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2004 Mini One

I think yours predates the engine issues mentioned upthread, George, so you probably have fewer worries on that score, just attend to oil changes as advised and I hope you get many more than the 5 years you aim for. I also hope that when 67 comes around, you will still feel like you want to continue driving, even if less frequently.
 
Partridge of Bishops Frome, my service garage/repair shop of choice since 1979, said that they are good solid vehicles that will tend to rust unless carefully attended to after a while.

They said it is old enough not to be plagued by the modern issues, but I don't expect to wear out the fairly recently changed timing belt. It has another 40K miles left or five years which ever comes sooner.

I have had quite long periods without a car or van, and was the happier for it. I tend to find driving rather stressful, and not something to do for the pleasure of it. Driving is something to do to earn money, where public transport cannot possibly fill the bill.

Thanks for your reply.

Best wishes from George
 
With regard to the rust you can slow it down with Waxoyl or similar oil and wax based dust preventers. Wait for dry weather or park it for a few days because the stuff WILL wash off in wet weather if it doesn't get the opportunity to dry out first. You can apply it yourself or get your garage to spray it on when it's on the ramp. Look up the rot spots for that model and go to town, get into the cavities if necessary. It DOES make a difference, it will buy you a couple of years, maybe more of you do it every year and take some time at it.
 
stevec67 said:
With regard to the rust you can slow it down with Waxoyl or similar oil and wax based dust preventers. Wait for dry weather or park it for a few days because the stuff WILL wash off in wet weather if it doesn't get the opportunity to dry out first. You can apply it yourself or get your garage to spray it on when it's on the ramp. Look up the rot spots for that model and go to town, get into the cavities if necessary. It DOES make a difference, it will buy you a couple of years, maybe more of you do it every year and take some time at it.
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The great thing about Waxoyl is it never really dries out. I drove my 1985 Beetle to Central Europe in 2007 and the temperatures were in the high 30’s. Despite having not Waxoyled the beast since 1989 that familiar smell came back as the Waxoyl in the cavities and heater channels came back to life.
 
My insurance policy on the Mini One cannot be transferred because the Citroen is van! Brilliant, or not so much. Never mind. I kept the day clear for this. First port of call will be not the internet now, but a real Insurance broker in Bromyard, as I am fed up with the tick-sheet approach on the internet.

So just now I'll take a nice two mile walk into town to get it insured! Good job I got the scrap value for the Mini as that will go some way towards a new insurance policy. I spoke to a charming lady once I ran into a brick wall with the internet, and we took the insurance off the Mini and cancelled the policy.

Best wishes from George

PS: Van now taxed and insured, so good to go! Best have a little run out in it!
 
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AnilS said:
www.lanoguard.co.uk

Lanoguard Underbody Rust Protection Kits

Our Moto Underbody and Chassis Care Kit gives you everything you need for underbody protection as well as chassis rust protection. Click here for more info!
www.lanoguard.co.uk www.lanoguard.co.uk

I'm looking at applying this when the weather allows.

Good advice @stevec67
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Lanoguard is popular but it's *bloody* expensive and I've not seen any evidence that it is better than any of the cheaper, petrochemical based alternatives such as Waxoyl, Dinitrol, etc. They all work by depositing a waxy layer that then sort-of dries out and repels water and excludes oxygen. So far so good. Lanoguard happens to use lanolin, from sheep wool. Fine, but I've yet to see that it's any better at the job than the much cheaper Waxoyl, 5 litres for£40 while Lanoguard is £100+ for the same amount. Is it better? I have yet to be shown any evidence.

I'm unconvinced by any magical claims. One of the best solutions for prevention of corrosion is simply to slather the thing in grease. Yes, just standard bearing grease. It's a disgusting job, but I do know that I've slathered steel brake pipes in grease and it stops corrosion dead. MoT testers hate it because it makes their inspection job harder, but I don't much care about that if it saves me from having to replace the brake lines at £400+ after 10 years. You *could* do this under the whole car, but it's horrible. Similarly the old-school solution in the 70s and 80s was to spray old engine oil under the car. It works, but the underside of the car is then black and filthy, it stinks and you can't do any mechanical work without getting covered in it. Wax based solutions are cleaner, once dry they feel slightly tacky but the stuff doesn't come off on your hands.

