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For me when viewing a private car I let them drive me to see how they drive, then I have a quick 10 minute drive, then I will go through the paperwork, check the car over and then if we are happy we will buy the car. If we are not at the v5 address we ask for copies of passports or driving licences. If your inside the house look at the pictures and see if they are the ones in them. Trust you gut instinct and break down the train tickets for cheaper fares. Oh and you can also call the dealers and check the history

make sure you drive private sale cars, we used to buy on viewing only to find there was no clutch even though it felt fine on their drives if you can run an advert in your local area 'we buy cars for cash, collect today' hpi afore ye go and double check for clones it can be worthwhile when these cars usually turn up to be in peoples way because they thought it was worth more than they were offered previously,always kick them when their down too

to be sure if its still there the bells should be so loud you think you have tinitusk sparky...at least you didnt find the carrier under the seat with a used nappy in it like i once did

Ill stick to em if you all aren't bothered! :-)

More often than not private sellers will want retail money for the car. If they have gone through the effort of listing the car online there is a good chance they have already price compared with dealers. Go along and offer them CAP clean and they will laugh at you. Only exception to this is the people that want to offload the car to the likes of WBAC etc. Advertising in the local rag is not a bad way to get a few bargains we did this years ago but be prepared for lots of timewasters and liars, and also it is hard to compete with the online buyers these days. If you are looking for specialised stuff like steve seems to be doing then buying privately can work.

SPARKY NO DON'T DO IT, many years ago er indoors had a lovely 4 year old 23k mondeo auto mint with absolutely nothing wrong with it(auto only licence), told her not to bother and within 6 months she'd be bored of it, I gave in and got her one, cooper auto, silver all the stripes, chilli pack, 5 months later the novelty wore off, she realized how impracticable they are and how astronomical the repair costs are. The one car that I lost a fortune on. PS. On another note got a job lot of balloons on the way from China if you're interested

HI, I have found a few of them tricky, but easily sortable. Avoid pre 2007 basically. Common problems I have found - Thermostat usually needs replacing ( fan stays on for ages after car only been running a few mins ) however most minis I have run hot and the fans kick in really early especially indoors as its really muggy - Clutch & Gearbox usually OK on R56 onwards ( 2007 facelift on Hatch 2009 on cabrio ) Check for the usual grinding box / high clutch - Vanos timing unit - I've replaced one at a cost of c £500 on a 2007 1.6 Cooper - Timing chain replacement is relatively easy - You'll hear the 'death' rattle when started from cold, I have only had this on cooper S. I've changed 2 in 9 months - O2 sensors - Changed 3 - Rear suspension, Knocking from top mounts £400 job but i've not paid for one yet as I claim all mine back through BCA on the assured programme - Tailgate handle button stops working - £70 new handle - Armrests top snap off - EVERY ONE - Sun visor covers snap - 5/10 cars - Bonnets chippy and screens nearly always chipped - Key replacement £150 I research each one I buy, MOT history etc and I only really ever buy an assured BCA car, or one i've driven. But I still make mistakes every now and then. Spec, Mainly go for a cooper / cooper d with Chili Pack / MF steering wheel and the bigger the wheels the better. You'll always shift it at a later date Check my website for my stock, www.superminiuk.com Ta Mat

Get an r56 cooper then you only have thermostats to worry about. I love my cooper s it's great fun, the only issue I have is the sat nav seems to think it's in a different part of the country every so often and sometimes I get adaptive light failure but in 3 years it's cost me 3 oil changes, discs and pads front and rear and that's it. I ditched the run flats within 3 months stuck a sports cat on jcw steering wheel and gear knob. I open all the windows and sunroof and stick it in sports mode and then annoy the neighbors.