Last-of-the-line Rover Mini Cooper for sale on eBay

The second-generation ‘new’ MINI Cooper may have just gone out of production, but you can still pick up a new one for £14,900. Alternatively you could wait for the third-gen MINI coming later this year, with prices starting from £15,300.

But without wishing to sound too much like Chris Tarrant, we don’t want to give you either of those. Instead, how about a classic, original Mini Cooper for £14,995? Yes, that’s right – a last-of-the-line 2001 Mini for £305 less than the all-new version.

On Bing: see pictures of the Rover Mini Cooper

Find out how much a used Rover Mini costs on Auto Trader

The “delivery miles, as new” Rover Mini Cooper is up for sale on eBay for a smidgen under £15,000 and has so far attracted five offers. It’s quite remarkable to find a classic – and some would say, proper – Mini with just one-owner and 182 miles on the clock.

It was registered on the 28 September 2001 and supplied by Macrae & Dick of Inverness, Scotland. It still wears its original dealer number plates, stickers and tax disc holder. In fact, it’s as though it has just driven out of the showroom.

Being 13 years old, you can’t expect much in the way of equipment – or indeed safety features – but it does boast a full factory-fitted electric sunroof and a single CD player. Yes, a CD player. Remember them!?

Is £14,995 too much to ask for what’s effectively an unused Rover Mini Cooper? Arguably yes, but you’re unlikely to find another one. There’s actually a 22,870-mile Rover Mini Cooper of the same vintage currently on eBay, and that’s priced at £12,995.

And a quick browse through the listing on Auto Trader reveals a host of Rover Minis at similar prices. A 1999 car with 4,200 miles on for £13,995 was recently sold. Similarly, a 2000 car with 5,200 miles was up for £14,750 and has since found a new owner. Small cars with big price tags.

This particular Rover Mini Cooper is perhaps the pick of the bunch, not least because it wears a ’51′ number plate, making it incredibly rare. By this time, BMW owned the rights to the Mini name and was only allowing Rover to use it under licence.

It’s quite possible that the seller’s claim that this was the last Mini sold in Scotland is perfectly valid. A mini piece of history.

Don’t be surprised if it makes its asking price. It’ll probably be snapped up by a collector and possibly exported to somewhere like Japan, where the original Mini remains very popular.

On Bing: see pictures of the Rover Mini Cooper

Find out how much a used Rover Mini costs on Auto Trader

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By motoringresearch.com