In need of sage advice
 

Dear Friends of the Mini,

I would so appreciate your

Ok, here are the facts.

I am starting a new business and buying a car at the same time. I plan on buying used and would like to keep my monthly payments under 300$. I live in VT (though I do not live on a dirt road, my parents do and I visit them regularly).

When I purchase a car, I want to do so with a sense of ease, knowing that I am not going to need to be on the look out for constant repairs needed. I have researched 1000's of cars, love to drive, and care about form and function equally.

The practical thing to do is buy a Honda Civic. What I want is a MINI Clubman I can trust. I passed up an amazing deal for a 2010 Clubman for $12,500 with 45,000 miles b/c it was not a manual and b/c all of my research pointed to 50,000$ being the danger zone in for MINI's. Actually, what I found out in my MINI research was that they were either a nightmare at 50, 000 or perfect, so the info has not been consistent.

I cannot afford a new MINI at this stage, but everything else I consider just doesn't measure up and I am not good with settling for 2nd best. I want a car that is safe, reliable, environmentally wise, fast, and has class/character.

So, my question is this:

What would you do?

Thank you so much, it will really be so helpful to hear your opinions.

ER

Right...

Stay away from the mini. There's my sage advice.

Dedicate your time and money to your business right now. Having a mini now will only consume both...trust me. Get yourself a reliable beater that can handle those vermont winters.

When your business takes off and you're wiping yourself with 20s...get yourself a tricked out John Cooper Works. Since you can't settle for second best, a JCW is your only choice.

Pretty much ditto on cambo comments. Buy yourself a used Honda or similar and concentrate on business building, unless you are going to be in a business that requires that you drive some flash car (pimp?).

I've built, run and sold several businesses over the years and I usually sold off any fancy cars to keep costs down while building.

If you want reliability the first thing to do is stay away from mini, and the cooper wasnt that fast

You can lease a MINI or Certified Next and probably be way under the $300 a month.

We love MINIs but if you are buying an unknown condition used MINI the best thing you can do to protect yourself is get an aftermarket extended warranty. That way if a expensive repair comes up you will have them to cover it.

That's a no-brainer. I would buy the Civic. There's time for a Mini at another time in your life. I wouldn't own a Mini that didn't have a new car warranty.

I like MINIs, but +1 to what has already been said. Put the MINI on the back burner and go for an affordable and reliable appliance car; Honda and Toyota are gonna be your best bets in that dept. Good uck!