1990 Rover - Austin Mini 30 limited edition from UK and Ireland - Comments

I'm going to get lynched for sacrilege here, but let me explain...

My ex had a Mini City of '83 vintage an although I thought that it was under specified for what it cost, I must admit that it really was great fun to drive. You simply cannot judge these things as cars, you've got to look at them as if they were road-legal jet-skis or go-karts or something like that.

Anyhow, I felt like a change after 5 years with a Toyota MR2 so I got a '90 Mini 30 and regretted it. I was drawn to the retro-chic of mini-lite alloys, half-leather seats and the glossiest black paint I've ever seen. It was a head turner and utterly classless.

I shopped around and bought the best one I could find for 1300 quid. As far as reliability is concerned, all I can say is that mine wasn't particually unreliable in one area other than gearbox, but it did wear out about 10 times faster than any modern car. The worst aspect was the electrics as they were nothing but trouble. I ended up riping half the loom out and doing things my own way. The fuse-box is like something out of a kids toy, its appalling. Minis are frail and temperamental as standard in my experience. Although mine was built in '90, I should have had more sense and driven it like a car built in '59 when it came out.

Minis are weird, they beg you to thrash them and yet they hail from an era when materials and design didn't stand abuse. I found that very frustrating. I didn't agree with the train of thought that says Minis handle. They grip, I will say that, but they don't handle in the conventional sense.

I found the brakes acceptable, but the pads wore out far too quickly. The gearbox on mine was like stirring a bucketful of nuts and bolts with a coat-hanger and I destroyed second gear twice. In the end, I replaced the entire lump and gearbox with one out of a 1.3 HLE Metro. After this, it literally jumped from 20 to 50 mph as fast as you could think about it. After this, it ran out of steam and 1st gear was a crawler gear and essentially useless.

The original 1.0 engine never felt anywhere near as lively as my ex's City, but it managed as well as could be expected. Regard it as a four wheeled moped and you won't be disappointed.

Forget tales of being uncomfortable. I'm a 6ft, 15 stone body-builder and I always had enough room. I did journeys of 200 miles without the slightest hint of discomfort. Earplugs help, you've just got to adapt and say " This is not a car, this is a Mini". That's true, its not so much a case of finding excuses for it as accepting the fact that you are not driving a conventional car.

Buy one because you want to be seen, not for an adequate means of daily transport. By the way BMW, the new MINI is a BMW 1 series and always will be. Your new version will never be cool, John Lennon or Peter Sellers never drove yours!

I think there are good and bad cars, but the Thirty was one of the better of all the SPECIAL editions. I agree entirely with the statement "it's not a car it's a MINI and I have to admit that updating hasn't always been an improvement. Handling was sacrifieced with the move from 10" to 12 " wheels and again to 13" wheels. The move to a instrument binnacle in front of the bus like steering wheel instead of the centrally positioned layout was a backward step. Why not drop the wheel positin with a simple bracket rather than leave it as a common an owner add-on?

Having said that the car remains a quaint reminder of our past and now lost motor heritage and will always be an icon of that. The Thirty was another poor attempt to upgrade a dated car to some form of luxuary. It suceeded partially whilst diregarding more important upgrades.

I would have prefferred if investment had ben spent on removing rust prone areas or treating them effectively. 45 years on and they still rot in the same places, as they did in 1959, on leaving the factory, right up to the very last producion model remaining with a number of obvious rust prone areas still untreated. It is of very litle comfort to pay so much and drive around in the "visual luxuary of leather and wood venners etc" within a body that will rot perhaps quicker now than in 1959 and all for a can of cavity wax.

Like most I still love them and have 4, two of which are Mini 30's. They are an icon of our history, perhaps in prodution beyond their years, but still admired by all throughout the world. Like Concorde they impacted on peoples lives and will never be forgotten. Yes the BMW is what it is, a mini BMW, but it will never be a MINI.

I think the reviewer has to accept the fact this is a very old design with a number of design faults and it can't really be compared to a modern sports such as an MR2.

Also I would say from the mileage someone's driven it around town all its life and never warmed the engine up and probably not serviced it either. The Mini does require much more general servicing than most more modern cars (as do most 1950's cars)

I agree with the statements made in this Forum.

I'm only 18 but I'm absolutely mad on Minis. I briefly owned a cheap, rusty, runabout 92 Mini City that I used whilst my 106 was broke and off road. Although it was rusting like hell and seemed like I was stepping back 90 centuries from the 106 as regards technology, I loved it to bits. They have this effect on you, although they're basic and old, you just smile when your driving them, people have a kind of respect for you because you drive a Mini, its like no other car.

I have no car at the moment as I'm giving up on my 106 (cam belt failure). I miss driving and need a car. I'm going to University in September and need a car to keep me occupied over the summer and reliable enough to get me 120 miles to Aberystwyth and then back every month or so. I really want to get another Mini, maybe spend a bit of money over a grand and get a decent one. Do they really cost as much as everyone says to upkeep them, I don't mind doing stuff myself I'm really good with cars, stripped the c-head out of the 106 in 2 hours.

Don't know what to do, the Mini is basic, but it has everything I need for a car at this stage of my life and they are quite cheap to run.

Really need help I love them to bits, I loved them before I owned the City and even after owning that tatty car I love them even more. I miss the Mini and often wish I could have it back. Please help me or give me some advice please!

