Description
Welcome to the very reluctant sale of my Mini Cooper Sport 500.
As you may know these were the certified final 500 made before the BMW MINI began production. This car comes with the certificate of authenticity and is known to the register. I purchased the car in October 2012 from a renowned collector in Somerset who had brought it specifically to do the international mini meet in Hungary. At the time I worked for MINI and it had always been a bucket list car for me. It does only have 2 spotlights currently but is a genuine 500. I am the 6th owner.
I've owned this car for over 12 years and recently put it back on the road after a few years of dry storage. In my ownership its spent periods in use and periods in storage. I've completed around 10000 miles in this time. In the first couple of years it had a clutch slave cylinder and front wheel bearings and was then dry stored in December 2013. Each time its been brought back out of storage its received a full service and check over. The car was in storage from until 2018, when i then moved it from Devon to London. When it was put back on the road it had over £1350 spent including a new expansion tank, battery, locking wheel bolts, drained fuel tank, oil and filter services (incl. K&N refresh) Spark Plugs, Rocker cover gaskets/ rubbers, Front brake pads, Rear brake shoes, Brake Cylinder and a ball joint. All at 99000 miles. Most recently the February 2024 MOT required a CV gaiter and bottom ball joint at 102371 miles. The most recent MOT (Feb 2025) only required a bulb, with an advisory for bump stops and perishing rear tires.
It is of course showing signs of age. The most significant surface rust is the passenger side sill and the bulkhead. Currently this isn't showing signs of being structural or failing (certainly not come up on any MOT.) There is evidence of surface rust along the beading/ seams and around the mirrors and window frames, but this is minimal. There is a scuff on the NSR wheel arch from a car park and small dents in the chrome bumpers/ grill. Once again this is a Cooper Sport 500... not just a Cooper sport (or sports pack as they're sometimes known) according to the official register only 110 were produced in Solar Red so a very low volume car. This would make a great piece for a collector (especially one who wishes to still use it) or someone that wants to use it as intended with maybe future plans to restore. In an ideal world I'd keep this forever and have used this for another few years before treating it to a full preventative overhaul, but nursery fees and mortgage rates are telling me otherwise.
I guess it goes without saying that this car brings a smile to peoples faces. The Solar Red and Silver roof combo with the sportspack really make this an eye catching little car. It currently has a K&N intake and a Cooper Sport exhaust which give it a throaty sound and a little more zip than standard (original airbox is supplied with the car) The multi point injection on the car makes it slightly easier to live with than the older models. It has 2 advisories on the MOT for a Bump Stop (now replaced) and perishing on the rear tyres. Other than the above mentioned work this has been a very reliable usable classic.
