The bidder that 'won' it has only ever bought 1 item in his ebay history and came in at $800 and all the bids - apart from one other guy were from people with no history

_________________
David L


My greatest fear in life is that when I die my wife will sell my Mini and tools for the price I told her I paid for them!

I just had a look at it again and it now only has a buy it now.

I know the car - at least I think I remember it. It was the real deal back then and presumably still is now but gees - $50K is a lot of money.

I have a sister car to that one, 1970 Mk 2 S that raced at all those places and some. Is also a genuine car with original race engine, logbooks etc. Was recently offered $40k for it, so at $50k probably not too unrealistic.

_________________
1970 Cooper S ex-Bathurst & ATCC
1964 Austin Cooper S ex-Group C race car
1967 Morris Cooper S ex-Group B
1962 Mini Speed sports sedan
1968-71 ex-Peter Manton Shell car

Folks,
we should be getting behind this bloke. The value of your mini is directly affected by what someone else is willing to pay for this mini.
Earlier in the thread someone mentioned aussie muscle cars and the seriously good money you have to part with these days to buy one. It wasn't always the case. And it is only still the case because people are willing to part with the cash.
In the instant this car is sold for $50k the value and collectability of your car will rise.
Only my opinion but I have watched it happen with other marques before.
Bring it on

_________________

Hmm good thinking! Matt.

That is very true, and I do hope to see 15-20 grand figures, im value for my kind of car one day, maybe.

_________________
1964 Morris 850, 1330 Supercharged - 81.8hp atws.
1975 Leyland Mini S 1100S powered - Nice and reliable.
1977 Leyland Mini LS - Project LS-T

your car is only worth money when you sell it!! I am not planning on selling my Cooper S ever!! I've had it for 10 years now which is a record ( I have gone through 2 new minis since they were launched in 2002)

_________________

i've told watto about it and hopefully he'll do a story

_________________

bs and fraud aside. If someone wants to pay $50k for a classic mini i say bring it on

_________________

hmmm, I want my mini to be worth that, but all the rest to be worth hardly anything, then when I buy them I want the value of them to increase dramatically... is that too much to ask?

_________________
did I tell you that I won a trophy?

not at all, its a sound principal in any fiscal policy.

_________________

When you start dealing in the "Mini Futures Market" and end up with Jaimie Lee Curtis naked in your bedroom let me know will ya.

_________________

If ex-race Cooper S' are worth $50,000 I had better look after mine a bit better. I may have to push it under a tree.

If they are worth $50,000 can you imagine how many are going to get stolen in the next few years. (I may have to chain mine to the tree )

Well, it is certainly interesting.

I guess the bottom line is that if someone is prepared to pay the money, then that is what it is worth.

While I agree that these top-end prices have a flow-on effect to the value of lesser mortal Minis, we should not forget the lesson of the 1980s, where prices for classic cars, of all makes and across the globe, spiralled out of control. When the bubble burst, a lot of cars were suddently only worth half, or less, than what had been poaid for them, and a lot of people got stung.

Although I also agree that Minis (and Mokes) are generally still fairly under-valued, one of the great advantages of the Mini remaining in the cheaper realm of the classic car sector of the market, is that virtually anyone can afford a Mini, at least a base model - while high prices for top cars give everyone something to aim for.

If prices get out of control, could anyone afford, or justify, say $15,000 for a 998cc Clubman? (at current dollar value)

As for the originality of the Cooper S for sale at $50k, I have no reason to doubt it. If the owner has the original CAMS logbook and the numbers match, then why question it? Yes, the three photos are very different - I would suspect the blue plain car is as it is today, while the other two are period pics from different races.

The Bathurst livery is worth looking at. Only 2 Cooper S have raced at Bathurst with number 54 - John Lord/Ray Molloy in 1974 (crashed out on lap 105), and John Lord/John Harris in 1975 (DNF with blown oil seal). These might be the same car (?)

So, like Mike said; "whether having been raced by Makinen at Spa is comparable to being raced by Gaulson (or some other Aussie driver) at the Bathurts 1000" this needs to be considered. Different story of course if the car won its class, or won some other significant race.

Just food for thought.

As for that Moke at $20k - WTF. That is one seriously over-priced Moke. I have seen a couple of Mokes sell for $15k-$20k, but they were all seriously good gear, late model Californians with top paint and mechanically A1 - and probably worth every cent.

But this thing for $20k is absurd, especially when you see two others
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... osi_widget and
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... osi_widget
currently at $6,000 and $7,600 (reserves not yet, but are realistically worth a lot more if they are mechanically and structurally sound).

The $20k Moke is also not correctly identified - it is a 1976 Moke (extra panel for reversing light) and is therefore not galvanized (which a 1979 one should be), and the description says it has rust in the battery box and the floor is an unknown quantity because of the sealant all over the floor (never a good sign).

Anyway, thems my opinions.

Cheers,
Watto.

Tell im he's dreaming... $50k is probably the amount he got ripped for on the restoration.

I still want to see Jaimie Lee Curtis naked in someones bedroom !!!

_________________