Is a Morris a good first car?

[HarryJCross]

Hello everybody, im 17 years old and looking to buy a Minor as my first car, and i was just wondering if they are fun to drive and reliable cars? and are they easy to look after. i know it being a classic car it will need to be kept on top of i have seen some fairly nice ones on ebay that ive looked into

Thanks.

[Courthouse/Tom]

To answer your questions, yes,yes, and yes !!.

[mike.perry]

They are an excellent first car, as long as you don't mind being burnt off the lights by your mates in their Citroens and Corsas, which will be in the scrappy long before your Minor

[Alex'n'Ane]

Join the young members group. http://www.facebook.com/groups/MMOCYM/ There are shed loads of us who own them, and can give you a good opinion and help
There are people with all levels of knowledge on there, people who know very little about cars/classics to people who have done full resto's. Do you have any past experience of working with cars, or family who does?

[HarryJCross]

Thanks for the reply's guys, personally i dont have much experience working on classic cars but my brother and dad both have classic mini's. and my brother is a pretty good welder so im sure he can help out there, and with being beaten at the lights by my mates im not that fussed about speed :L aslong as the car is comfortable and looks good, thats enough for me

[Chock]

So long as it is mechanically sound, a Morris Minor is not a bad choice for a first car as far as simply driving about at 30mph locally is concerned, and in fact it is arguably a better choice in some ways, most notably in that it will likely teach you more about basic maintenance than a modern car is likely to do, simply by virtue of the fact that you will probably have to indulge in doing some to keep it running.

However, if you are driving one daily, you should ensure that it has seatbelts and probably swap the seats out for ones with head restraints too (these are the two features lacking from a Morris Minor which mean you cannot take the driving test in one, since this puts the examiner at risk). The chances of you having a few bumps and scrapes is increased when you are an inexperienced driver who has just passed their test too, so these upgrades would be a wise precaution.

There was no such thing as 'crumple zones' in the late 1940s when the Minor was designed, so any impact is transferred directly through the car's structure rather than dissipated in collapsible box sections as it is on modern cars, which means a Minor is probably less likely to be written off in a slowish impact, since its parts are not designed to deform, but such an impact is more likely to injure you, because you definitely are designed to deform in an impact, and not in a good way. Thus Corsas, Micras, Puntos and the like may be boring to look at, but their NCAP-rated crash-worthiness means that they will definitely be safer in a serious accident. Because of this, if you intend to travel frequently on motorways or dual carriageways (i.e. driving at 55-70 mph daily), then a Minor (and in fact quite a lot of older cars, and especially the Mini) is not a wise choice from a safety standpoint, which is a shame, but it is unfortunately the truth.

A Minor is not a fast car, but it is still possible to be stupid in one and try to take it around a bend doing 60 mph at night on an unlit road in dodgy weather, and the fact is, a young person is more likely to try that in a car, which is often what those faded bouquets of flowers which you see tied around railings and trees are about when combined with not wearing a seatbelt. Insurance companies know that drivers under the age of around 26 (and statistically mostly males) are inclined to be out at night with their friends and be tempted to drive fast to show off, or possibly drink and drive fast to show off, and whilst I'm not suggesting you will do any of that, it is the chief reason why you get charged a lot for insurance on a car when under that age. After that age, insurers assume you get responsible and boring, and you will no longer imagine yourself indestructible, which is the real reason why premiums drop, not owing to increased driving experience as people often suppose.

Most classic cars are cosseted and wrapped in cotton wool, driven carefully by older owners and well maintained, so in spite of their lesser crash-worthiness, this common owner scenario makes them a good bet for insurance companies, but their willingness to insure such older vehicles for low premiums should not be taken to indicate that they are a great choice for every driver. Think carefully about every aspect of what you want to do in your car. Nipping around to your friends once in a while on B roads is a far less risky proposition in an old car than driving up the M62 every night in all weathers would be, and as much as you might like an old classic, you should bear this in mind, given their less inherent safety. I'm not trying to put you off here, far from it, I'm just pointing out that you should think carefully about everything you want your car to do, beyond looking cool.

Al

[aupickup]

well i have only a\ morris minor saloon for every day use
i go to london every weekend so that does include motorway driving and the traffic in london
durin the week i am in hastings some days

so i do on average arounf 250 miles a week

so you have the choice

this is my choice

[autolycus]

Chock's summary of some of the aspects of Minor ownership that other posters ignore was spot on. You're bound to get people claiming to drive a zillion miles every day, in all weathers, and who have survived horrendous accidents, but this doesn't necessarily apply to everyone. As for learning to drive: I'd suggest taking lessons and driving test in a modern car - they are easier to drive in the manner examiners like. By all means get extra practice in an older car - there was a 29 year age gap between the two that I had lessons in and practiced in (Austin A40 and Series 1 Morris Eight), but the newest Minor will be 40 years older than the driving school Micra.

As for reliability - a Minor can be quite reliable, if you service it often enough, though you won't get intergalactic mileage between major overhauls like you do with even cheap modern cars. And at least you stand a chance of understanding how it works.

Comfortable? Hmmm. Try one. None of your height and rake adjustments, effective demisting, or even seat padding that you get with moderns.

Don't forget fuel costs, which will be anything up to double those of a small modern car. Driven as young drivers tend to, a Minor will perhaps give you 6-7 miles per litre in mixed use. I never get less than 11, and usually 12 or more, miles per litre from an 11 year-old, 132000 mile "modern" diesel.

