Classic Mini : eBay Guides

When buying a classic mini, the main thing to consider is body condition (ie. Rust) as this is the most time consuming and expense to repair. Nothing is irrepairable, but you have to make the judgement on the cost of repair if the body is far gone with the tin worm.

Obviously you wont be able to check everywhere on the car, but where possible lift carpets and get under the vehicle.

- The seam below the front headlights, above the indicator is a common area for rust.. If this is rusted through, you will require front panel and maybe wing replacements. Check here for filler or bodged repair, cracking may show signs of a poor repair and possibly rusted panels below.

Non geniune and genuine panels are available. Wings Approx £27-30 and front panels £40-100 depending on model. A MPI front panel is more expensive then a MK3 standard one. The front panel and wings wont be too much of an issue for an experienced bodyshop or confident DIY'er. Be ready to find rust in the scuttle corners, which may require repair and more expense. Ive seen local companies charging £600 for a front end replacement including paint.

- 'A' panels (between door and front wind) - These are generally spots for rust, but can be repaired rather cheaply. Non geniune A panels are approx £6. They will require the door removing and some welding to fit, so think labour costs here.

- Scuttle (around the windscreen/bonnet edge) - This is a pain to replace, often done when front end is completely replaced. If the scuttle is rusted around the windscreen rubber seal or in the centre, near the wipers you are going to need a full scuttle replacement. This means front end removing, glass out etc etc. Usually a good idea to check and replace if required when fitting a new front end as above. The corners can be repaired using a repair panel. Again check here for filler, bodge repair. There should be a line here with seam sealer, if the wing and scuttle are totally smooth assume bodged repair. Some modifiers do smooth this area but most likely to be a cover up repair.

- Door skins - The surface on the door, at the bottom is a common rust place. Re-skinning the door resolves this, although can be awkward and time consuming to reskin. See next comment. Check along bottom of door for bodged repair, filler, different shade of paint etc.

- Door frame - Open the door and lay underneath, if theres big holes or rust, the door frame will need repairing or replacing. Ive never seen a door bodged repaired in this area, but anything is possible.

Repaired doors are available from the mini door company and others for approx £150 each. They are fully refurbished and repaired doors ready for painting. Non geniune door skins can be purchased from approx £25 upwards.

- Rear arches - Run your hand under the rear arches wearing a glove, push againist the arch to find any rust / weak spots hiding behind road dirt. Open the boot and check the drivers side rear arch. Passenger side rear is hidden by the tank and not visible from the boot.

- Boot floor - Open the boot door, check the floor and check around the battery box. If the boot floor is rusty at the very edge (near the bumper end), you can buy an half boot floor repair panel. These can be welded in fairly easily compared to repairing the full boot floor. Extensive rusting in the boot floor, towards the rear seat panel may indicate further rusting problems such as the rear subframe mounting area (heal board), which requires the rear subframe removing to repair.

- Rear subframe - Get under the car and check the subframe is in good condition with no holes or bits hanging off. This should be solid with no holes. Check the 4 bolts, 2 either side, which hold the subframe to the sills/floor. If these are snapped, you may require further work to remove the siezed/damaged bolts.

Rear subframes can be a pain to change. Stories all over the mini forums about broken bolts in the sill mounting, siezed bolts on radius arms etc. Its perfectaly do-able to a DIY'er and can fill the owner with confidence knowing they've done it themselves, sorting out any problems such as hidden rust or broken bolts along the way. Perfect chance to waxoil when the subframe is out and ofcourse paint the new subframe with many coats for protection and added looks!

- Front subframes are normally ok due to oil preserving them.

- Floors and sills - Check the floors inside and outside, along with the sills and anywhere else. Lifting the carpets along the outer edges of the floor, check around seat belt mountings and along front floor pan edges. Floor pans and sills are relatively cheap if you buy pattern parts, but labour for welding and protecting the new metal can be expensive.

- Take a torch and shine it up the front wheel arches towards the doors, have a look to see if you can see rust around the inner wing/door hinge panel areas.

Engines:

Mini engines are standard in 850cc, 998cc and 1275cc commonly. Other varietys do exist. Modified engines also bring high value to mini's, check with a good source for more information. I recormended " theminiforum .co.uk " for all enquires. You may come across minis with non standard engines fitted such as Honda V-Tec, vauxhall engines, nissan engines etc. These are usually known as 16v minis and theres a forum/website dedicated to these conversions wether DIY or professional. These required declaring on your insurance.

Flipfront:

Its becoming more common to replace the metal rusty front wings and panel of a mini with one/two piece fibreglass fronts. These are fine. But please check that brace bars and solid (metal) subframe mounts have been used at ALL mounting points. Some people only do half with metal. Also make sure the front secures completely.

Rare items

Some mini's may have rare item's such as badges, seats, wheels or brakes. Check with the website for more info.

If in doubt, get a second opinion. Go away and think about it, go back when its light, take the car to a local garage and ask to use there ramp to view it from underneath etc.

Remember if you think somethings up, get it checked out by the RAC/AA or a HPI check. Good luck

From my experience, these are the best places for information

Classic minis in UK generally - the mini forum co uk website and forums

16v minis - 16v mini club forum

turbo minis - turbominis forum

mini spares, panels, accessories - minispares co uk

non genuine panels - worldofpartsltd co uk