Craigslist Gems

[SoCalMiniFan]

Southern California Craigslist has some real Mini gems at the moment. 

This one however is really my favorite.

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/wst/cto/d/1973-classic-mini-cooper/6529267412.html

I'm really curious about the $14,000 brake job and gear box and he got really ripped off on the $3,000 wheel and tire package he apparently got from England.

This one too but I'm really more interested in the UniMog in the picture and the fact the seller is willing to trade for crypto mining equipment, cars, watches, or real estate!

https://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/cto/d/1973-austin-mini-widebody/6548940370.html

[MiniDave]

An SPi 1973 Mini?????

The green car didn't get a brake job, he got a break job - those are much more expensive!  ;D

[94touring]

I need to up my prices again I see.  Or install sets of kad brake kits in other parts of the car.  "Odd looking shift knob" "yeah that would be 4 puck calipers on an alloy radius arm"

[MiniDave]

The engine doesn't look like it was touched!

[BruceK]

The engine doesn't look like it was touched!

Are you kidding?!  Any fool can see he spent $2000 on a full detail in the engine compartment alone. 

And he forgot to mention the grille.  That's a $1200 chrome grille all the way from England. 

[BruceK]

On that green Mini being sold by the pathological liar, what kind of seats are those?

[gr8kornholio]

What's really sad is the uninformed buyer who would believe all that and think they are getting a bargain.

[SoCalMiniFan]

What's really sad is the uninformed buyer who would believe all that and think they are getting a bargain.

I think that's what bothers me the most.  I will admit I was somewhat uninformed when I bought my Mini but I at least had an honest seller and was straightforward with me about the car I was buying. 

There is also another ad for a really nice 1989 Mayfair Mini and it being in California there is really no financially friendly way to get it registered here and there is NO mention of that and it's not currently registered in CA.  It comes with all the import info/shipping, paperwork to get it registered... but no mention it won't work in CA.

A lot of people in CA don't realize it's not legal to sell a pre-owned post 1975 car without a SMOG pass certificate unless it's agreed upon and written between seller/buyer.  Even then I'd have some sort of document written up that it was up to the buyer and if it fails the seller would help rectify the situation. 

[Mudhen]

Here's a CL gem...starting to see some cool rust bucket first gen cars up here - regular hatch stuff like this car, but also bottoms of the doors.  Making for some cheap cars if you've got a sandblaster and some time!

[MiniDave]

Parts are readily available for those, you can buy a hatch and some doors at the scrapyard and simply change them out.

I'm very surprised at how badly some of these new MINIs rusted out - I've seen some perforated cars down here too - in fact they replaced the entire q-panel on Don's 2006 JCW due to rust!

[ve9aa]

No rust on our 2012 Bini, bought new in the winter of 2011,(not driven much the first cpl winters at all) but my 2009 is starting to show small signs of brown here and there.

Then again, it's driven 365/365 and we get tons of ice/snow/sand/salt and well below freezing temps 4-5months a year.
We're also a relatively humid environment, unlike the West/N-West where it tends to be drier.
My 09 MINI should be @ 200k (kms) by Xmas time.  It's a non nonsense DD.

[BruceK]

Honestly, for you guys that live in the Rust Belt I don't know why anyone of you would ever consider buying a rusty used car -  especially if it's a used car that is going to be a fun car or hobby car. There are so many cars from the south or west that have absolutely zero rust and would be a much better choice, and they are worth a road trip to go pick one up.  Sure, the paint can be sunburnt through the clearcoat, the dash can be cracked, and so forth but not having any rust trumps all those things.   And by the way, most cars these days don't get sunburnt paint or cracked dashes anymore as cars are built out of better materials.   It is so much easier to work on brakes, suspension pieces, and everything else when it is as pristine 10 years later as was on the day it left the factory. 

[Mudhen]

MINI treated my '05 to the full rust warranty treatment, too.  New hatch, new rear quarters, etc...think it was in 2015 with 200k miles on the clock.  They certainly shouldn't have...I read through the warranty booklet and it clearly states it needs regular check ups; my car never went to the dealer.  And it wasn't perforated, just surface.  But they did me right!

I don't mind dealing with some rust on a fixer upper.  It's fun, makes a huge difference for the car and hopefully saves one more from the junkyard for a little while longer.   4.gif

[MiniDave]

My 09 Clubby is rust free so far, and it lives outside too - and we do get plenty of salt, snow, ice and other moisture.

It's odd that Don's car rusted, it lives a pampered life in a garage.

[BruceK]

Here's a CL gem...starting to see some cool rust bucket first gen cars up here - regular hatch stuff like this car, but also bottoms of the doors.  Making for some cheap cars if you've got a sandblaster and some time!

I don't know what that rusty R53 is selling for, but here's an example of a rust-free (not free rust  ;D ) Cooper S with 105K miles and an asking price of $4,000 = and it never needs to see a sandblaster.

https://dallas.craigslist.org/sdf/cto/d/2005-mini-cooper/6727770715.html 

[gr8kornholio]

My yellow 07 recently resurfaced and was up for $5300 with 128K on the clock.  A fellow member of metroplexmini bought it, hope he didn't pay over 3 for it. 

On the white one, why not replace the knock sensor?  Why do people think its better to sell a car with a obvious problem instead of fix it, when they try to make it sound so simple to fix.

This explains it:  "The sensors are easy to replace once you get access to them, which in the case of the R53 involves removing most of the front of the car. Note: you will need a torque wrench to properly torque the sensors."

Of course from watching wheeler dealers I know these are supposed to have a major service at 100K miles that requires the front end to be removed to access all kinds of stuff.  One of those should of replaced the $20 part while you were in there type of things.  If it hasn't had the service the car is worth about $1500 cause that service is not cheap.

[MiniDave]

Bruce's point is valid tho, when we worked on his then 10 year old car, all of the fasteners came undone easily, nothing had nature's locktite on it and it all came apart and went back together easily.

When we changed Don's outer ball joints, I had to get out the 3 lb hammer and really beat on them to get them out of the bottom of the strut.

[BruceK]

It's odd that Don's car rusted, it lives a pampered life in a garage.

I've heard before that the cycle of being out in the cold running through snow and slush and then coming into a warmer garage where that stuff melts and repeating that whole thing can make rust happen more easily then in a car that stays outside all winter long in the cold  and doesn't go through as many thaw cycles.   

[gr8kornholio]

Yea, kind of same though behind your son buying the Subaru in your area where it's a less desirable car.