[mister.t]

Right. As some of you may know, Im 17 in December, and Ive been looking at cars for ages (at least a year or so - Im car crazy you see) And after many many hours of thinking and number crunching, I think its going to be a Mini One I was going to go for a Land Rover 90 200Tdi, but at £3.5k for a good one, I dropped it for a Suzuki Vitara. Im mega into off-roading too, (both good off-road, and the Suzuki has a bit of comfort thrown in) and insurance for both of them was reasonable. But, I could get a T Reg Vitara (old shape) for about £1.5-2k, and thought that that was very good. Id then stick some mud tyres and a winch bumper on it for play days. But, lately, Ive been going a bit over the top. Ive started looking at Mini Ones, and I looked at them thinking that Id never in a million years be able to afford one, but, well, the title says it all They are getting within grasp now. I never spend money (quite literally, and Im working throughout the summer on good pay, which helps enormously) There was one on Autotrader a week or so ago for silly cheap money - £4399 I think, almost too cheap Im afraid, but, at the minimum at the moment, its £5750. And they should fall now the R56 has surfaced. And £680 odd for insurance with me and dad on policy, which isn't bad IMO. I do need to shop so it will get cheaper hopefully (any reccommendations??) Well, being a Mini nut, Id accept more or less anything spec wise (however, not keen on the R82 wheels - much prefer the R81s or even the R12s) and would love either Yellow or Black. I could get really picky, but I'll stop there. But the main point is, are there any things to look out for? Cambelts, gearboxes, drivetrain etc? Will start looking very soon, and if theres one REALLY cheap, you never know, the R56 may have a Mini friend sooner

[supa-dupa-cooper]

Nice one Ollie, a MINI ONE is definatly the way to go

I wouldnt have thought you would get one that cheap, unless it has either really high mileage, or is bog standard?? Dont know i may be wrong! (is that price the minimum or maximum?)

If it were me buying, i'd be buying from a dealer (MINI or not) so at least youve got a bit of 'back up' if anything goes wrong. But by doing that, its not going to be cheap. (The cheapest on MINI cherished at the moment is a Silver ONE on a 51 plate, with 45k miles @ £6750) I guess if you shop around you may well find one, but i'd be wary of buying a car like a MINI too cheaply, just incase...

Good luck MINI Hunting!!

[MartinSSZ]

Get the Defender (Honestly)

[West9]

Hi there..

One is the best choice for the younger driver (me being one of them) and unless you're taking pass plus, you may be hit a bit by insurance as it is with all cars really, if that isnt an issue, just make sure everything is on your own etc, i've been raving on fronting on another thread... but as I say if its not an issue then go for it, I was told by somone that learned in them they are great cars to drive as a learner.. but once you pass your test, they're great anyway full stop

Im betting you'll be able to pick up a Y/51 Plate for about 4/5k