It has been said above and many times before but I really think there is some disconnect between Carsales/Carpoint/Unique Cars advertised prices and actual sale price. Especially for Rovers.

In Brisbane there is a guy in Albion who appears to be advertising the same cars for months and months. They look nice but they are just plain over priced.

There was a guy nearby (maybe the same guy) who had a red rover with stickers all over it and number spots etc. He started by asking $22k. He and a sister car were at the Muster years ago with that price on them both IIRC. Guess what, years later the car was for sale for something approaching market value. Very low teens. It was also sporting a crashed boot lit. If it sold, I would say it went for $12k max.

There are many many Rovers (and Coopers) on these web sites that sit for months on end. The reality is that they are priced many thousands too high.

I REALLY think that people see other Rovers up for sale at $15-$19k and think "mine is that good so I'll ask the same" when the actual number of people in the market who are willing to pay new-small-car money on an old Rover mini is VERY SMALL. Cute only gets a car so far. When looking to buy, a few people also fall into the trap of seeing all these high prices and thinking that's he actual worth. Unlike house prices, these are in the minority though and they tend to take a bath when they try to re-sell.

For $14k you can get a very low km Ford Fiesta XR4. It will be faster, safer, quieter, more reliable, roomier yadda yadda and people still find them good to look at.

I just spent my absolute upper limit budget on a mini at sub $11k. It was a discretionary purchase of a toy. Sure I could "afford" to lease a Lotus or BMW or HSV or a new FT86 etc etc but like most people I am paying down debt in preference to spending. My new mini won't suffer badly from depreciation and has a broad re-sale market as it could be an Nb race car or a nice roady. High priced Rovers are only going one way in value and by law, modifications to them are limited, so the market is smaller.

Finally, you can still buy a Good Rover in Japan through say, J-Spec Imports, have it complied and registered and come in under $14k. The low number of people doing this suggests that they don't think $14k for one of these is worth it. If they were all worth $16-$19k complied there would be a stream of them as people made $5k per car off the process.

M

TL;DR: I think the pricing on many Rovers is way optimistic.

To me, if I was spending $10k or above on a Mini it would have to be one of two things:

1. A MkI/II Cooper S, Clubman GT, or something with genuine value (where by 'value' I mean the classic definition: calculated proportional to rarity).

2. A less "valuable" model which has been subjected to plenty of Tender Loving Cash (that is, either restored or significantly upgraded and in very good condition).

To me, the average Rover meets neither of those conditions - they're not particularly rare (you could argue otherwise in Australia, but when we have plenty of non-Rover alternatives for less money, that argument doesn't really carry), nor do they offer much over and above a run-of-the-mill Australian Mini other than youth.

As I see it, the only thing propping up the price of Rovers in Australia is the import cost - when it costs $15k to bring one in when you've considered the purchase price, transportation and compliance, then it's difficult for a seller to swallow taking a loss at resale time. But as a buyer, I don't really care about any of that - my impression of value is dictated by the two points above.

In my opinion, if the car was priced as a comparably optioned Aussie car in similar condition, then it will sell in the same amount of time. If the price reflects the fact that it's an import (with its associated costs) then patience is a virtue you're going to need plenty of.

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Simon

The adventures of an owner builder in the Tallarook Ranges

This one has been on for months, when I first saw it listed it was $12,750.

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1978 Leyland Clubman

I've driven maybe 5-10 rovers now and currently own one.

Most of the ones i've driven offer very little over a good aussie car but the last of them i think are something special.

The age bit doesn't really matter as they are still 20+ odd years old for the earlier rovers you are right.

I find the last of them to be a very different car from 1997-2000 when BMW took over and MPi came into effect (still SPi in Japan until the end). The build quality is improved and the cars are really nice and well refined as a daily driver.

The addition of Airbags, Aircon, Fuel Injection and electronic ignition with the increased sound deadening and rubber mounted subframes for these last cars really do transform the car and give it a solid feel and quiet ambience. The pre 1997 cars don't seem to be as good in this regard.

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Starlet Conversion:
http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=15484

From someone who's owned and driven a few rovers, I now wouldn't get another one.
The problem for me with them is that they cost a gold mine to insure compared to the 60s counterparts, and you can't put one on a permit, so full reg it is.
They also aren't as user friendly when it comes to dismantling them, the sound deadening is nice, but an inconvenience when the floor rusts out or other panel work is needed.
I only know this now because I built my own 'rover' (rover bits in an aussie shell).

To me, rovers are worth the following:
1997 onwards, $15k
1992-1996, $10k
80s - $5k

By that I mean, thats what they'd have to be priced at to get my interest.

I'm to thread hijack this abit but ohwell what exactly does SPI and MPI do? I know it's single point injection and multi point injection respectively but what do they offer and which one is better? Excuse my jack and lack of knowledge

Single point injection is one injector firing in a throttle body feeding all four cylinders.
Multipoint has two injectors, right at the head feeding two cylinders each.
Multipoint can be more powerful and fuel efficient, however MPI cars had taller ratio gearboxes from factory so the benefits weren't really noticed.

Neither the SPI or MPI when stock gave noticeably more power than say a 1275LS. I think the MPI was only good for 63HP, unless it had the John Cooper kit.

The main reason Rover used injection was for better emissions, not power.

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DrMini- 1970 wasaMatic 1360, Mk1S crank, 86.6HP (ATW) =~125 @ crank, 45 Dellorto (38 chokes), RE282 sprint cam, 1.5 rockers, 11.0:1 C/R.

Blunder,
The answer to your question is plain and simple.
The car is over priced......

Consider This,
If you had advertised the car for sale for say $750 it would have sold very very quickly because it would have been considered a bargain.
So what you have to do is to find the price for your car that the current market will tolerate.
You could do this by lowering the price in say $500 incruments until you start to get some interest, then go from there.
Everything will sell if the price is right.....

Dave

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A slow shifting car should pretty much turn into a reverse auction....as above, lower the price until somebody blinks first.

However, this is on the assumption that you are reaching the market.