Kevin

[C6Dave]

I agree, 'Chocks' summary was very valid and provided good advice for one looking to get their first car.

[santadawes]

Well everyone seems to have some fun with their Morris's but you can have 10 times more fun with a Police Panda..

[Alex'n'Ane]

Comfortable? Hmmm. Try one. None of your height and rake adjustments, effective demisting, or even seat padding that you get with moderns.

Don't forget fuel costs, which will be anything up to double those of a small modern car. Driven as young drivers tend to, a Minor will perhaps give you 6-7 miles per litre in mixed use. I never get less than 11, and usually 12 or more, miles per litre from an 11 year-old, 132000 mile "modern" diesel.

Kevin

Fitting alternative seats is not a challenging job, also de-mmisting I never find an issue. A quick wipe, and the heater isn't that bad over time. Also I think u'll find we all drive pretty bloody fuel efficiently, fuel prices and a student loan don't go well together But its still something to think about. Equally look at the cost of diesel when comparing fuel costs vs a modern diesel.
Also ask the same question on the ym page for real world young members advice

[Jimmymoggy]

I am 19 , i have had my moggy since i pasted my test when i was 17. i have loved all the many miles in her(15k in one year), yes i have spent a bit on her but it has taken me to collage every day as i needed it too. it has never let me down , but you will have to get used too talking to older people who had these amazing little cars when they was younger. most of my friends find it really cool my minor. however it does lack safty. i think having a classic is sometimes safer because you are driving slower (talking to someone who wrote off his dads pug 106) i drove too fast in moden cars so my dad wishes me to drive my classics. I LOVE MY MOGGY. amazing cars and i have learnt alot about how it works and do all the work myself with my dad or grandad. good projects to keep us youngers off the streets and being drunk be careful ! there are some bads ones out there a.k.a cough ebay !

[HarryJCross]

Wow, thanks guys for all the feedback everybody saying what they have has just made me want one even more! , what would you say would be a good website then to find a good minor if not ebay?, because i have seen some fairly decent ones on ebay but then when i got my dad to look over then most of the chassis was rusted up to hell and said it would be a big job to repair it.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Morris-MINOR- ... 8006660627 this is the one i have been mainly looking at which seems fine overall except from the chassis which mentioned earlier

[brucek]

Harry - there was a thread about this car a few months ago - you might want to have a search for it. There does look to be a lot of welding work needed on this car so be careful. I'll try and find it too. In the meantime, here's a thread I was involved in which you might find useful in your search. Hope you find one soon

http://www.mmoc.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=43309

[HarryJCross]

Kk thanks for the help again, ive read the topic and pretty intresting ill show it to my dad tommorow aswell, do you know of any morris minor owners in the Yorkshire area? if you do i would like to get in touch with them and see if they know of anybody selling any near me, so i could get a good look at the cars and see if they would suit me.

[Fingolfin]

Harry -- I was 17 when I got my first car, a Morris Minor two-door saloon. They're much rarer in the States than in Britain, so when presented with the opportunity to get a rare first car, I jumped at it. When I got the car (Mog), I knew nothing about how a car works, and next to nothing about how to drive. However, armed only with determination and my own not-insignificant curiosity, I have, in three years, managed to tear the thing down, repair it completely (it needed a LOT), and rebuild it almost completely, learning loads in the process. In the summer Mog will be roadworthy, and, at the age of 20/21, Fin will have his first car -- finally!

With that in mind, I have two points to make.
One: I see you've already thought of this, but do make sure, when you go to look at a Minor, to bring someone knowledgeable along so it can be properly evaluated. The underside is crucial and you have to know what you're looking for (rust, yes, but other things too).
Two: Minors make excellent first cars, in that they teach you how a car works, how to service and care for one (and that's pretty simple if you have books), how to drive sanely, and -- above all -- how to be AWESOME, a skill in which too many people nowadays are sorely lacking.

[C6Dave]

Take a drive up to Matthewsons in Thornton Le Dale and take a look at this one 1956 Morris Minor

Probably above your budget but it will give you an idea what to look for and they will look for a car for you if you ask them.

'Tat' they don't do plus it makes for an interesting day looking at all the other cars in the museum for £2.00

If you go on 3rd March keep your hands in your pockets at the auction as you could end up with something other than a Morris Minor!

[brucek]

Harry - here's a link to the Barnsley branch website http://www.barnsleyminors.co.uk think they are proably the nearest branch to you, Get involved, even if yu don't have a car yet as it's a good way to find out who has what and often they know about cars for sale that won't be advertised.

[customjob]

NEE NOR NEE NOR check out my car tis da Police, agreed santa you can have fun in minor panda, at least when i finished in the Police the car i used drive you could catch people with, not like the ones when i first started with a Metro City 850 L and we lost 5 Mph on top speed due to the light box on the roof.

[JOWETTJAVELIN]

Listen lad, don't spend the best part of 2 grand on a bag of crap like that which needs welding. For the same money you can buy one in very good nick. You will regret all the welding and the inevitable rust creep breaking out like a rash. I know pal, cos I've been there. Save your money and spend it on one with no rust.

As for first cars they're pretty damn foolproof and will take a good battering. There were a lot at my university (Hull) in everyday use. Some nutter even had a model T Ford without running boards.

Don't buy the first one you see: there are plenty around and in better condition.

Take someone along with you who knows about old cars - there are plenty of people on this forum who I'm sure would help.