Hello Everyone!
 

I am looking to buy a nice, used car for my birthday in a few months and the idea came to me after seeing so many minis around my college! I thought they were adorable and so unique looking so I started to research them a little bit! Which is why I decided to join this forum because I wanted more imput with mini experts about if this is the right car I should choose! As I said previously, I am a college student looking for a nice used car that has good gas mileage and is fairly reliable! I was wondering if minis are the right choice, what year/model I should look into and any other advice that is relevant to my situation! Thanks everyone!

-M

I assume as a college student you will be on a very tight budget?
Ive never met a student with any spare cash at all to spend.
MINIs, can be very expensive to service if you cant do it yourself and also expensive to repair if theres no warranty in force.
Buying one because you think it looks cute is not really the way to go I dont think.
Probably better off buying a Nissan Micra actually and forget the cute bit.
Thats my opinion and Im stuck with it.

I am not just thinking about a Mini because it is cute. Its small to park in the city, good on gas mileage for both city and highway and it didn't really seem like that much of a hassle to fix. I currently have a car that might be on its last leg so my parents are helping me get a car for under $10K.... thanks for your opinion.

What type of transmission are you considering ... automatic or manual?

probably automatic

If you're looking for an automatic, you'll want to avoid a 1st Gen Cooper model because they have a Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) which will cost you an arm and leg to replace. This means you'll have to look for 1st Gen Cooper S (2005 - 2006) and an early 2nd Gen Cooper (2007 onward).

AutoTrader: Used 1st Gen Automatic Cooper S Listings

AutoTrader: Used 2nd Gen Automatic MINI Cooper Listings

I thought I saw on some consumer reviews that there are recalls/problems with the timing belt and carbon build up or something... wouldn't I run into that problem or do you think used cars would already be fixed of those problems?

Those problems are on 2nd Gen Cooper S models ... which are probably not within your budget anyway ;)

okay I see what you're saying! Well thanks for the advice! Is there any other tips to getting a great deal or anything I should look for in a used mini?

You can use Kelley Blue Book to check if asking price is reasonable.

Ask the seller for service records.

okay thanks for the advice!