My wife has decided that she wants a Mini for her next car which is great news to me as I am a car nut and she has always driven somewhat bland cars, like her '98 Civic. We always save up and pay cash for our cars, so it will be another year or so before we buy one, (Most likely about two years old, depending on depreciation). This forum looks like the best place to start researching. The only BMW product I have owned in the past was a '77 530i and I had pretty good luck with it. I like to do most of the wrenching myself but will let a professional work on my vehicles only if I don't have the proper tools to complete the job. Both of us agree that an, "S" model will be in our future. I will be lurking for a while and doing a few searches, but may pop in and ask a question from time to time. thanks for being here! -Michael Julian