Hey everyone,

I'm new to this board, and I'm hoping you can offer some insight.

I've been looking for a new car and found a 2003 MINI S w/ the John Cooper works package. It only has 20,000 miles and there asking $14,000 for it, which actually manages to put it in my price range. A few questions:

1. Is age or mileage more of a factor in the wear of a car? I'm assuming that this was kept in someone's garage and driven pretty sparingly from the age/mileage ratio. How much of a difference is there between on '03 w/ 20k miles and a '09 with 20,000 miles???

2. Does that price sound fair? There's not a lot of precedent for a car that old with that many miles on it. Wondering if this is a good deal, or if it could be had for cheaper. I'm guessing the age may scare a lot of people off.

3. Is there anything in general that I should keep an out for with an older version of a John Cooper Works MINI? I've been wanting a MINI since I got my VW about 8 years ago, but I'm no expert and what to look for...

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.