy, though... Could be Fiona's slightly-better-endowed, fraternal twin sister.

 

Double check the body, early 90's cars rusted very badly....

Carbs can always replace FI...

 

Thank you all for your advice guys. I have a few more questions:

1) How hard are parts to get for these original Mini's?
2) Do the engines usually have a long life? (unlike the air-cooled 50k VW engines)
3) Would you use this as a daily driver? (very little daily driving though. < 10 miles a day)


Thanks again Mini-heads!

 

I use mine as a daily driver... About 10-15 miles per day, 5 days a week, plus about three times that on weekends. The gas mileage is just too good to ignore (37-40 MPG most weeks).

My engine has 79k on the clock and has not, as far as i know, ever been rebuilt or anyhting like that. I see people posting about 100k+ engines on UK forums all the time.

What parts? Check out a place like www.gbcarparts.com and see if you'd need anything beyond what they offer. The problem tends to be PRICE more than AVAILABILITY.