A lot of it comes down to application level and time taken. I've seen them sold in aerosols, which is fine but by their nature aerosols don't contain a lot of solids. It's mostly solvent and I'm not interested in the solvent, that evaporates. I might also draw a distinction between the interior and exterior. Inside panels I'd be looking at things like Shell Ensis Fluid MD that actually meets a BS for metal protection (do the others?) or similar. Under the car I have yet to find anything better than boring old Waxoyl in the big cans, which I thin down with either white spirit or paraffin if I'm feeling tight. 50/50 gives a thin mixture that creeps well and dries out after a day or two. It smells pretty nasty for a week or two but that goes. As I say don't go for a wet drive when it's fresh, I once did and it all washed off. I use a paraffin gun and a compressor, poke the thing into cavities if I find them. It's not very scientific but I do reckon that lashing the stuff on regularly, say every year, without worrying too much, is more effective than slavishly doing it once and then considering it done. It does wash off underneath, and in cavities there's no harm in adding more and letting the solvent soften the existing stuff up again so that it can ooze into any gaps you may have missed last time. 5L is enough for several treatments, as I say Waxoyl has a fair bit of solid material in it so when thinned down it goes a fairly long way, you won't use more than 2L or so per treatment.
 
stevec67 said:
Lanoguard is popular but it's *bloody* expensive and I've not seen any evidence that it is better than any of the cheaper, petrochemical based alternatives such as Waxoyl, Dinitrol, etc. They all work by depositing a waxy layer that then sort-of dries out and repels water and excludes oxygen. So far so good. Lanoguard happens to use lanolin, from sheep wool. Fine, but I've yet to see that it's any better at the job than the much cheaper Waxoyl, 5 litres for£40 while Lanoguard is £100+ for the same amount. Is it better? I have yet to be shown any evidence.

I'm unconvinced by any magical claims. One of the best solutions for prevention of corrosion is simply to slather the thing in grease. Yes, just standard bearing grease. It's a disgusting job, but I do know that I've slathered steel brake pipes in grease and it stops corrosion dead. MoT testers hate it because it makes their inspection job harder, but I don't much care about that if it saves me from having to replace the brake lines at £400+ after 10 years. You *could* do this under the whole car, but it's horrible. Similarly the old-school solution in the 70s and 80s was to spray old engine oil under the car. It works, but the underside of the car is then black and filthy, it stinks and you can't do any mechanical work without getting covered in it. Wax based solutions are cleaner, once dry they feel slightly tacky but the stuff doesn't come off on your hands.

A lot of it comes down to application level and time taken. I've seen them sold in aerosols, which is fine but by their nature aerosols don't contain a lot of solids. It's mostly solvent and I'm not interested in the solvent, that evaporates. I might also draw a distinction between the interior and exterior. Inside panels I'd be looking at things like Shell Ensis Fluid MD that actually meets a BS for metal protection (do the others?) or similar. Under the car I have yet to find anything better than boring old Waxoyl in the big cans, which I thin down with either white spirit or paraffin if I'm feeling tight. 50/50 gives a thin mixture that creeps well and dries out after a day or two. It smells pretty nasty for a week or two but that goes. As I say don't go for a wet drive when it's fresh, I once did and it all washed off. I use a paraffin gun and a compressor, poke the thing into cavities if I find them. It's not very scientific but I do reckon that lashing the stuff on regularly, say every year, without worrying too much, is more effective than slavishly doing it once and then considering it done. It does wash off underneath, and in cavities there's no harm in adding more and letting the solvent soften the existing stuff up again so that it can ooze into any gaps you may have missed last time. 5L is enough for several treatments, as I say Waxoyl has a fair bit of solid material in it so when thinned down it goes a fairly long way, you won't use more than 2L or so per treatment.
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Another method of applying Waxoyl, the method I remember using, was to place the 5lt tin in a bucket of very hot (boiling) water for 20-30 minutes before squirting it into/onto the car.
 
Now legally insured and taxed [VED], I went for my first tentative drive into town and up to see friends ... about four miles to get used to the new engine and gearbox, as well as gauge the width and length of it.

It could hardly be more different to the Mini, and I love it. It has plenty of torque so grandfather starts are easy. No need to stack the revs to avoid stalling. The gears are less close ratio than the Mini, and so it will be relatively long geared on the motorway, which will make it a more comfortable tourer than the Mini, where the short fifth gear meant that at 70 the engine was spinning north of 3,000 rpm. By my estimation the van will be doing about 2,200 at 70, so will be happy for hours like that.

It is a heavy vehicle though with very light pedals and the brakes are very sharp. The steering has that strange self-centering found on assisted Citroen steering. I'll get used to that of course, but somewhat disconcerting at first.

The other massive difference is the length of the wheelbase, which means a much larger turning circle. Indeed it is quite analogous with the old Volvo 240 in wheelbase, but without the overhangs so overall a shorter car. The door mirrors are an exemplar of how to do it. They don't look outsized, but give an excellent wide view along the sides, but also from roofline to the rear wheels, which make reversing a doddle, and not a reversing camera to be found! I'd take that over absolutely any SUV.

