I BOUGHT A CHEAP MINI CLUBMAN FOR £1,500! 

'I MASSIVELY OVERSPENT' should be merch.

You’re helping the environment by prolonging the life of these cars. You’re generating business for local companies. Your preventing old men like me from watching TV game shows and soaps.

You sir are vital to your local economy not only are you keeping cars on the road (not taking short cuts or bogging) your willingness to spend on 50/50 cars and giving the work local is admirable 👍

We recently sold our clubman Cooper D. It was on 150,000 miles and was as tight as a drum. Didn’t spend a penny on it (other than normal oil/filter change) and sold it for £700 more than we paid for it 2 years ago. One of the best cars we’ve had. Maybe we were lucky

Great job reviving the plastic parts of the Mini! You've made me proud. Excellent work, Matt! 🚙

Hello Again, Matt this formula of you buying and selling secondhand vehicles really works, great to watch and offers viewers true expected costs of buying a 'cheap' car, please keep doing more of the same. Regards, RichardA.

Always loved the Clubman. Happy memories of the 1970s impossibly small one with a dodgy orangey ish colour. Think it’s largely style over function, but if you don’t need the back seats the van back end is really useful. And racing green. Should have added another £500 just for that!

Best thing to watch on a Friday evening!

I love the brutal honesty and absolute transparency of these videos - thanks for continuing on with this great content. One thing I have been wondering is how the videos themselves impact on your margin for cars like this. This has been live for 1 hour and already has 10,000 views - with ad revenue plus the sponsorships, and traffic to the merchandise site, do you get a bit more wiggle room?

I’ve been waiting ages for you to do a Mini Video. I always swore I’d never sell Minis and several years on 80% of what I sell is Mini - just late 2010 Petrol models onwards - not the Cooper S however. Buying them right is essential and a neglected one is a no go unless it’s for nothing, I’m fortunate enough to get everything done in house apart from mot and paint. They are a recon nightmare, I’ve 3 good gearboxes on the shelf ready to go, plus a few spares cars tucked out the back 😅 I’m amazed how popular the product is and we have people drive hundreds of miles for them just because of spec etc. You just have make sure all the failure points are good before advertising I’ve had 5 go out since September the 1st and all with very respectable profits, I can’t buy enough of them - bare me in mind if you have any you want to trade 😀 As always great video !

Fair play on the wheel refurb guy saying you’re wasting money on it, shows he’s a decent one. Most would snap it up and take max money for an easy job

Been waiting to see a mini of this age for ages!! I’ve got a 2012 Mini Hatch Cooper as my first car - had it over a year and it’s never cost me a penny, has had a life full of love though, and never been unloved! Still going strong at 106,000 miles now 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

I knew a guy up here in the NE who moved from Nissan at Sunderland to Mini at Cowley around 2004. He was paid well and moved the family to Oxfordshire. He agreed with you on the MINI - style over substance. Drove a Micra himself!

My late wife's daily 2009 Mini Cooper 1.6 Convertible - never to be sold - was promoted to this one's daily driver last year, for reasons. I was treating her as a second, day-off car. Bought in 2015 - and 100% reliable. Basically, you reap what you sow. Our example has never needed anything but comestibles. Regularly serviced, respected, maintained, cared for and loved. The rule was, and is, roof down, no matter the season. Maybe we were lucky. I never use a heat gun to rejuvenate black plastics. Yes, they look superb, but drawing the oils out makes them more brittle.

Cooper isn't a spec, it's a model variant. The spec would be Chilli, pepper etc. Cooper being the minimum that's worth having unless newly qualified (even then Cooper still best due to MPG and low insurance)

Ah Matt, don't be that guy with heat gun, it's a temporary solution but it actually weakens the structure of bumper, just use plastic spray...

I traded my last car in immediately after its MOT, I’d been looking for an upgrade for months and the MOT fell while I was looking - then found exactly what I wanted a week later. Annoying thing is - it stayed off the road, presumably within the trade, for 11 months, so it was due again anyway by the time it went back on the road 😂

Matt, don’t use a heat gun on the black plastics, use Autoglym Bumper & Trim Gel. It’s amazing and really easy to use. I’ve used it on many a Freelander with fantastic results 😊

Working on the steering rack on these would push your faith in humanity

I've always found Minis to be very lovely cars, apart from the looks, quality, reliability, cost, nvh levels and a few other things, they really are the best.

