Where to Look

Classified Ads
The easiest way to find Minis. There are many places to look too. Your local free ads paper, Autotrader, Mini Magazine, Mini World, Exchange & Mart etc. You can really pick up some bargains here, but you can also end up with a shed. Buy carefully and make sure the car has everything that you think you are paying for. Engines can sometimes be described falsely. If you dont know what you are looking for, you could end up with a bog standard 998 rather than the modified 1380 that you thought you were buying, so beware!

Dealers
Often the safest and most expensive way to buy a Mini. Buying from a dealer gives you legal protection which ultimately means that you will end up with a decent Mini.

Auctions
This is definately only for experienced buyers. Often there can be bargains, but then again, you could end up with a Mini that looked fantastic but was a complete shed.

The Internet
There are many forums and sites dedicated to the Mini and many of these have For Sale forums. A great way to find a Mini, but never agree a sale without seeing the car.

Shows
Shows are a great place to buy a Mini. There are loads for sale and they are all in one place, so you dont have to drive miles to view them! Mini In the Park is a good example of a show where there are lots of Minis for sale.

Other
Sometimes the perfect Mini can turn up when you least expect it to. You may find it at the side of the road with a for sale sign, word of mouth or rusting merrily in someones garden.

What to look out for

Bodywork
Say the word Minis to most people and eventually the word rust will come up. It's well known that Minis rust. For your first Mini, its best to try and find the soundest bodywork possible. This might be on a 1960's Mini or a 1990's Mini, every Mini is different rust-wise, due to the main fact that different owners are in different circumstances and treat their Minis differently. Surface rust can be very easy to repair, but walk away from anything with structural rot.

Look out for badly carried out repairs of places that may have been rusty and look out for Filler and bodged welding. This generally means that the owner of the Mini doesn't care about his car.

Hints and Tips:
- Some one told me that instead of tapping the bodywork to look for filler, the best way to find it is by using a magnet and a hankerchief or cloth (so you dont damage the paintwork).

Engine
First impressions can mean alot with an engine. If the engine bay is clean, it means that the car is well cared for. Have a look around the electrics and look for any places that seem excessively oily. It's always important to test drive the car, so whilst driving the car, check the rear mirror for smoke. Also, drive the car on different roads, and don't be afraid to gun it a bit. Also, make sure that the test drive lasts at least a half and hour.

Suspension and brakes
During the test drive, it is also a good idea to see if there are any problems with the brakes or suspension. Whilst moving in a straight line with some speed, on a safe road, take your hands off the steering wheel for a moment, and see does the car pull slightly to the left or the right. This means damage to the suspension or subframes, usually caused by a visit up a kerb at high speed. It's a good idea to step on the brakes hard at one occasion to see just how well they stop. Look out for excessive pedal travel or excessive brake squel.

Interior
The interior can be checked before or after the test drive, but rust found in the interior might help you make up your mind quickly, deeming a test drive pointless. A shabby interior can sometimes mean that the car has done high mileage or been uncared for. If a car has got 20000 miles on the clock but looks as if it's done 200000 miles, ask if there has been an engine replacement at any time. The great thing about Minis is, that if you find a Mini with a shabby interior and a bad engine, but with great bodywork, it's often cheaper to sort than a low-mileage rusty car. The first thing to do is lift up the carpets and check the floor. If the floor is rotten, it's usuallly best to walk away. Also check under the rear seats and in the rear door bins for rust, as the rear subframe is mounted in the rear door bins. Obviously the look of the interior is important too and this is always down to personal preference, but interiors can be changed much easier than body panels!

Other things to look out for
Check that the chassis and VIN no's match.
Check that all the paperwork matches.
Be wary of owners that seem to know very little about the car and how it drives.