1999 Rover - Austin Mini John Cooper LE review from UK and Ireland

Where do I begin, new brakes and pads, new gearbox, rocker cover, clutch, exhaust tyres, bushes, swing arms it goes on and on and on.

From what you can see this car wasnt very reliable, I spent around £2000 getting this car above MOT ready, but when I did it ran like a dream, they are very costly, reason why is not really the parts, its the labour, and becuase I don't know much about taking them apart, I had to get someone to do it and as they are so small, they are a pain in the bum to work on, however the drive is fantastic if you don't mind boucing over every little bump, this model was uprated as standard to 95bhp which in such a little car was fantastic, although the 4 speed gearbox wasnt really designed for the motorway, it was high rev about 4000rpm at 85mph, they car handled like no other I have driven, and there was plently of torque through the revs, parking was a doddle as was general manouring, the 13" wheel however were not fun on the motorway, they were too wide and would often tramline so the car would swerve on its own accord on the motorway, HAD TO KEEP BOTH HANDS ON THE WHEEL AT ALL TIMES, even with all the little things that kept going wrong, everytime I got and started her up I smiled, no other car has done this for me. rust is a problem and when it starts it can be very hard to stop, but like I said taking this all in mind I still love it.