The before and after shots, show a considerable transformation!

Owned this car on the same reg so looking forward to watching this one. Had a really annoying tick sound from the Peugeot engine, a new exhaust cost more than gold and so did the brake pads compared to a standard mini

The rear door opening into the road was because most are left hand drive cars, where the door opens on the pavement. They just couldn’t be arsed to move it for RHD models

Hi Matt, I traded my last car in a week after the MOT. It wasn't for shady reasons, it needed two rear suspension bushes and had a couple of buttock-clenching drives in it where it felt like the rear end was doing it's own thing (which it was!) before I got them replaced. I didn't feel comfortable driving it after that. Sometimes you just fall out of love with a car I think! I've always been a 'replace whatever needs doing' bloke when I take my car to the mechanic but that just got overlooked I think and it ruined it for me. 6 years ownership and 50000 miles from new, haven't regretted losing it at all. Sometimes you just don't want it anymore 👍

Matt, the frequent sarcasm in your humor is delightful.

7:24 boot 9:40 bonnet up 10:40 engine start 15:22 Car fixed

I bought a MCS recently for my daughter to learn in. 2007 80k miles. So far in two months I have done the following preventative and required maintenance on the woeful PSA N14. 1. Uprated timing chain and guides 2. PCV and valve cover replacement 3. Crankcase breather 4. 4 x new tyres Hankook Ventus 5. Oil filter housing (it was leaking) 6. New fog lights 7. Light refurb 8. Boot button rubber replacement 9. Coil packs and plugs 10. New parcel shelf 11. Various sensors 12. New windscreen cowls 13. New wipers 14. Front discs and pads 15. AC regas 16. Pollen and air filters, plus two oil changes. Basically I've spent the same repairing the car as I paid for it! Labour of love these things, it now drives lovely!

Gear missing reminded me of my second car, Austin maxi. Had no first gear but it was a well known fault then. Never got it repaired as could set off in second easily. Bought it at and auction for £150. ran it for 9 years. Always serviced etc, just the gearbox it didn't have fixed. Still got £100 when I sold it. Well done on saving another car from the scrap heap.

I use a good plastic cleaning agent and then, when dry, apply a ceramic coat. This really beautifies and prolongs the plastic trim.

Absolutely love my mini on my 5th and they all been amazing owned my cooper S 3 and half years now makes me smile everyday Minis have an amazing character and not like everyday normal cars 😀👍🏼

Glad to see another one of your vids, Keep it up mate!

My partner's 2013 Countryman All4 1.6 petrol is falling to bits even though we regular service it. Oil leak, alternator chain snapped this week. Trim is starting to fail. At just 48k. Timing chain will need changing at 100k and its a 2 day job as it is at the back of the engine (supposedly sealed for life). Avoid them people

Such a shame Matt , and as you say its poor that the seller couldn't be more honest with you . If you remember I contacted you about my dad's signum after he recently passed away ..I ended up rectifying all the small issues and sold it privately, the buyers appreciated my honesty about the air con not working..keep up the great videos and hope you make some money back

Love the Polar Dial Explorer II - hard swerve on the car, but you are living proof that people can turn a Sows ear into a Silk Purse - fair play!

IMHO, Radio 2 has sunk to where Radio 1 was 30 years ago. And as for the Mini Clubman, the suicide door says it all about the design.

We use Tameside at the garage I work at, absolutely top notch, really good service!

Williams waterless car wash brings the plastic around the arches etc up and looking good

Another Friday treat for us. As a thank you I played the ads👍. My guess is the gearbox problem happened after getting its mot. That ticket had a few advisories and looking at the cars condition the last owner didn’t have the money to spend on it. So now that person has got a new car and most likely through finance so again can not afford to look after the new one. The cycle continues.... white faced Explorer 2 Matt? Wonderful transformation. ‘Massively overspent’ and ‘mini valet’ are Matts catchphrases needed on car stickers or tees.

Agreed on the wheels - they looked good enough under all the brake dust - new centre caps and job done!

