-
Hi Guest!
If you appreciate British Car Forum and our 25 years of supporting British car enthusiasts with technical and anicdotal information, collected from our thousands of great members, please support us with a low-cost subscription. You can become a supporting member for less than the dues of most car clubs.
There are some perks with a member upgrade!**Upgrade Now**
(PS: Subscribers don't see this gawd-aweful banner
Hey - did you know if you click on the title of a thread it will take you to the first unread post since you last visited that thread?
but were afraid to ask: 
STOP!! Never post your email address in open forums. Bots can "harvest" your email! If you must share your email use a Private Message or use the 
smilie in place of the real @
Pretty Please - add it to our Events forum(s) and add to the calendar! >> 
Values.....
- Thread starter Steve
- Start date
Share this page
aeronca65t
Great Pumpkin
Offline
One little car that gets fairly overlooked (and is a better value than the Mini, cost-wise), is the Swift GTi. I owned a regular Swift and it was much better than a Mini (which I also have owned). The turbo models are are a hoot and it's an excellent "snow car" too!
Yes, yes, I *know* it's not British, but they're dirt cheap, durable and great fun (and they're so economical and reliable that you could probably save enough to buy a real Mini).
[ 10-16-2003: Message edited by: aeronca65t ]</p>
Yes, yes, I *know* it's not British, but they're dirt cheap, durable and great fun (and they're so economical and reliable that you could probably save enough to buy a real Mini).
[ 10-16-2003: Message edited by: aeronca65t ]</p>
coldplugs
Darth Vader
Offline
<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Steve:
Sad to see the prices for classic Minis going through the roof. And most are purported to be Coopers, when it is quite obvious to the educated eye that they are not....kind of a shame, puts one out of my reach
<hr></blockquote>
I wondered what effect, if any, the new Mini would have on prices for the originals. You're right - prices have shot up over the last two years or so. This seems to be mainly a US issue since prices in the UK haven't risen all that much. I noticed that an original 1962 Cooper (not an 'S') sold for $17,820 at the Russo and Steele auction in August. It was a low mileage car but rated at condition 3- (3=Avg. daily driver).
I've looked at a few and all seem overpriced, but they sell. If you can handle RHD while driving on the right, it appears you can save a couple thousand.
My suggestion is to wait a year or so. I expect average Minis will level off or drop a bit, although the best will still command a high price.
Sad to see the prices for classic Minis going through the roof. And most are purported to be Coopers, when it is quite obvious to the educated eye that they are not....kind of a shame, puts one out of my reach
I wondered what effect, if any, the new Mini would have on prices for the originals. You're right - prices have shot up over the last two years or so. This seems to be mainly a US issue since prices in the UK haven't risen all that much. I noticed that an original 1962 Cooper (not an 'S') sold for $17,820 at the Russo and Steele auction in August. It was a low mileage car but rated at condition 3- (3=Avg. daily driver).
I've looked at a few and all seem overpriced, but they sell. If you can handle RHD while driving on the right, it appears you can save a couple thousand.
My suggestion is to wait a year or so. I expect average Minis will level off or drop a bit, although the best will still command a high price.
OP
Offline
Hmmmm, good advice there John, you may have a point. Maybe a wait-and-see attitude will see things return to normal. Doesn't have to be a show car, just a bit of fun.
Nial, good suggestion of the Suzuki Swift.....rather have my eye on an early Golf (Rabbit here) GTi..........of course, a nice Rover P6 might do nicely too.....
Nial, good suggestion of the Suzuki Swift.....rather have my eye on an early Golf (Rabbit here) GTi..........of course, a nice Rover P6 might do nicely too.....
Larry Kronemeyer
Jedi Trainee
Offline
AUTOWEEK Mag has a 1275 1973 Mini for $6700, in case anybody is interested.
Larry
Larry
OP
Offline
Hmmmmm, at that price I may be interested....I might still search for one I can ship back when I go back to the UK in the new year....they are still low enough in price to make that worth my while...not to mention the fact that they are still in relatively good supply.
Sherlock
Yoda
Offline
Steve,
If you are seriously considering the purchase of a classic Mini, there are plenty in Canada but they sell fast! You could probably get a nice one for $6,000 to $8,000 in Canadian dollars.
The only thing to keep in mind is that the car would have to be 25 years old or older to be legal in the States, so for next year (1994)... that would be the 1979 model year, now I don't know if that means it includes the 1979 model year or if it means 1978 or older... Anyway you get the idea and can check into it down there, Mini 1000's were sold in Canada right up to the 1980 model year (and throughout the 1970's), some of the Canadian Mini's now have the 1275 BMC engine installed, it's quite a popular conversion up here.
Check this website out for a great listing of Mini's for sale in Canada:
https://www.craigsauto.com/forsale/ads.html
https://www.miniportal.ca
As well this website is also good and has a classfieds listing:
https://www.minimania.com
If you are seriously considering the purchase of a classic Mini, there are plenty in Canada but they sell fast! You could probably get a nice one for $6,000 to $8,000 in Canadian dollars.
The only thing to keep in mind is that the car would have to be 25 years old or older to be legal in the States, so for next year (1994)... that would be the 1979 model year, now I don't know if that means it includes the 1979 model year or if it means 1978 or older... Anyway you get the idea and can check into it down there, Mini 1000's were sold in Canada right up to the 1980 model year (and throughout the 1970's), some of the Canadian Mini's now have the 1275 BMC engine installed, it's quite a popular conversion up here.
Check this website out for a great listing of Mini's for sale in Canada:
https://www.craigsauto.com/forsale/ads.html
https://www.miniportal.ca
As well this website is also good and has a classfieds listing:
https://www.minimania.com