Minis For Sale on BAT

[BruceK]

Ooo.   The Mk II Cooper S auction has taken a turn.  And not a good one.

I'm going to characterize it as grumpy old seller vs. modern buyers' reasonable demands.   

The seller says the Mini's engine was rebuilt 35 years ago.  You know, back when Ronald Reagan was president, the USSR was still very much intact, and MTV actually played music videos.  In light of the three and a half decade age of the "fresh engine build" with only 1700 miles some buyers would kinda like to see a cold-start video.  Which of course is a staple of BaT.  And a reasonable request for a long distance potential purchase.   (A driving video has already been ruled out by the seller.  Because winter.  :-[  ).

The Seller, who can't be bothered, says "... if the bidding gets serious I will get it down [off the lift] and give it a cold start".    Woo-Hoo!  How fricken generous of him.

[MiniDave]

This guy thinks he has gold, I guess?

"Don't try to low ball me, I know what I have! Ran when parked! It's fine, take my word for it! "

Yeah....this one's going RNM, but not just because he's obstinate, but also because he'll want the moon for the car. After all, he's kept it in a garage on a lift - so that makes it worth so much more.....

I think you have to capture the buyer's imagination on any Auction site if you want max return, and you get that by selling the fun - the sounds, smells, and the car in action....and done right, not someone in the right seat with a cell phone that points at the floor and the headliner every time he shifts gears.

[94touring]

That's where all bidding should stop.  If the bastard is too lazy to fire up the car it may as well continue to sit on a lift collecting dust. 

[cstudep]

I agree, I'd guess he is not all that interested in actually selling it. Probably just tossing it out there to see if he can easily get some of the crazy money people have been throwing at them on BAT lately. If he actually wanted to sell it he would be willing to put out a little more effort, I mean how long could it possibly take to lower the lift, set up a camera and start the damn car up. Especially since it's a heated garage, it should fire right up no problem. I could go out to the 15 degree shop right now and have mine started within a few minutes, if it was sitting in a heated garage it would fire up on the first or second crank.

[94touring]

Exactly!  I started to comment on BAT but decided it would just start a pissing match so deleted it before hitting submit.  Guy sounds like a real tool. 

[BruceK]

Ahh.  I threw a comment out there early this morning under my BaT username stating the Mexican Standoff of no cold start video unless higher bids, against no higher bids unless cold start video.

It all comes back to having that car 21 years and only driving 1700 miles. That's a crazy average of just 80 miles per year!

[MiniDave]

" if the bidding gets serious I will get it down and give it a cold start."

"I have no interest in selling the car to and every day driver it is far to rare, and I have found very very few people that know what a rear Cooper S is."

These two statements by the seller reinforce my opinion that he wants the moon for this car and he thinks it's worth it.
It will go RNM.

[94touring]

It's peculiar it needed a transmission rebuild recently having only done 1700 miles.  It's not good for a car to be driven so little either.  Does he drain the tanks?  It also sounds like it has a race cam in it since it revs to 8k. Meaning it probably drives like shit as a regular driver.  Somewhere in there he says he doesn't want to sell it to someone who plans to drive it.  Like give me a break dude.

[MiniDave]

Yes, I quoted that just above your post.....

I don't understand why he thinks a modified maybe Cooper S is worth so much? It has a modified engine, terrible interior and like Dan and Bruce both point out it hasn't been driven near enough to keep it in good shape.

I think it's a $20K car - Canadian money!

And I'll bet he's thinking twice that or more - US.

I'll be VERY surprised if it sells.....

[94touring]

Yeah we posted at the same time.  It's a nice car but it's not worthy of a museum. 

[BruceK]

Well the owner has sure put it on a pedestal, er hoist, and left it there like it's a piece of art.   

[MiniDave]

His comments about the engine are interesting too....

[BruceK]

The seller of the red Mk II Cooper S appears to be getting crankier and less accommodating as people ask more detailed questions and challenge him on some of the "facts" he states.   Any hope of a cold start video has vanished as now the seller's excuse is a recent surgery and too much snow to deal with.

Looks like he was prepared to deal with (ie dismiss) questions and requests a seller might get on MiniMania or craigslist, but it looks like he's been caught off guard by the interactive comments and questions typical on a BaT auction.

...it is a full race cam do not know the number, it is a slow starter and takes a couple of minutes to warm up then runs smoothly burns and leaks no oil what so ever. If you would like to see a cold start, you are welcome to come over and move 2 to 3 thousand pounds of snow I can't after my surgery.

[94touring]

Just keeps getting better with the guy. 

[BruceK]

It sure does!  Now the seller is calling out a commenter about asking a thermostat question, saying the questioner doesn't know anything. 

I wonder if antagonizing bidders is a winning strategy?   50.gif   

[94touring]

I wouldn't be surprised if bids stop at the current 15k mark just due to his attitude. 

[MiniDave]

Yeah, this car's not selling.....even if it were no reserve. What a jamoke.....   ::)

[94touring]

He had a lengthy tirade he posted a bit ago but seems to be gone now. 

[94touring]

Oh maybe it is still there, shows on my phone but not my computer for some reason.  Flashplayer and chrome not doing it's thing. 

[BruceK]

Oh maybe it is still there, shows on my phone but not my computer for some reason.  Flashplayer and chrome not doing it's thing.

Excuses. Excuses.

[Jimini II]

I like his reference to repairing and re covering the front seats "if I do that it will be $30k to 40k more", good luck with that.
Definitely going nowhere with his attitude and comments.

[94touring]

I looked the guy up.  Ironically enough he owns a business that gives auto appraisals.  The injury he speaks of was him being hit by a car riding his bike.  However the article about the 66 yo from Calgary goes on to say he's recovered and back to cycling.  There's even a youtube vid of his interview. He rides 5-6k kilometers a year.  Perhaps the mirror that hit him in the head left some brain damage causing his irritability.

[MiniDave]

Well, that's good to know.....maybe that is it. He refers to his surgery, does the article mention that, or what they did? Sounds like he was hit in the head by a truck (?) mirror while he was riding?

I still wonder - like you said - how he plans to ship it if there's 2-3,000 lbs of snow in the way?

I don't think he wants to sell it - either that or he has a horribly inflated view of what it's worth. I don't know how he comes up with the idea that with new seat covers its worth $30-40K more. Maybe he should hire an appraiser?   ;D ;D ;D

[MPlayle]

I wonder what would happen if several of his snide remarks were to get flagged as "not constructive" by a bunch of folks.

[94touring]

I went back and read further and he apparently had heart surgery recently. The bike incident was summer of 2018.