I wouldn't have rebuilt this gearbox but each to their own! I was a fairly similar situation with a similar Cooper 1.6 and ended up putting a second hand low mileage gearbox in, £120 for the box with new oil and £120 for a new clutch. Drove beautifully! These are huge liabilities to sell though, this will probably come back with some sort of oil burning, timing chain or head gasket issue

I love how your enthusiasm for minis shone through on this one Matt 🤣🤣🤣

YES! Been waiting for you to do a Mini.

The key fobs recharge, put into the bay next to the start/stop button and use that for a few days and it will recharge.

My old 1974 simca 1100 estate lost 2nd gear. I used the car as a " van" (back seats removed and a chipboard floor fitted) i drove around london in the early 80's doing house odd jobs and decorating. Unfortunately it wasnt blessed with grunt or torque. Absolutely banging the pistons out the bonnet in 1st and then into 3rdpulling from about 700rpm like a 1950's coach.😅 I can confirm hampstead heath hill in the rush hour getting home (100 mile round trip a day from bedfordshire) was a bit annoying for anybody behind me😢😢

"Could be worse." "I've massively overspent." _Your 2nd catchphrase is still better, Matt._ 😅❤

Not a massive fan of mini’s every person I’ve spoken to who had one said they had issues (mostly electrical) so when you said ‘style over substance’ I think you were bang on 👍🏻 which is a shame because they are quite nice looking and quirky! Another great video Matt 👏🏻👍🏻

Matt, don't forget the 'secret' second glovebox - press on the panel above the normal glovebox.We have one - a Cooper S auto - and have had all the usual issues including timing chain, oil leaks, etc. Plus ours is chilli red so all the lacquer has peeled off making it totally unsellable - a respray exceeds it value.

oohhhh Matt.... I have a Clubman (Facelift 2016 model) have driven it on Swedish roads in winter... it has never failed me... How can you hate a Mini...? That would be like me saying I hate Range Rovers... 😜 Thanks again for a great review mate

Ahh Castrees Autobar. Spent so much in there over the years and a very knowledgeable owner. Hope he’s enjoying his retirement. Great video as always.

I would love for you to buy one of my cars Matt, I keep them immaculate. No tatty bolt-on rubbish, just full main dealer service history, everything the car wants for, and four brand new German tyres. I think it would be a breath of a fresh air for you.

Wow, i couldn't believe my eyes, Matt actually pulled the dipstick out prior to firing the car up! 😁

Matt, I have to let you know that not all Essex folk like that tat in our cars! I've had 2 GP minis and they are absolutely brilliant.

Putting the honest back in to honest car sales. Who can deny this fella a profit? None of us.

A car that’s had L plates on long enough to mark the paintwork has a gearbox sounding like a bag of spanner’s, who’d have thought! I need to get a “Massive overspend” mug or T shirt though, ideally 2, one for the Mazda and one for the Cobra.

The spare key can be rejuvenated...with a bit of work. I had to carefully saw/split mine apart. Remove the PLC and replace the battery...then reinstall in an AliEx replacement case. The manual key inserts into the new case shell. Why they designed that key fab never to be easily opened, so that the battery may be easily replaced...must be another hook for the Mini service business.

Have an R57 mini Cooper S convertible. Really like it but like you say reliability not a strength. 2012 so N18 engine. The previous N14 version is known to be problematic and the N18 slightly problematic. They're complex engines. Several faults on purchase which took a while to show up and i managed to get 500 back off the dealer because not picked up in MOT with no advisories. Firstly new tyres. Can't really blame car for that. Next needed new alternator belt, then a thermostat, new suspension bushes. Still has a vanos sticking that can throw a warning light once a week or so. But im loving nipping about in it roof down, performance is addictive and handling great. Even rides ok in a firmish way. Dog can come along too as there's a back seat. Key is to find a specialist that likes them. My first local garage didn't. You've got the non turbo early gen 2 engine which isn't great. Worst thing is trying to replace the battery in the keys. You can't do it yourself without ridiculous effort. Mine has the yellow ramp light😀. That's due to start stop failure. Which i haven't bothered fixing as i dont really like start stop in a 10 year old car.

What a turnaround, amazing how the plastics lift it. I've watched stacks of these now, and can never figure out why checking the discs is so vital, but we never check the pads?

