Hi guys my name is Shanan.

Although I've been reading posts on here for months, and have gained just
about everything i know about Minis from this forum, this is my official first post.

I'm looking at buying a Rover and have come across a 1990 Rover Mini Mayfair, 1L, 70,000km, auto,
aircon, in good nick. Around 8K.

Is this about the right price range?

Are there any common problems that are associated with type of mini? Eg: auto box, rust in particular areas?

I haven't driven it yet, but is the 1L with an auto going to be slow as anything? Should i hold out for a manual 1.3?
I noticed that i guy on here recently bought a 1.3 up in QLD, but it was about 12K, that's a bit out of my price range.

Look forward to getting a mini and going for a cruise with you guys soon.

Shanan.

Look out for rust at the bottom of the doors, and on the manuals, worn synchro on 2nd. Check this one out for an idea of where to look for rust.

http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... %3AIT&rd=1

$8K sounds about right for one in very good condition (I'm assuming it already has NSW rego), the autos tend to go for less than the manuals as there is less demand for them. Do a search on "Rover" the For Sale or Wanted section, there have been a few of these come up recently.

I have a 998 manual and it keeps up with Sydney traffic no worries, even with the air conditioning on. However I cruise it and don't expect to win too many traffic light derbys. Turning the air con on is the equivalent of having another person to carry around in the car in terms of what it does to performance, and to date the only place where the power has been a minor issue is merging from a freeway on ramp. I would expect that an auto would be slight worse in this respect.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

I didn't like driving the 998 auto in auto mode (moving the stick manual syle made it better), it's just really sluggish. It changes when it gets to a certain speed, and doesn't change back down till well below that.
Example, it will change into 4th at about 60kph, but not downshift till 45, making acceleration slow from 50.

gottheminiitch (mind if i call you itchy?), take it for a drive. You'll decide if its enough for you.

Thanks Speedy for the reply.

No racing off the lights for me.....

I do about 60km a day down the M4 from home to work and back. I don't mind sitting on 90km/h instead of 110km/h.
It just worries me that it might struggle and therefore be dangerous on the M4 everyday.
I'll have to take it for a drive to see.

Do you think it is worth the risk/costs to import a pre 1989 one from Japan?
How much for something like yours to be bought and fully complied and registered?
(Just a ball park figure - would 10k be about right?)

I know you got that really nice one from Brickworx, did they carry the risks if it had problems etc?

Shanan.

I personally wouldn't bother with the risk / hassle of bringing one in myself, if you have a look at the following thread you'll see that its not straightforward.

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=14847

I don't think your car will struggle at freeway speeds, my car feels alot more comfortable doing 100 than trundling around at 60, I'd suggest a test drive and decide for yourself. Remember you could always do some tuning to get a bit more grunt out of the old a-series.

The car from Brickworx came with 3 months SA rego, meaning he needed to get it over the pits at Regency (SA transport). They went over the car with a fine tooth comb and it was up to Brickworx to fix any problems that they found, and mechanically its spot on. I've been using it as my daily driver for the past two weeks (I visit alot of clients all around Sydney as part of my work) and its been completely reliable. Its now up to me to get the NSW Blue Slip and register in NSW. I went to SA because there was nothing in Sydney at the time, however try Ozcooper or keep a look out on carsales.com.au.

cheers,

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

Maybe its just me but for the life of me I cannot see any reason to buy a Rover mini when we have great BMC/Leyland Minis already here. A 998 auto with air for $8k why bother, get a mini K, a much better car to start with and probably have less rust than a pommie import, if its the aircon you want buy a setup off one of the rover imports brought in for parts, the trouble it takes to get any car after 88 is just not worth the trouble, its not as if they are any better than a local car if anything they are not as good

Jon

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Roundies and Clubbies(except vans) are both ugly that is why I have Midas and a van
1293 Mini Midas Bronze,1275 Clubman van

I gave up searching for a Mini K which is what I was really after. The ones that I found in months of searching where either;

a) too good and too original for what I was after. I didn't want the responsbility of a Pops.

b) In pieces or needing a lot of work.

c) too "fully sik" for my liking.

The Rover seemed like a no brainer in comparison, newer car, smoother drive, disc brakes, etc. I agree with you that anything after 1988 is too hard, unfortunately.

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One should never skimp on the zip ties.

Are your Rover Minis imports from the UK or what?

Maybe this is just common knowledge for you guys, but over here the automatic Minis require a bit more care than the mannuals, more regular oil changes and more regular servicing just to keep the engine sweet.

There seems to be a bit of a boost in the 1275cc autos compared to the 998cc; 998cc can be pretty sluggish, plus hard to top higher speeds, but I guess that depends on maintance. None of which could really compare to a 1275cc mannual in my opinion.

Just giving a little bit of what I've learnt from reading Mini material this side of the pond!

Our imports come mainly from japan.

I have a Rover 1.3 lt auto and it goes really well. As was said before it wont win many off the light drag races but hey. It cruises well and gets me to work every day.

I test drove a manual 1lt and then drove this one and found quite a difference. If I were you I'd keep an eye out for a 1.3lt auto or manual if lucky, they are great little cars and with the A/C on I don't find much of a difference highway driving. Mine was only $12,500 with shipping down from Sydney to Melbourne. It's a Mayfair but had great arches, wheels, paint job, exhaust and other cool stuff. So I might have been lucky???

Good luck with the purchase.

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1979 Leyland Moke (which is for sale)

The price of the rovers has sky-rocketed since the new mini came out.
Lurker, I'm willing to bet you've had your car 5 years or so?

Harley got the car in December 2002. So just over 3 years. I think the fact it was an auto is maybe the reason it was cheaper than the others he had on site?????

And it's not a Cooper just a Mayfair, but I see there are a few cheaper Rover 1.3's on carsales for around that price? Or maybe theywere earlier ones???

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1979 Leyland Moke (which is for sale)

I think it depends on who's selling and the model.
Mid last year I was all set to buy a 97 Mayfair for $13000, but I didn't get it because nobody would insure it.
Whereas a Cooper of any year will see 16-20k.

Lurker: I think i will hang on and save for the 1.3L.
In saying that, $12500 is a lot of money for a mini. (for me anyway)
As mentioned before by Feralsprint you can get a nice K and add A/C, I've seen some nice ones in the 8K bracket.
Any problems in the three years of ownership Lurker?

Harley: No insurance? That's a concern. Does anyone else own Rovers and have had problems insuring?

Not being a mechanic or a panel beater, i would much prefer a car that is 10-17 years old rather than one that is 30.
It comes with disks and a/c and hopefully less rust/no rust.
Of course i would love an old cooper S, but it's not practical when you're not able to do the work on the car yourself.

as far as insuring a rover it can be difficult. I have my 1994 rover cooper insured with just cars basically because only them and shannons would take it,most companies wont do imports. The other thorn in the side for rover owners can be agreed value ,with import laws being what they are i could be difficult to replace if anything happened,anyways welcome to ausmini where abouts in the western suburbs are you from?