Hello, I am a new member to this forum and live in Palm Beach Florida. I am looking to get a little advice as to whether or not a Mini Cooper is a good choice for my needs. I want to pay cash for my Mini and will have about $5-$7k to spend.

First let me say I love the way it looks and since money is a little tight I am having a hard time trying to decide if it will be a good choice for me. so here are a few questions I would like some help getting answered...

1. I have read stories on the internet about how unreliable and expensive these cars are to own and repair. is this fairly accurate?
2. Is the a particular year I should totally avoid due to problems?
3. I plan to use this car as a daily commuter car to drive 60 miles a day 6 days a week, would this car be a good choice for that?
4. I do not have a garage or covered area to store the vehicle, any issues with that?
5. I have read that the Automatic Trans. in the 02-04 models are troublesome and I think these are the years that will be in my price range, so I am planning on buying a Mini with a Manual Trans. is this a safe bet or am I mis-informed?
6. any other things I should know or advice to look at or for while searching would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.