Hi guys

I'm thinking of buying a mini. But I am concerned about the costs of servicing

How much is regular service? Parts? (on average of course!)

Where are the good places to service mini's in melbourne?

Marty

you can service a mini yourself quite easily, otherwise it would cost approx the same as any other car.

parts are pretty good, some of the new stuff is expensive, but second hand can be had at a reasonable price.

i only know of LINK in melbourne

BMW minis cost shitloads to service and parts.

what?? surely you've heard of Minitopia by now....

mini's require constant and attentive maintenance, you need to be prepared to do things yourself, and have a backup plan for when things go wrong

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?

i pay about $135 on average every few months to service mine. and inbetween there are infrequent (at the moment;)) trips to the auto electrician, carby specalist and all sorts of kind people who'll appreciate your business (and money) hehe

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Mellow Yellow 1976 Leyland

i definately have a back up

but i want a mini as a daily. it sounds like the mini is unrealiable.

I wouldnt say they're unreliable at all...my mini is my daily and I honestly cant remember the last time i couldnt drive it! My mum has more problems with her 94 ford then i do with the mini!

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Mellow Yellow 1976 Leyland

I have used minis as dailys before too and I will again shortly.

They are like any other car, take a mechanic to look at cars with you.

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Contact Steve at Brickworx Racing and get a Service manual off him, I was over there last week and Got a HAYNES service Manual for my Rover Mini and he had a few left on the shelf still sealed and brand new, it has everything you will need to know to keep the Mini on the road, very easy to read and understand.

Any thing major, there are a few good mechanincs for minis here in melbourne, or just ask here on the site, there is a wealth of experience and information on the other side of this key board, just ask.

I have 3 daughters who drive minis on a daily basis, with occasional trips from Sydney to Newcastle or Sydney Mittagong. I usually change the oil , oil filter and grease every 6 months and for rego I have been replacing the brake wheel cylinders as its better to be safe than sorry. So I guess each car cost about $200.00 eac per year for parts, plus the occasional steering rack or clutch or wheel bearing. The cars have been remarkably reliable over the past 10 to 15 years as they are all relatively standard and I suspect driven carefully.

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1969 Cooper "S"
1967 Mini Deluxe
1973 Clubman Van (the fleet spare)
1978 ex 1275 LS ("Wizard" Eaton Supercharged)
2015 HSV GenF GTS(occasional drive & tow car)
2019 MINI F55 Cooper S

I think by backup he meant you need to have a mechanic that can fix things on it when it is beyond your skill level, I don't think it meant having another car. I drive mine 66km's every day and have done so for a few years without a single breakdown. If you change the oil every couple of thousand miles you should be right.

Link are in Mitcham
Mini Spares and repairs are in seaford
Minitopia are in fawkner (I think, haven't made it there yet but will)
Northern Mini Parts are in heidelberg
and there are many others.

I think the only mistake some people make is that they think by buying a little car it will cost less to maintain which isn't always the case.

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

The only thing with a Mini is that it WILL consume you.

You start off with the thought that you need to go from point A to point B. And then you think to yourself, 'Gee, why not get a Mini'. I can drive it like any other car and I'll just pay a mechanic to do all the servicing.'

But you'll soon find you won't be able to leave it alone. Fiddle, fiddle, tweak, tweak, mod, mod... This is how they become expensive to own.

also they are lots of fun and other people get jealous of the enjoyment we have with our "cute little cars"
there are other places to get your car serviced but you will end up looking after them yourself .and by the way the them i said is because the breed in the corner and you usually end up with more than one

who has been playing with THE the again

you can purchase a $30,000 new car and get a service once a year and they don't bother to touch it. Once its out of warrenty everything will fail. Well maybe not but hay I have a freind that has a Nissan xtrail and had to replace a starter motor and it was $900 and a 3 month wait. This was after it was/ Was Not replaced

Purchase a seconed hand 5 year old car and you can just gamble your Money

A Classic Mini you have found a home with many people willing to help or point you in the correct direction or who knows where you can get help..

I tell you I will always love to work on a Mini rather than any other car and to drive is a pure fun. This does not included all the smiles you get from everyone else that use to have one and the parking spots that no one else can fit into

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Stop Licking the Dog...I Don't Care Who Started It

everyone else in the set of units I live in has only one parking bay, my unit has two, but because of the mini I can park 3 cars under cover and it really shits the other occupants!!!

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Noli Illegitimi Carborundum

my mini is my daily (300-350k's per week), and I compete in it once a month (or try to compete) - I fiddle with it on a regular basis, much to my wife's annoyance she says "there's always something wrong with it", what she doesn't realise is that often I'm bullshitting, and there isn't anything wrong with it, but I make up something that "needs to be done" "urgently"

and yes, by backup plan, I don't necessarily mean another car, but there will be times when you can't drive your mini for a few days or a week because something needs attention, so you need to stay on top of it

My mini is usually having major surgery of some kind in January, so I pinch my wife's car - she doesn't need it on school holidays - so that's when I sort out the things that take time to do

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did I tell you that I won a trophy?