Look at you with your cheeky rolex flex @4:39

Glad a car like this fell into your hands, as you have the ethics and standards to keep another car on the road and not salvage graveyard. Of course old owner has been told by mechanic it’s not worth putting the money into fix. Even tho possible could of been. But because you’re a trader allows for slight higher resale. I repeat so many times what you say but so much better for the environment keeping a car like this on the road. Also as mentioned many times lots of businesses benefit as well. I definitely have the same mindset now. And if i was to ever buy and sell (which i have thought about) i would have same standards!

I get them done at maltins transmission near Halifax, drive in, drive out, years warranty approx 500 all in, had a few minis done and 2 suzuki swifts recently, apparently later mini boxes are hard to get some bits tho.

Took one of these minis apart as work in progress at college. Love looks and interior but crikey they are horrible to work on. Wouldn’t touch one with a barge pole. Very brave of u on this one Matt. The one we took apart was very badly corroded too

That's the beauty of manual transmission, if you accelerate high enough on 1st, just skip to 3rd and keep going

When my daughter came back from 10yrs in Canada about 20 months ago I bought a 2008 Cooper D for her. I paid £1400 to a trader who’s taken in part exchange & was just moving it on. We got the timing belt done, serviced & fitted new back shocks (£600). It had 145k on the clock. It’s now got 190k & apart from recently needing the cooler around the oil filter replaced (that was a saga because several mechanics couldn’t find where it was losing coolant), it’s been fine. Mechanics hate them because there’s no room to work on them.

Have had several BMW Minis and never had an issue with any of them except for one steering rack replaced under warranty. You're correct Matt. They are popular cars.

Great video Matt, you make this BMW product sound like it is from a French manufacturer. Love the way that you usefully slag off those who put diamante bits and bobs and other cheap crêpe all over their cars to make them "individual" to them, and it makes it clear what the owner is like. Good to see that you are choosing to buy cars that look a good deal and prove to all your fans, just how careful they should be when buying.

These have a secret compartment above the glove box if you depress the silver trim You may find your book pack 😉

As shady car dealer top tip for you, don’t faff about with a heat gun and risk melting plastics, baby oil will give you a tart up enough to sell. Apply with a microfibre and wipe off with another one. Results are temporary but when a £1 will tart up your whole forecourt, it’s hard to argue.

My oldest sister bought her Mini Countryman many years ago now she still has it but when she first got it. She drove it through a rather big puddle. Well the water came through under the car and socked both foot wells. To say build quality isn’t great would be an understatement.

Love the split tailgate: so practical, so sensible. Wish more estates/SUVs have it.

It looks like it really is possible to make a silk purse out of a sows ear as my grandma used to say, you’ve transformed this shabby looking Mini, into quite a desirable Mini. As always, great video Matt😊.

Be carefully with the heat gun trick. The plastics fade because they loose their oils. Heating draws the oils from deeper within to the surface. This will also disappear over time. Once they have lost too much of their oils the plastics will be shot.

My assumption would be that has sat on somebody’s grass for a few months hence the cracked tyres. The dent guys did a terrific job at a bargain price. It’s a lot of car for under £4K so still good value especially with all that work done

It’s amazes me how you make a living but I love you honesty 👌😊

Love the hair bro!❤❤

I've had two minis, my first was a r53 cooper loved it it was a cooper hatch in chilli red with a white roof kept it for four years and never had any real issue. Then I made the massive mistake of buying a 2010 r56 cooper s and when I say it suffered from every common issue I mean it! Oil leaks, timing tensioner failed, electrical issues, rocker gasket failed, the list goes on it was an absolute nail only kept it 18 months and then decided I just didn't trust it anymore. Bought a vw golf instead.

Had a Toyota that needed a manual transmission rebuild, it cost $3000 about ten years go. I know there are exchange rates, but your result seems really cheap. Also they spent two hours on the door dents for 60 pounds, that's seems cheap as well. Here that would cover perhaps a half an hour of labor (labour).

I prefer the original mini my uncle has my dads old 1971 mini clubman GT in his garage and has still been there for years. It never ceases to amaze me how people don't look after their cars yet expect high prices when they sell them I wouldn't have given more than 750 for that mini and that's being generous lol.

