A Mini experiment

this is an experiment I’ve wanted to try for some time. I’m a passionate classic Mini owner who’s more than happy to drive his pride and joy into the far reaches of Eastern Europe, but I’m also realistic enough to know that the cost of owning and maintaining one is no longer within the reach of everyone. However, with early MINIs, that’s a trend very much in reverse. Thus a cunning plan was hatched. I’d buy the cheapest road-going MINI I could lay my hands on, and see how good or bad it was with an extended road test.

Initial searches revealed that finding a cheap MINI is not difficult, but most had fundamental issues requiring major surgery. Most commonly these were a broken Midlands gearbox, head gasket failure or a knackered clutch – not something I had the time, budget or inclination to sort. What I really needed was something mechanically sound but cosmetically challenged, and after a few days of searching, a suitable candidate appeared locally on Gumtree. A 52-reg MINI One in Silver, it had only covered 81,000 miles, had a decent-length MoT and even had the panoramic sunroof. But on the flip side, the drivers door wouldn’t open from the outside, the window was stuck shut, it wouldn’t lock and the bonnet was badly dented. At £600 the price seemed