Morris Minor Owners Club

Hi all

Glad to be here and in advance thanks for the help.

Our trusty Volvo is giving up after 188000 miles and we're looking for a new car. Most of the time it is just myself and my wife in the car but having 3 teenage children we are very occasionally all together for a day too. Very occasionally, perhaps once every 3 months.

I've been looking at modern cars, something economical to run, cheap insurance, cheap tyres (our Volvo goes through a lot) cheap tax. the holy grail really. We've driven everything from Mitsubishi to BMW and haven't found anything we like. Actually I've learned a lot and some cars only 2 years old have lost half their new value...............so....

We began looking at classic cars, more specifically the Morris Minor and Morris Traveller and we are really keen to know more. I have always wanted a classic car and intended to buy one some years ago and then 8 years ago I got cancer and have been fighting for my life ever since so it is also a bucket list dream too now. I also want to leave my wife with a car she can use daily to the shops and days out close by and also something that is going to remain steady in price as opposed to dropping like a stone as new cars do. This will be our only car and perhaps used 4-5 days a week.

Would you be so kind and look at these few cars for me and tell me your opinions, condition, price and if they hold their value and are able to be used daily.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/222243575829? ... EBIDX%3AIT
(eBay item number:222243575829)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/191965855575? ... EBIDX%3AIT
(eBay item number:191965855575)

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/162195454807? ... EBIDX%3AIT
(eBay item number:162195454807)

I appreciate looking at 3 cars is a big ask but with about £10k to play with I want the best I can get obviously but need your educated advice.

Thanks so much, I sincerely appreciate it.

Simon

If it was me, I would put an offer in for the traveller, but I am not a convertible fan, and although the saloon looks good, I just think the traveller is the better choice. You will gain friends that you never knew you had with that car!

However, it needs someone local, who really know the weaknesses of minors, to go and look at the car, or cars, and to particularly explore the quality of the work done on the body, inner wings and underside. This one looks good, but photos don't always tell the whole story!

I'm going to be brutally honest (and not everyone on here will agree with me), but classic car ownership for daily use is really only for those with the energy, time and aptitude for serious mechanical and bodywork repairs, and with enough cash to cope with things going wrong. There are very few commercial garages who can work on these cars.

This isn't to say that running a Morris can't go well, just that it will be a lot less certain to than many moderns. I run a Skoda Fabia, which I bought for less than £2k as a temporary fill in until I've finished my Traveller, and it has been trouble free over the 8000 miles I've had it. Although it wouldn't be as much fun, something like this might be a lot more suitable for your wife in the long term.

The Traveller does look from the photos to be a good one, but I would be asking why the owner who restored it moved it on so quickly and ditto for the current owner.

Best wishes whatever you decide.

Mark

I have to say that I largely DO agree with Mark. Much as running a Morris Minor gives me great pleasure, it is not my only car and it wouldn't be suitable if it was. I am able to carry out the repairs and maintenance myself for the most part, so that saves a good deal of money. The Morris would be a relatively expensive car if I had to pay someone else to do everything as there is always something to do!

To my mind, the Morris Minor makes a great hobby car/second car but if you have £10,000 available, there are probably more practical choices if you wish to run just one car - particularly if you have 3 teenagers to carry about.

The cars you highlight all look good examples - especially the traveller and the convertible but, as said already, DO get a proper check done before you purchase such a car. They are all relatively expensive. The white saloon looks a bit of a mismash to me and certainly doesn't have an MG Midget engine. Its a Marina one. Nitpicking perhaps but such an error would make me wonder what else is mis-described.

Good luck to you whatever you decide.

All good advice , spending 10K will still not buy a "new car" . there will be plenty of stuff on that car that is up to 50 years old , and it will fail , just when it is most inconvenient usually . Great for a weekend hobby car , but a big ask if you have to rely on it daily and are unable to mess with it yourself .
Good luck Jim

I've been owning and driving Minors as my only cars for 30 years. I have also driven other cars (company vehicles, hire cars, etc). When working further away from home I was doing 18,000 miles a year, but now thankfully a lot less. The Minors sit outside on the drive in all weathers and nearly always start - but then modern vehicles nearly always start too, nothing mechanical can be 100% reliable.

The minors have taken us on long distance holidays without a hiccup, and tow trailers quite happily; and the Travellers are better at load carrying than many modern vehicles. BUT, I do the maintenance myself. You need to be aware of greasing points that require attention every 1,500 miles. Parts are cheap enough, but need to be fitted. Insurance is cheap, tax not paid, and 35 - 45 mpg achievable; so economical all round, but another BUT: The car will need welding from time to time, the wood will need preserving. A modern vehicle is quieter and has more safety features, but is a complicated bit of kit. The Minor is simple and reliable, but does not have such good heating. Looked after, a Minor will hold its value and look after you; but to get the best from it, you need to understand it. You might want to upgrade some components for modern motoring conditions. All possible, and I am a strong advocate of using the car. However, in your circumstances I would want to be certain that the teenagers were sufficiently interested to guarantee that the car would receive the attention that it deserves.

There is no right or wrong answer here, but I would consider pur thriving Younger Members register - friendships can last a lifetime, and spread across the world; so talk to the whole family before decising.

Probably none of them.

First -comments as made by others.

Second - tabetha either knows nothing or is trying to act dim. 12 months road tax? Really?

Third - from a used car outlet, so always hyped by sales talk. It may be the best of the three options but I would want more than a 'say so' from a forum such as this.

I competely agree with comments re old cars - they are less crash resistant than modern offerings, they use old technology, they are not that economic to run, apart from historic vehicle status. I know I could sort, or diagnose, most problems that might arise because I grew up fixing things such as that era cars, motorbikes and a host of other repairable items. There are many around that don't even know how to oil the dipstick, these days! Some don't even know what a dipstick is for (from a father, whose daughter once filled a litre of oil into a metro engine via the dipstick tube! ).

Thank you all so much for the advice. Given I've no mechanical experience I've taken your advice and perhaps a MT isn't the right choice for me. I have always wanted one but practically it isn't the right choice to leave my wife with perhaps more problems. I may though save up some more but a newer car and get a traveller as a second car, you never know.

Thanks so much, sincerely appreciated.