Acceleration is subdued, which I like. Only my 1.9 non turbo Skoda Fabia was slower, but that is okay. I like gentle steady accelerations.

Best part is that Lu loves it. She can sit on the double front passenger seat with a very short seat belt fixing and see straight over the low lying bottom of the windscreen! Now to get a posh set of seat covers to keep them mint ... Lu tends not to wipe her feet before jumping in!

So far, I am well pleased.

Best wishes from George
 
I can see you and the Berlingo being well suited to each other George. In my experience, Citroens are very comfy albeit the van bit might be a tad boomy. You might be able to alleviate that a bit with a lining kit of some sort, especially if you add some insulation so it's not quite so frigid in the back. How did the insurance stack up compared to the Mini? Is it more expensive on the presumption that there's business use, or mileage, or anything like that?
 
Sue Pertwee-Tyr said:
I can see you and the Berlingo being well suited to each other George. In my experience, Citroens are very comfy albeit the van bit might be a tad boomy. You might be able to alleviate that a bit with a lining kit of some sort, especially if you add some insulation so it's not quite so frigid in the back. How did the insurance stack up compared to the Mini? Is it more expensive on the presumption that there's business use, or mileage, or anything like that?
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Apparently Citroen Berlingo vans are a slightly worse risk than young idiots in a Mini One. But it is what it is. I have a vehicle that'll do the job and also be a nicer drive in my own terms. I have to say that the Berlingo is actually much quieter than the Mini, engine, transmission and even road noise.

Quite a surprise after my previous vans, an Austin Maestro 1300 or before that Golf Mk 1A 1600 [non turbo diesel], which were both noisy!

The Berlingo is just as quiet as my 1989 Volvo 240 GL 2.3 saloon ... as in quiet as a Daimler ...

Best wishes from George
 
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A week on with the van, and I can see it as a very useful and easy to drive vehicle. Also it is significantly cheaper on fuel, in spite of diesel being more expensive than petrol.

The engine is not very powerful, but has a nice torque band and none of that turbo shunt that cuts in at a certain rev. It is very easy to maintain a steady speed in 20 and 30 mph limits. At thirty it goes well in third at a steady 1900 or 2000 rpm.

I really hope it proves to be reliable, but only time tells that tale. The Mini had expensive repairs to be done for another MOT, but ultimately it was cheap to buy and never actually broke down on the road, so I am glad to have experienced it. I don't miss the razor sharp steering though. The Citroen is much saner, having quite low geared steering but responsive enough to avoid a last minute pot-hole!

Best wishes from George
 
The Berlingo is building credibility here. It is the easiest starting Diesel I ever have used. One-two-go or occasionally one-two-three-go, and then runs as smooth as warm. The engine must be in very good condition.

As for driving it, it is actually a vehicle to make more progress than the Mini One. Because the driving position is more Transit than Lotus Elise, I can see much further and therefore drive further ahead ... as it were. You can make steady adjustments. This means that slightly faster average speeds are easy. Not crazy speeds, but more satisfactory. The brakes are superb. Almost HGV-like in their confident authority, while the quite heavy vehicle corners with minimal body roll. The steering is simply easy due its directness, but relative low geared, so that adjustments are natural and progressive.

The gearing is so easy. At thirty in Third it does 2000 engine rpm and is therefore easy to drive without gaining, [same for Second at twenty]. Fourth gets forty at 2K rpm, and Fifth is almost exactly fifty at 2K. So easy to control speeds by listening. The shift is rather long throw, but I prefer that as you can feel the gears in without forcing. I have not yet crashed a gear. I have managed to get 3K on the Tach on the Motorway to pass a lorry!

The rear view door mounted mirrors are a masterclass in their comprehensive view of what is following.

Then add the kicker. It is doing 50 mpg, which is 10 more than the Mini which tended to average 38 to 42 mpg, according to the journey type.

Perhaps the best thing is that Lu loves it. She now has two passenger seats to slumber on and a much better seat-belt anchor so that she cannot crash into the dash-board.

Best wishes from George

PS: I know that is not a Top Gear style assessment, but it is a practice one.
 
George J said:
PS: I know that is not a Top Gear style assessment, but it is a practice one.
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I'm car nut, but actually rather bored with car journalists attitude, particularly the talking and flailing arms while driving in videos. I'm not the least interested in looking at the journalist, I'm interested in the car. For Gods sake, at least put the bloody camera so we see the same thing as the driver, the instruments and the road.
So your review beats most 'professional' ones, in my book.
 
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