At least that PSA engine is more reliable than the early Mini units. Those wire dipsticks are an absolute nightmare to use and indeed the build quality is B&M level rather than Selfridges for sure. But you hit the nail on the head that they are definitely style over substance cars. And that second gear has definitely left the chat. Good video as always

I get about 15 good belly laughs from each of these videos on average!😂. Top quality banter

I've had 3 Clubman's (albeit the post 64 plate version) and i absolutely loved them. Never had an issue and a beaut to drive. I'm in a 67 plate 1 series and its absolutely dreadful. I'll definitely be going back to a Clubman!

Ranty Matt videos are fun to watch 🙂

It’s a pleasure to watch your show as I’m always looking out for next episode:) If you was buying a second hand car you want to definitely buy from you as your so honest and want to make any car you have a good buy for the next owner. I hope lots of people in the trade watch this and learn from your brilliant honest ways As it’s a pleasure to listen to you. I wish you all success and people like you make there own luck in life and that’s why your be brilliantly successful and people will pay more for a honest car from you. I know I definitely would:) Look forward to next episode Thank you

A new t shirt design suggestion " there is no such thing as ; a cheap rangerover, a cheap mini, a cheap BMW, etc, etc". Great video though Matt, another car saved.

One of my go to channels now , nice simple and honest format on every day cars ..nice one.

I recently discovered this channel and love it (yes, late to the party!) What puts me off having old cars repaired is the extortionate garage labor costs in the UK, ranging from £80 / hr. for simple jobs going up to 2 - 3 times of that for specialised jobs. Quality of the job is also not guaranteed. I got ripped off a few times. I never managed to buy a used car and not ending up spending at least 20% of the purchase price on top, to get it right. It's very hard to find a decent car seller (no offence to anybody). Recently, a car has been offered to me as top condition with clean MOT although clearly, both the turbo and the clutch were gone! The repair costs quoted on this channel seem quite low to me. Maybe mates rates or trade discount applied. Anyway, I got it off my chest :)

Alright guys, how’s it going? Welcome back !

Nothing strange about getting a car MOT'd then selling it. Imagine trying to sell a car with little or no MOT, the resale would be several hundred pounds less at trade in, so the cost of a fresh MOT makes the seller much more money, (providing it passes the MOT in the first place.) Plus before selling the car, if there was any 'mayo' in the oil filler cap, the seller would wipe it clean just before sale.

Could you please explain your reasoning for not conducting a car vertical check before purchasing the vehicle?

My mate bought a 4 year old 1991 ex police Range Rover 3.9 V8 which had no second gear. He ran it for about 4 years like that. Just skip second! Even when towing a twin axle caravan!

0:15 seconds in, eagerly awaiting the catch phrase “I’ve massively overspent”

I used to have an r56 and I loved it, now I have an f56 mini which I adore but after watching this vid I've realised how much mini improved the car from the 2nd to 3rd gen 😂

A very quirky car with many hidden features....love it! And very reliable

Ah! The Smeg Fridge spec! From the back with those massive chrome door handles it looks like it should be a kitchen appliance.

Good video again Matt....Could have listed all the issues before you started!....See my Grandson has a saloon, and it had all those problems and more (with the exception of the gearbox).....I did my best to steer him away but he wouldn't listen, so I failed as a Grandad!!…Oh well he likes it, god knows why.😲😲

Lovely job Matt saving another car 🚘🚙🚗👍👍👍⭐️⭐️⭐️👏👏👏

Great video Matt, I think the keys charge in the ignition but if sat in a drawer unused for too long will forget the car. I’m sure you can reprogramme them, good luck with the sale

I was wondering that before. This MOT business in the UK. So just a few weeks ago, someone found a rusted subframe, and then you bring it to your “trusted mechanic”, and it comes back clean. Without spending money on rust fixing. Noted that in many videos. Existing MOT with several issues, and at the end the mechanic’s invoice addresses only one or two of them. Rest “sails through without any advisory items” That is shady af.

Makes my laugh that most car dealers, sellers always say they hate Mini's, but buy them and always sell them on with ease. Again had a 2008 mini cooper s and had years of trouble free motoring fun, build quality was not 100% but for the age you cant knock them.

If it’s a mini it’s as reliable as a Landrover, or worse good luck with it.⛺️🚙🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

You're a diamond, Matt.