1996 Rover - Austin Mini Mayfair 1.3 spi from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Get One!

Faults:

The only fault that has occurred is a small amount of rust (size of a 10 pence coin) on the drivers side door.

General Comments:

This car is fantastic, it looks great as well as being great to drive.

Although maybe not as comfortable as modern cars today, I cannot complain.

This car drives such much better than the older models and is a lot more reliable.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Don't Know

Review Date: 9th January, 2005

1996 Rover - Austin Mini Equinox 1.3i from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Cracking good fun. but serious if it needs to be

Faults:

Just normal 'Wear + Tear' parts, really.

Brake cylinders every 2-3 years...

Rear wheel bearings at 40,000.

These have been replaced with uprated parts to cut down the frequency that replacements are needed - it costs a bit more, but car gives less hassle!

Consumed Alternators (3 I think!) - not the cars fault... just Scottish road salt during winter.

Exhaust to Manifold not remaining tight - giving a "tink-ling" sound under load.

Wiper spindle boxes (the bits the wipers fit onto!) ceased up at 60,000miles causing the Wiper motor to burn out a little bit of the wiring+plug... 1 new wiper motor + boxes and all is now fine (33,000 miles later)

Replaced the very saggy rubber suspension cones at 80,000 - it made the car feel 'new' again! Should have done it at 50,000.

A-panels rusted through at 85,000.

Drivers seat starting to split at 90,000.

Rusty rear bumper lip + rear valence... treatable rather than replace at 93,000.

Engine + Clutch are still going strong.

Key to this seems to be:

Oil + Oil filter changes every 6,000 miles.

Air filter + spark plugs once per year.

And... they have never been adjusted/serviced/tampered with by anyone.

Some under seal is peeling from underneath... rust beginning to show (90,000)

Sills are a bit scruffy - may need replace before next MOT (2 months from now)

General Comments:

Excellent Car.

Usual Mini fun... A Road-Legal Go Kart.

1.3i engine is enough to tow small trailer... my record is 750Kg of Sand+Gravel.

Bit cramped for driver + passengers on longer journeys... but the car itself copes well.

Cheap motoring? Hmmm Only if you don't skimp+save on the 'servicing'.

Reliable? In my experience, yes! But again... don't skimp on the 'servicing'!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 9th June, 2004

1996 Rover - Austin Mini Equinox 1.3i from UK and Ireland

Summary:

Amazing handling, poor reliability..

Faults:

Well it's a mini what can possibly go wrong with it??

The boot rusted.

The brake drum cylinder at the back leaked.

General Comments:

Mad interior, purple moons and stars.

The handling is superb as all minis are!

Fit a K&N induction kit to it and it will sound very loud, nice sucking noise though!

Not for long drives.

Overall, the most fun in a car you can have! It was my 1st car & ill love it to bits! Ill buy another one, when I have a decent job, more of a project car then anything else!

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? Yes

Review Date: 25th February, 2003

1996 Rover - Austin Mini Mayfair 1.3i petrol from UK and Ireland

Faults:

Rust in the seams is now well underway even though car under 3 years old. Rover don't care - not responding to appeals for repair. Car is fun to drive though.

General Comments:

Build quality awful. Poor fitting carpets, rear window scraping on bodywork, wind noise, leaks and failed battery.

Oh and all the RUST.

Would you buy another car from this manufacturer? No

Review Date: 31st January, 1999

22nd Mar 2001, 05:07

These pre-historic 'cars' are best consigned to the history books. How Rover got away with selling these for so long is beyond me.

6th Feb 2007, 14:23

WHAT! Mini's are exellent cars, sure they can rust, but not if they're taken care of. A Ford Ka or Fiesta are the sorts of things I wouldn't consider a proper car.

13th May 2007, 06:34

I owned two Minis, one from the 60's and one from the 80's. They were my first two cars, and the most fun cars I have ever owned. They were cramped, quite noisy and slow, but they were so fun to drive, and reasonably reliable I loved them. Better that these new small cars made in the middle east by far. MINIS ARE EXCELLENT!!!