Minis For Sale on BAT

[MiniDave]

aha....that would def keep one from shoveling snow.....

[BruceK]

The latest comments by the seller indicate that he's seen Cooper S models sell for more than €100,000 in Europe.  And apparently he thinks he's going to get a big slice of that pie.   And he also seems to think that because he has the correct body for the car that makes up for all the other stuff like the questionable seats (his admission, not my judgment), some engine rebuild of mostly boastful specifications, and what could very well be a completely non-running car.

[MiniDave]

Yeah, other than the entertainment value, there's no point in following this one any further....I think he'll get some more bids before it's over, but I really doubt this one will sell.  And even being sympathetic to his injuries and so on, his attitude has really soured me on the show....

[Jimini II]

Comparing this car to an asking price of an ex works Cooper S is not even a consideration imo, as a vehicle appraiser he should know this.
I saw a pic of the front flare stuck on with black goo it looks nasty, he may as well have screwed them on.
He has had one good chance to sell it on BaT and has maybe blown it.

[94touring]

Yeah that flare looked ugly, I saw it too.

[Jimini II]

Yeah that flare looked ugly, I saw it too.

And you know when you remove it the part where the glue has adhered to the paint will be miss matched and stained.
Those cheap ass 80's Mini Special flares need to go imo.
The S needs stock wheel arches but if you needed to cover up the mess without trying to match old red paint the best option would probably be Wood & Pickett flares.

[BruceK]

Yeah, other than the entertainment value, there's no point in following this one any further....I think he'll get some more bids before it's over, but I really doubt this one will sell.

The entertainment value is indeed high on this one.  Two jumping bids have appeared, one for $18K and the next one for nearly $22K.   It's almost like they haven't read the comments - and I posted saying as much.  In fact, I doubt they did.

Taking stock:  the car has apparently been for sale for quite a while, nobody knows how old the photos of the car are and if there has been any deterioration.  Nobody knows when the engine last ran.  Nobody knows if the car is even drivable. With just 1700 miles driven in 21 years (or 35 years?) nobody knows if it has been maintained properly. How old is the coolant?  How long has the oil been in the engine (I wouldn't be surprised if it's been a dozen years).   How long since brake/clutch fluid has been changed?  How old are the tires?  How old is the gas in the tank? 

Nobody is going to get a straight answer from Mr Crabby.   Or any answers at all I suspect.

And yet bidders are bidding.  And doing it in $3,000 to $4,000 jumps.   Seriously, WTF? 



.

[gr8kornholio]

Car speculators.  They think the prices of these will continue to climb.  They don't care about all that stuff cause to them it's not a car.  They will pull it off the lift onto a trailer and push it into storage.  They are hoping to get it "cheap" cause every one else sees the flaws. 

[jedduh01]

Wow , What a S**t Show!
  Good on ya'll for calling him out. Grumpy old men can take their sales elsewhere. I like the comments are from fellow mini owners that i also know in this community.

 
This will be a good showing of BAT + will the comments grind a sale down.. to less than expected... It has to!

Until MINIGUY puts in a bid... (that was a joke, wherever Michael Lewis has gone to)

[MiniDave]

I figure the others are just shill bids to try and get it up close to the reserve - I figure he expects at least mid 30's to 40's for it given how "rare" it is what with a Ken Miles motor and all......by the way, since Ken Miles died in '66, how did  he build this engine in '95, or was it '85?

This whole thing smells like a sham deal to me....like maybe he doesn't even have the car? Or may be he had it 35 years ago when "Ken Miles" built the motor?

[BruceK]

Car speculators.  They think the prices of these will continue to climb.  They don't care about all that stuff cause to them it's not a car.  They will pull it off the lift onto a trailer and push it into storage.  They are hoping to get it "cheap" cause every one else sees the flaws.

I think you hit the nail on the head. 

[BruceK]

I posed some question on the Mk. II Cooper S auction.  Questions that any potential buyer should want answers for.   It will be interesting to see the responses.  Or non-responses.

The car has apparently been for sale for quite a while outside of this BaT auction, so how long ago were the photos taken?

When did the engine last start and run? Did it get up to full operating temp?

When was the car last driven? And how long was the drive?

Accumulating just 1,700 miles driven over 21 years means the car has been obviously been stored for long periods of time. A car sitting unused for a long time can be very harmful to the various systems in the car. And regular maintenance even during storage is important.

How old is the coolant?

How long has the oil been in the engine?

How long since the brake and clutch fluid have been flushed?

How old are the tires?

Is gasoline emptied from the fuel tank before storing it?

Has the chassis been greased regularly?

[MiniDave]

I wonder if he'll bother to answer....he already said that since he survived his surgery he wouldn't be unhappy if it didn't sell (complete BS in my opinion) maybe he'll use that as excuse and blame "the market" or even BaT for the lousy showing? Cause after all he's seen them offered for over 100,000 Euros - more BS, the most expensive one I've seen was about £60,000.....

someone wrote "A study in the New England Journal of Medicine in February found that as many as 42 percent of patients who undergo a bypass may be expected to perform significantly poorer on tests of mental ability five years later. Other effects are personality changes, memory problems and irritability."......so now I have my excuses in line for when I act like a complete cock too!   77.gif

[Jimini II]

I posed some question on the Mk. II Cooper S auction.  Questions that any potential buyer should want answers for.   It will be interesting to see the responses.  Or non-responses.

The car has apparently been for sale for quite a while outside of this BaT auction, so how long ago were the photos taken?

When did the engine last start and run? Did it get up to full operating temp?

When was the car last driven? And how long was the drive?

Accumulating just 1,700 miles driven over 21 years means the car has been obviously been stored for long periods of time. A car sitting unused for a long time can be very harmful to the various systems in the car. And regular maintenance even during storage is important.

How old is the coolant?

How long has the oil been in the engine?

How long since the brake and clutch fluid have been flushed?

How old are the tires?

Is gasoline emptied from the fuel tank before storing it?

Has the chassis been greased regularly?

Going out on a limb here LOL but my guess is you will get no response from him.

Don't get me wrong the car is worth money and as there are no answers to reasonable questions and it needs work that is already visible it would need to be bought on the low side of what it is worth with a worst case scenario of what it may cost to go through it and imo it has already reached that amount if in fact those bids are real buyers.

[MiniDave]

Exactly.....

[BruceK]

Yeah I don't think those questions will get answers either, but the primary reason I asked them was to open up people's eyes to the situation.  A car that's been stored for long periods can be full of problems. 

[Jimini II]

More negative comments from the seller saying Mini owners don't love the car they just want to bitch about a car they cannot afford.
This has to end in a RNM.

[tmsmini]

If he has been into Minis for that long, one of the Canadians must know who it is.

[MiniDave]

I'll check with Rick Higgs, he lives up there and knows pretty much the entire Mini community in Canada.

[94touring]

More negative comments from the seller saying Mini owners don't love the car they just want to bitch about a car they cannot afford.
This has to end in a RNM.

I laughed out loud for real to that one.  The ego on this guy. 

[pbraun]

crap

[MiniDave]

Shill bidders have shown up.....RNM, to the complete surprise of no one

[cstudep]

Shill bidders would have had their work cut out for them on this one as I am sure the reserve was ridiculously high. Combine that with his complete lack of interest in being a "salesman" and it was pretty much doomed from the start.

[94touring]

I think the fake bidders started at 15k. 

[BruceK]

Yup RNM at $23,750.   And the seller is still too thick to understand that he was the entire problem as to why the car did not do better.  He will gain no personal insight out of this experience - he blamed commenters for bringing him "down to their level".