Mk3 Mini to be auctioned off this Saturday

[rrshadow2]

I was walking by Special Interest Towing in Kent this morning and to my shock and amazement they had a Mini!! a Mk 3, I didn't get to see it close up, they wouldn't let me in the yard, but they Did tell me it's going to be Auctioned off This Saturday May 17th at Noon. I'd be All Over it Myself except that I'm going to be at the Vancouver All British this weekend, so somebody Please Go Rescue this Mini!!! Their Phone number if you need to know how to get there is 253-529-1337 and the address is 25923 78th Ave S. Kent 98032

[Dixminion]

Ttt

[BIGSHOT]

Sounds interesting. I can't make it to Vancouver, so I'll probably wander down to Kent to check out the auction.

Dan

[pigpen]

Well? Did it get rescued?
Tom

[BIGSHOT]

I made the trek to Special Interest Towing today to check out the "Austin Healey Mini Cooper" (according to their literature). I was told the car hadn't made it out of police impound yet and wouldn't be auctioned until next month, so I left early -- after watching about 30 or so cars auctioned off. I'll talk a little about the auction process at Tuesday's meeting, but here's a peek at the car in question.

As advertised, it appeared to be a Mark 3 car in dark blue with left-hand drive and 10-inch wheels. It's been heavily punted in the right rear and obviously pushed into something immovable, 'cause the left front is pranged and the right wing-to-cowl seam has separated.

It's been sitting somewhere for some time. The cloth-covered seats seem to be moldy and spiders have spun some serious webs in the interior. I had trouble getting the bonnet up, but it looked to be a 998 car and rusty in there.

It's way more of a project than I want to take on right now, but it'll probably sell for a couple of hundred bucks, and the Yoko 008s with reasonable tread and the alloy wheels (five-bar stars) are probably worth more than that.

If anyone's interested, I may be able to provide a little more info on Tuesday.

Dan

[rrshadow2]

I'm glad someone went to go check it out, too bad it's as rough as it is, but someone really Should snag it even if it's just for parts, if Nobody does, it'll end up getting crushed and it doesn't have far to go, the Crusher is right next door to Special Interest Towing, If nobody else expresses an interest, I'll probably head down there and try and snag it, but since I really Don't have any more space, I hope that someone else Jumps on it First...Todd

[Mark]

TTT for a lil bit of addl info,
I went to view this early, ( Then saw Dan in his Jetta heading over as I was leaving! ) and was told by a yard dude that it was gone to the orig owner's family! It turns out, that was a Bini that went off to a body shop.
Today, I've spoken with Rob, the mgr of Special Interest Towing, and by phone he has now confirmed the following: - much the same as what Dan has written, so sorry for repeat.
It's a blue repaint, shunted front and rear
Stored a long time
998 car with tag 99H 99 ........
Drum brakes on front
rust
Will go up for auction on June 21st, with the list coming out the Wednesday prior to auction. ( Every auction is 3rd Sat at Spec Int Tow. )
All cars bring 200 because the squisher gets that for scrap metal value.

He immediately asked me for value when we began to discuss matters other than him missing getting it auctioned off last saturday.

Anyboday want a very seriously needing work project? June 21st!

Best regards,
MSH

[mcbruce]

Special Interest Towing

What time do the auctions start? It might be worth looking at, I've been looking for a project car for quite a while.
Bruce

[BIGSHOT]

Auction I went to started at noon.

If I were really interested, I'd call Special Interest Towing and confirm that, but I wouldn't express interest in any particular car. That might result in someone bidding the car up. If you walk in cold, you might be able to get the car for 210 bucks -- if it gets through police impound, makes it to the auction, and no one bids against you.

Here's how the auction works. Beforehand, you pay a hundred bucks and show a piece of photo ID to get into the yard and get a bidder's number. The hundred bucks is immediately refundable if you don't buy anything, and it comes out of the purchase price of anything you do buy. A couple of Special Interest guys start the auction with a bullhorn and don't waste a lot of time getting the cars sold.

As Mark mentioned, every car has a starting bid of 200 bucks from one of the local wrecking yards. If none of the other bidders wants the car, the wrecker gets it for the opening bid and wham bam the crowd moves on to the next car. If someone other than the wrecker wants the car, the bidding takes off in $10 or $50 or $100 increments, depending on the car and the competition.

Bidders were a motley assortment of wrecking yard guys and what appeared to be car flippers from a number of other countries. It was a fairly friendly affair. They all seemed to know exactly what they wanted and what they were willing to pay for it. I think the Mini will throw most of them. It doesn't hold a lot of scrap metal and rebuilding it will cost too much for a quick flip.

It will be lost among the Mustangs, Saturns, Geos, Hondas and Chevys. It's been badly damaged and that'll keep the bidding down. When I was there, most cars went for less than $250. The top price ($1500) was paid for an Acura Legend that was in semi-tough shape but had a lot of salvageable parts. One Passat wagon, a runner with the VR6 and a leather interior, went for 975 smackers. In fact, a number of the cars there were runners.

Like I said, the bidding goes quickly. So if you want the car, know in advance what you're willing to spend and speak up. Stop to think about it and the car may end up in the crusher before you wake up.

And have a trailer handy. I'm sure they won't let you leave the car there for long.

Dan