Classic Mini that has been garaged for 33 years sells for £39,100

A 1970 Mini that was found in a dusty garage and hadn’t turned a wheel for 33 years has sold at auction for almost four times its pre-sale estimate.

The 1275 GT, which had been stored away since 1990 and found earlier this year, sold for an ‘astonishing’ £39,100 at the Practical Classic Car and Restoration Show at Birmingham’s NEC on Saturday.

Before the auction, it was tipped to fetch between just £10,000 and £12,000, while experts say a pristine example should only be worth half what the new owner paid at the weekend.

The winning bid was almost four times the pre-sale estimate, set at £10,000 to £12,000 

Classic Car Auctions says the Mini had received ‘substantial pre-sale interest’ following This is Money’s exclusive story covering its availability at the block earlier this month.

The ‘remarkable garage find’ is a one-owner car with just 11,836 miles on the clock.

Its discovery ‘patently delighted the Mini enthusiasts at the sale’, the auction house said, hinting that a number of collectors were embroiled in a bidding war to secure the keys to the low-mileage classic motor.

The Mini was found in a garage in Buckinghamshire and was showing serious signs of neglect

Classic car hunters were recently located to the car’s whereabouts for the last 33 years, which was a storage unit in the village of Prestwood, which is near Great Missenden, Roald Dahl’s fomer home village

Given that the car hadn’t moved for 33 years before going to the block, there is little surprise to see it has pretty low mileage

The classic Mini was sold at the Classic Car Auctions sale at the Practical Classic Car and Restoration Show at Birmingham’s NEC on Saturday 25 March

The former keeper had been the lone owner of the seventies Mini dating back a whopping 55 years.

However, it was its lack of use for the last three decades that made it appeal to collectors, with the car having been stored in a garage in Buckinghamshire for 33 years. 

Finished in Bronze Yellow paint, it entered the auction room still covered in the dust that had accumulated on its bodywork after decades of no use.

It even displayed its last tax disc, which shows an expiration date of 30 June 90.

Classic car hunters were located to the car’s whereabouts earlier this year.

It was tracked down to a brick garage in the village of Prestwood, which is near Roald Dahl’s former home village of Great Missenden between Aylesbury and High Wycombe.

Finished in Bronze Yellow paint, the  covered in three decades’ worth of dust having not seen the light of day since it was taken off the road in 1990

Registration ‘RR0 797J’ still has its original 1,275cc four-cylinder A-Series engine linked to a four-synchro, close-ratio, four-speed manual gearbox

Classic Car Auctions said the garage where it was found earlier this year hadn’t been opened for so long that they struggled to get the door open to access the Mini 

Despite being left in a garage since 1990, the interior was found to be in remarkably good condition, with little sign of ageing 

Once the car was found in the storage unit, those attempting to retrieve the dinky vehicle struggled to get the garage door open because it had remained locked shut for so long. 

The reason for why it had not seen the light of day for an extended period has not been revealed, though it clearly hasn’t received much love for the last 33 years of its existence.

The 1275 GT was the brand’s restyled version of the classic Mini and arrived in 1970, with this model one of the earliest examples.

It features a boxier front end than the conventional classic Mini, with a full-width grille, larger headlights and a revised front bumper.

When new, it was offered in two trim levels: the Mini 1275 GT as seen here, and the Mini Clubman estate.

The Mini’s odometer shows it having just 11,836 miles on the clock ahead of it going to the auction room. That’s an average of 223 miles per year since it came off the assembly line in 1970

The car’s odometer reading is supported by the last service stamp on the car, which is at 10,418 miles

The Mini was found with its final tax disc on display. It is dated for expiry on 30 June 1990

The black vinyl interior is certainly better than the dust and dirty-coated bodywork on the outside

Registration ‘RR0 797J’ went to auction with its original 1,275cc four-cylinder A-Series engine under the bonnet, which is linked to a four-synchro, close-ratio, four-speed manual gearbox.

