2011 Mini Cooper Clubman John Cooper Works

Pros: Looks cool, fun drive, and it comes with a lot of customizations.

Cons: Not a very reliable car- all kinds of things start going wrong with MINIs after about a year.

Summary: I had a MINI that had nothing but problems after the first year of ownership. I loved the car. It was fun to drive, but it ended up being very expensive to fix and maintain.

Here is a brief list of some of the problems I had:
Tires were expensive to replace and I literally needed to replace about once a year.
Transmission went bad shortly after 60,000 mile warranty.
Rear windshield motor died.

It really was a cool car, and it was the first car I bought brand new. MINI gives you the opportunity to really customize it the way you want it, but it just got to the point where I didn't know how much more it was going to cost me. Within the first 2 years, I spent over $3,000 in general maintenance and repairs. If all of that doesn't scare you away, it really is a fun car to drive as long as you're not concerned about reliability.