Hey I'm 17 and have just passed my test. I am absolutely obsessed with minis and have found one for £1295 (1990 Hreg rover 1.0). It has 50'000 miles and has recently had its electronics updated. I have got the money to buy the car and it is one of the few I can afford the insurance on, but is it wise to buy such an old car? I love the mini to bits, but I've heard they rust and leak and all sorts. Is it going to cost me a lot in upkeep? It seems to be in pretty good nick at the moment :S.

Around Easter in 2006 I went to see a Thirty LE that had been off the road for a year. I had been looking at other minis for over a year, but none had caught my attention like this Thirty had.

It was exactly what I wanted colour coded arches and mirrors with alloys as standard. I loved the half leather interior and all the little bits and bobs that make a Thirty so special.

A year later I finally managed to get it and I am currently working on it. It needs its whole front end replaced as well as a sill. It fried the three wires from the starter to the alternator the first time we tried to connect the battery.

However when I replaced those three wires and connected the battery again, after a year and a half of not being started or drove, my mini started on the button first time without any problems. I was able to drive it up and down a lane without a front end on.

Yes I will come across mountains of problems with it and no doubt I will spend stupid amounts of money on it, but at the end of the day it will all be worth it. When I drive it is like being a kid again, you catch everyones attention as you go by and kids just can not help but smile when they see a mini on the road. There will be countless problems, but that is what makes a mini a mini. They are all different and all have their own character and look and that is what I love about them.

I have just got my mini 30 out of storage after 8 years, it has not started as I expected, but I m going to throw good money at it as when I was a student it was good to me!!!

It never broke down in the 4 years I drove it to and from college and never cost me to much money getting her through the 4 mot inspections.

Getting out of my range rover and climbing/falling into the mini brought back great memories, even the damp/leather smell gave memories of 1989 flooding back to me!!!

The mini is history, the mini should never be insulted, the mini is nothing more than a mini and does not pretend to be otherwise.

Yes you have smart cars, corsa, suzuki and a whole new range of small cars out there...BUT...But they will never capture peoples hearts like the old original MINI.

Having owned and restored Mini's for 30 years I remain suprised that the various names from Austin/Morris to BMC, BLMC and then to Rover never learnt during the 40 years from their mistakes. The Mini Mk1 was the true Mini, once they had sorted the floor panels the car was the MINI that we all loved or hated.

They never improved it's rust problems in the 40 years of production and those rolling off the line in 1959 had the same problems as those that rolled off at the end of production in 2000. They made the basic mistake of trying to tart up what was a brilliant design instead of applying their efforts to improving the problems. The moves from 10" TO 12" AND then to 13" compromised the splended handling of the early Minis which was superb and second to none in the early 60's even in the basic 850 models. The move to Hydrolastic suspension was yet another change that failed and attempted to remove the rugged ride that was, the MINI.

The later Mini's like the 30 and the Sportspack were just new covers on a very old and excellent design. Yes the brakes had been improved and yes the seating had improved, but the basic death nail of rust remained, the seams around the headlights, the A panels, the lower doors, the skuttle, floors, the list goes on. The rust warranty wasn't worth the paper it was written on. My Mini40 when delivered new had no rust preventative in the skuttle or behind the A panels to name, but two areas. 50p's worth of waxoyl and they now remain, 8 years on, rust free. The Bus like steering position remained and most of us spent £2.50 for a bracket that made the car more comfortable, something that could have been done so easily during mnufacturing.

I love the Mini now as much as I did 30 years back, but I think it should have remained an affordable car, basic in design and great fun to have and to drive. It's obvious flaws should have been sorted before Leather seats, electric sunroofs and a huge price tag pulled the car away from it's initial market. There will never be another icon like the Mini and there will, in my opinion, never be a basic car with such a devoted following that remained loyal throughout it's production. I feel annoyed that such an Icon was buthered rather than bettered by Leyland, and Rover beareaucrats and so called Chairmen who had little idea other than money making for themselves.

Credit must go to the many companies who grasped the handling problems and developed improvementslike John Cooper, Jack Knight , Mini Sports to name but three. Where Leyland, Rover etc failed these companies took the problems and made the difference that kept the enthusiasts happy

I too am 17 years old, passed my test a few months ago, and my first car is a Mini Thirty. I love it. Reading through these other comments I realise I have been lucky to escape the heriditary defect that seems to haunt all Minis...rust. My little one lived in Japan for most of it's life, this had a few main benefits, one being that it has virtually no rust! The air conditioning is also another bonus, although it does take a while to get going. But I wonder, do these benefits outweigh the £2500 I paid for it?

But what does worry me is that I noticed others had also mentioned a problem with the gear box and possibly wearing out certain gears. One of the only faults mine seems to have is that it seems to 'pop out' of second gear occasionally. Is this common?

I also seem to feel at a bit of a loss as what to do in terms of 'modernising'. I wish to keep the character of the fun old Mini that is so loved; so when I start to think of perhaps adding a sun roof or changing the colour of the roof and updating the electrics I almost feel like a traitor!

Anyway, the main reason for my comment was just to express my love for my little one! I would recommend the car to anyone who can either afford one in good condition, or can afford to have constant repairs. Any advice as to how to look after, and generally take care of my Mini would also be much appreciated :)