I think that a lot of it depends on how the car was maintained and driven throughout its life, my blue one with 79k miles is just flawless after I fixed the aforementioned items. No squeaks/rattles, no under the hood noises other than the supercharger whining like it should, great shifting, etc.
Driving impression is that it definitely handles and is fun in traffic and fast freeway cloverleaf transitions, haven't had a chance to take it up in a canyon yet but it has a lot of grip with the Potenzas and the aftermarket sway bars.
I would not touch a high mileage or neglected/beat-up Mini with a 10-foot pole. Astrochex's car might be an exception on the miles because he has kept up with everything and is an enthusiast. The '07 and later turbocharged models hold zero interest because of the styling changes and extra heat and access issues under the little hood. The Mini Cooper re-issue of 2002 was an absolutely perfect retro product and they have done nothing but ruin it ever since. The very first ones, (02/03), had some QC issues that were ironed out in the 04-06 cars.
Hard to beat the $$:fun ratio in an everyday usable car.
