Hi guys,

I had a bad circular saw (9 3/4" 3.2hp job) accident with my lefthand/arm on the weekend while building the fences at my new house which has just finished being built - not even in the new place for a week and I need an ambulance.

Now have a huge surgeon's bill coming as well as ongoing rahab bills. With that and all of the other bill's I have that go with a new house, the missus has crunched the numbers in our budget for the next 6 months and it is pretty dire...I am now desperate to sell my 850.

Here is a link to the For Sale page:

http://www.ausmini.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=49979

The doc says I should get 90-100% use of the hand back, but have 6-12 months of painful rehab ahead to get there and was very lucky not to lose any fingers, let alone the whole hand. To make matters worse, I have Ross River fever at the moment and am having to deal with severe joint pain in my knees and feet...I know...I hope to catch a break some time soon...2010 is not working out for me so far.

Can you please get the word out about my 850 and see if we can get her (sadly) sold.

Your help is greatly appreciated...

Ben.

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Morphias.
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If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space...

damn - I really feel for you... hopefully the car gets you what you need, I'm sure you wish there was another way

Sorry to hear that. Another lesson for us all. Can I suggest the dreaded ebay for a quick sale. At least you can set a reserve and hopefully clear it within a week and get a much wider audience. I hope your clay shooting will be OK long term. Best wishes.

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Flute - 68 MK I Cooper S
Member: VMCI #2474
Member: International Mini Model Collectors Club

Sorry to hear of your "not too great" start to the year!

Hope all goes well with the hand, and getting over your virus.

Dicko

Mate, that's terible news. Sorry to hear of it. Hope you recover OK and quicker than the 12 months they say.

I'm sure someone here will pick up your 850.

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Will ask some friends if theyre interested for you.
Hope your digits get better toot sweet!

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Chuck Norris is the only person alive who can kick you in the back of the face!!
mooo, I'm a pig!

Jesus mate, you sure have copped a pasting.

Sad your 850 has to go, but there will still be fish in the ocean later.

Hang in there, mate.

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1967 Cooper S - new front bearings to do.
1965 Cooper S shell - Slow progress. No time or money!
1966 Deluxe- next rustoration!
Mk 2 & XJ6 Jags. Less said the better.

I got an idea. I'm after a mini. maybe i could drive it around a couple of months until you get back on your feet.

Wishing you a speedy recovery.

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Matt

Thanks for the well wishes guys!

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Morphias.
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If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space...

Good luck with your sale - I've been watching your ad for a while and wish I could offer you enough to make it worth your while!

Looks immaculate, a full and complete restoration that only needs to be put together.

Hope you get better soon.

I too wish you all the best with a quick recovery. I also have been watching your ad from a distance as a potential buyer.

I don't want to offend but I think it is a worthwhile exercise to put yourself in a buyer's position when setting your price. A buyer doesn't really take into account what you have spent, only what they will spend for what they will get.

So, a person like me who would really love an imaculate mini has a few choices and will do some research. What will the car be like when complete and how much will it cost to complete are relevant questions they will ask themselves. They will then compare the answer to the available cars for sale.

If you scan through current and recent advertisements, you'll see some fantastic minis around. Hanra's for example, was advertised recently at about $25k iirc. It too has a brilliant body and the same ingredients as your list. There is a really good van advertised for something in the teens. Then there are other minis of varying age and quality but the general view is that for a non-original mini that isn't a highly desirable model (S, GT etc) that there is a ceiling to the value irrespective of the condition. Now Hanra's didn't sell and that Riley hasn't sold yet either so we can say that at $25k the buyer pool is very small. In the high teens the buyer pool is a bit bigger and cars with real value are selling for that number.

OK, so without a big $ motor, non-original and not in the highly desireable category, the finished car would probably be in the mid to high teens area of sale price (the market determining the value, not the amount spent).

Working back we have:
Money to spend reconditioning the engine and box.
Money to spend to acquire and install an interior
Work to the shell to fit a remote or rod-change gearbox to suit the 1100s motor plus to fit the RH tank and weber (if fitted).
Money/effort to spend reconditioning/assembling suspension, door hardware, minor components etc.
Purchasing of the final items like exhaust, fuel lines etc.
Labour to put the whole thing together plus roadworthy plus towing etc.
Money to buy and fit tyres.

Adding up all the above and throwing in some contingency due to the uncertain condition of motor, box and suspension, then I reckon a buyer would call it $5k to finish the car give or take.

We now have a final value in the teens minus 5k to get it there and a time and effort factor that, for some buyers may be outweighed by the ability to set the look and power of the final product to taste.

The result is that in my opinion despite the money spent on the car, the package as advertised is not a prospect to purchase for more than very low teens. More pessimistic assessers will say no more than $10k.

Another way of looking at it is the buy and separate option. The brakes, motor, weber, tank, wheels etc are all valuable. The shell is undoubtably good and we all know how hard it is to get one to this stage if we don't have the skills ourselves. So the shell may sell for up to $8k and the parts may go for up to $6k but the end result is still no more than $14k.

I am afraid that these two scanarios lead me to believe that you will not approach the $26k asking price published in the advert for this car in the MOCQ web site. It is devastating I know but car restoration is not a way to make money, it is a hobby/illness we have that costs.

I really hope you prove me wrong and turn it around for near your asking price. I hate to see someone take a hit especially when in need.

Good luck!

M.

Sorry to hear about your situation.

It's a beautiful looking car, I wish I could buy it.

You have spent $26k on it or more and it really does show. However you are trying to sell it to help a financial situation, but as already pointed out, you will not (in my opinion, and not trying to offend) be able to sell it for the money you want. So if you do sell it you will be selling it at a loss. Is there no chance you can store it as it is and come back to it in the future.

In my opinion, selling it is just like pouring money down the drain.

Or

Sell the parts of in pieces. Its a much better way to re-coupe the money.

I truly hope everything works out the best for you.

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Ryan Filippi
Minis In The Gong
[email protected]
www.minisinthegong.com.au

Thanks for advice...it really does put things in perspective.

I have had the car in storage for a number of years now, but financial strain forces the sell. I know it is a lot of money down the drain, but desperate times and all that...

I would take $14K for the lot right now.

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Morphias.
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If you're not living on the edge, you're taking up too much space...