The Classic Mini Community Deserves Its Own Marketplace. So I Built One.
Introducing The Mini Exchange — a free, dedicated classifieds platform for Classic Mini Coopers, parts, and engines.
After years of watching Classic Mini listings get lost in the noise of Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and generic car sites, I decided to do something about it. The Mini Exchange is a standalone classifieds site built from the ground up for our community — where every field, every filter, and every feature is designed around what actually matters when you’re buying or selling a Classic Mini.
It’s free to post a listing. Always will be.
If you’ve got a Mini, a pile of parts, or a spare engine to sell — or you just want to see what’s out there — head over and take a look. The site is live and accepting listings now.
Read on for the full story behind why I built it, what makes it different, and where it’s headed.
The Problem
Let’s be honest about the state of buying and selling Classic Minis online right now. It’s a mess.
If you want to sell your car, your options are scattered, and none of them are great. You can post on Facebook Marketplace, where your carefully restored 1967 Cooper S sits next to someone’s 2014 Kia Optima with a cracked bumper. You can try Craigslist, where your listing disappears into the void within 48 hours. You can list on Bring a Trailer or Cars & Bids if your car is exceptional enough to get accepted — but those are auction platforms with their own dynamics, not classifieds. Or you can post in one of the dozens of Facebook groups, where your listing gets buried under memes and “what’s this noise?” videos by the next morning.
And if you’re a buyer? Good luck. You’re checking fifteen different Facebook groups, scrolling through generic sites with useless filters, and hoping someone happens to post what you’re looking for at the exact moment you’re looking. There’s no single place to go and say, “Show me every Classic Mini for sale right now.”
The parts situation is even worse. If you’ve got a spare 1275 block, a set of Hydrolastic displacers, or a box of Cooper S brake parts — where do you even list those? The audience that actually wants those items is fragmented across the internet.
This is the problem The Mini Exchange is built to solve.
Why a Dedicated Site Matters
There’s a reason niche classifieds sites work. VWTruckForSale.com proved the model for the VW Rabbit Pickup community — a small, focused site that became the go-to resource for a passionate niche. The Brick Yard for Volvos. BAT and C&B for the enthusiast auction crowd. When you concentrate buyers and sellers who share a specific interest in one place, everyone benefits.
Classic Minis have one of the most dedicated, knowledgeable, and global enthusiast communities in the car world. There are active owners and clubs on every continent. There are people who can identify a car’s year and spec from a single photo of the dashboard. There are people who know the difference between a 22G series and a 12G series block from across a car park. That community deserves a platform that speaks its language.
That’s what I’m trying to build.
What The Mini Exchange Actually Does
Here’s the short version: it’s a classifieds site specifically for Classic Minis (1959–2000), Classic Mini parts, and Classic Mini engines. You can post listings, browse listings, search and filter by the things that actually matter, and connect with buyers or sellers.
Here’s what makes it different from posting on a generic site:
Mini-Specific Listing Fields
When you create a listing on The Mini Exchange, you’re not filling out a form designed for every car ever made. The fields are tailored to what Classic Mini buyers actually want to know:
Year, model, and variant (Cooper, Cooper S, Austin, Morris, Riley Elf, Wolseley Hornet, Clubman, Moke, and more)
Engine size and engine number
Transmission type and gearbox casing stamp
Chassis number and VIN
Condition category (Excellent, Good, Fair, or Project)
Mileage, color, and location
These aren’t afterthoughts stuffed into a “notes” field. They’re first-class fields that buyers can search and filter on. If someone is looking specifically for a 1275-powered Cooper S with a matching engine number, they can find it.
Comprehensive Photo Galleries
A Classic Mini listing needs more than three photos. The Mini Exchange supports dedicated photo sections for:
Exterior / body — Every angle, paint condition, panel gaps, chrome, the works
Engine bay — Because that’s where half the story is
Interior — Seats, dash, headlining, carpets, gauges
Detail shots — Chassis plates, stampings, unique modifications, problem areas
Buyers want to see everything before they pick up the phone. Sellers who document their cars well get better results. The site is designed to encourage thorough, honest listings.
Regional Browsing
The Classic Mini group is a global community. The site supports browsing by region — North America, South America, Europe, Asia, and beyond — with further breakdowns so you can find cars near you or cast a wider net if you’re willing to ship.
