Hello from sunny San Diego. This is my first post and I'm considering getting a Mini one of these days. I have a couple of questions:

I'm thinking of getting a Mini as an alternative to a hybrid. I know that a Mini would be WAAAY more fun to drive than a Prius but certainly won't get 40-50 mpg. That said, would the non-S Cooper with a stick and a sport package still be fun? Or should I just pop for the S? I'm going to look at used Minis too. Any years to avoid?

Thanks in advance. I'm a frequent flyer from Bimmerfest (have a 3 series now) and love these forums. Cheers!

 

Welcome fellow San Diegian

Based on other posts, it seems that the later year MINIs, '05 & '06 are recommended.

If you buy new, there is a good post in the SoCal board from CapWKidd regarding prices and markups in SoCal. I went and would recommend Long Beach MINI as they are MSRP with no dealer add ons and they provide loaner cars. There was a recent post from another San Diegian, SoCalMINIgIrl24, asking on where to buy, so you might want to do a quick search on that thread for some useful info.