However, having not been run for 33 years, it didn’t enter the auction room under its own power – and it was recommended to the new owner to give it a full service before trying to turn the powerplant over.

Other desirable original features it has includes 10-inch Rostyle alloy wheels fitted over 7.5-inch Cooper ‘S’ disc brakes.

Inside, the black vinyl cabin looks to have been relatively well protected from the dust coated on the exterior panels.  

The car retains almost all of its original features. This includes 10-inch Rostyle alloy wheels fitted over 7.5-inch Cooper ‘S’ disc brakes

Classic Car Auctions presented the Mini it in the sales room later this month in its ‘as found’ condition. It still sold for double what experts say a pristine example is worth

The new owner will need to give the windscreen a good clean before getting behind the wheel – there’s more dirt than the windscreen wipers can clear

A ‘concours’ 1970 Mini 1275 GT is said to be worth just £18,000. That makes the £39,100 paid for this one an auction ‘outlier’

With an indicated mileage of 11,836 and stickers confirming the next service at 13,438 miles, those who uncovered the vehicle believe it was taken off the road in late 1989 or early 1990.

And since then, it hasn’t turned a wheel on Britain’s roads. 

Commenting on its availability ahead of the auction, Richard Greenhalgh, the man who sourced the car for CCA, said that despite the coating of dirt and dust, the bodywork and interior ‘seem to remain in remarkable condition’. 

The 1275 GT was the brand’s restyled version of the classic. It features a boxier front end featuring a full width grille, larger headlights and a revised front bumper

While the seats in the front show little sign of use, the rear bench doesn’t even look to have been sat in for its 53-year life

After finding the car, Classic Car Auctions transported the Mini to its holding area to keep the vehicle safe before the auction 

Richard Greenhalgh, the man who sourced the car for CCA, said that despite the coating of dirt and dust, the bodywork and interior were in ‘remarkable condition’

He told This is Money: ‘It almost feels as though a soapy wash and a good valet would have it back in shape. 

‘The engine bay however, is not so good and the car will undoubtedly need a full mechanical recommission.’

It was presented at the auction as it was found, with its original Passport to Service and tool kit.

But even with its low mileage, original features and some documented history, the price paid is well over the average value of one of these cars. 

Classic vehicle valuation experts Hagerty UK believes an excellent to ‘concours’ condition (meaning it is good enough to be put on display) is worth between just £15,100 and £18,000 – that’s around half the sale price.

This means the figure shelled out this weekend is likely an ‘outlier’ in the auction room. 

Another panel in the car shows it as being serviced by a British Leyland main dealer using only Castrol GTX oil. The next service due is at 12,614 miles, it says. The car hasn’t reached that yet!

The boot also looks like it is need of some attention, thought there is still a spare wheel in there

Another interior shot shows just how much dust is covering the outside of the car having been left standing in the storage unit for 33 years

A close up sot of the last indicated service, which was carried out at 10,418 miles

What is an ‘outlier’ in the classic car world?

John Mayhead from Hagerty UK (right) explains why collectors sometimes pay well over the odds for some classic cars

At the end of January, a 1987 Ford Sierra smashed records by selling for a staggering £596,250 at auction.

While this was no ordinary Ford family car and was one of 500 limited-edition Sierra RS500 Cosworths, the winning bid pitched the room into a stunned silence.

That’s because the price paid for the low-mileage car utterly obliterated the previous world record for one of these models – in fact, it was more than four times higher than what anyone had ever paid before.

But what caused this to happen, and how common is it for bidders to go dramatically over pre-sale guide prices?

One man who knows is John Mayhead, editor of the Hagerty Price Guide. It’s his job to know the value of classic and collectible vehicles. And he says the Sierra sold last week – like so many before it – is what the industry dubs an ‘outlier’.

> Read John’s special column or This is Money in which he explains why collectors sometimes pay well over the odds for some classic cars