Parts and Engines
This isn’t just for whole cars. If you’ve got Classic Mini parts or engines to sell, The Mini Exchange has a place for those, too. The community has needed a centralized parts marketplace for a long time. Facebook groups work in a pinch, but posts disappear quickly, and there’s no way to search back through them.
Sold Archive
When a car sells, the listing doesn’t vanish. It moves to a sold archive where it remains visible as a reference. This gives buyers and sellers real market data on what Classic Minis are actually selling for — not what people are asking, but what moved. Over time, this becomes an incredibly valuable resource for the community.
The Business Model (and Why It’s Free)
I want to be upfront about this because I know people are (rightfully) skeptical when someone launches a new platform.
Posting a basic listing on The Mini Exchange is free. It will always be free. You can create a listing, upload photos, manage and edit it yourself, and it will be published on the site at no cost.
For sellers who want additional exposure, there will be optional paid promotion tiers. These are designed to help your listing reach a wider audience, not to gate basic functionality. The paid options will include things like:
Immediate publication and priority placement in the marketplace
Unlimited photo uploads
Promotion across The Mini Exchange social media channels (Facebook, Instagram, Bluesky)
Inclusion in email blasts to subscribers who’ve opted in for new listing alerts
Featured placement on the site
Think of it like a boost, not a toll booth. The free tier gives you a real, functional listing. The paid tiers give you a megaphone.
Who I Am and Why I’m Doing This
For those of you who are new here — I’m Cole, and I run Classic Mini DIY. This brand has always been about giving Classic Mini owners the resources and tools to work on their own cars. The Mini Exchange is an extension of that same philosophy: building something useful for the community because the community needs it.
I’m not a venture-backed startup. I’m not trying to become the next Cars.com. I’m an enthusiast who got tired of the fragmented, frustrating experience of buying and selling in the Classic Mini world and decided to build a better option. The site is built with modern web technology, it’s fast, it works well on your phone, and it’s designed to grow with the community.
What’s Already Live
The Mini Exchange isn’t a coming-soon landing page. It’s a working platform with real functionality today:
User accounts and profiles — Create an account, manage your listings, build a seller reputation, and save your favorites
Watchlist and alerts — Get notified when a car matching your criteria gets listed
Messaging system — Communicate with buyers and sellers directly through the platform
Comment sections — Community discussion on listings to help vet cars, ask questions, and share knowledge
Where It’s Headed
That said, this is still early days and there’s a lot more I want to build. Here’s what’s on the roadmap:
Email notifications and new listing digest — Opt-in alerts for new listings, price drops, and featured cars. Plus a regular digest email so you can stay on top of what’s hitting the market without checking the site every day.
Seller verification and reputation system — Verified seller badges, transaction history, and community reviews so buyers can feel confident about who they’re dealing with.
Advanced search and saved searches — More granular filtering (price range, engine size, region, year range, condition) with the ability to save searches and get alerted when new matches appear.
Sold archive with pricing trends — Not just a record of what sold, but data over time so you can see how the market is moving for different models, conditions, and configurations.
Aggregated listings from around the web — A curated feed of Classic Minis listed on other platforms (Bring a Trailer, Cars & Bids, eBay, etc.) so The Mini Exchange becomes a one-stop shop for seeing everything that’s out there — not just what’s listed directly with us.
Mobile-optimized experience — The site already works on your phone, but I want to push this further with a truly native-feeling mobile experience for browsing and posting on the go.
What I Need From You
This thing only works if people use it. A classifieds site with no listings is just a nice-looking empty room. So here’s what I’m asking:
If you have something to sell, post it. Even if you’re also listing it elsewhere. It takes a few minutes and puts your car or parts in front of a focused audience.
If you’re in the market, bookmark the site and check back. As listings grow, it’ll become the easiest way to see what’s available.
If you know someone selling, send them the link. Word of mouth is how niche communities grow.
If you have feedback, tell me. I’m building this for the community, and I want it to reflect what the community actually needs. Reply to this post, email me, or reach out through Classic Mini DIY.
Check It Out
Free to browse. Free to list. Built for Classic Minis.
Thanks for being part of this community. I’m genuinely excited to see where this goes.
Cheers, Cole Classic Mini DIY
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