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So I've been looking lately for a small car that would be entertaining and still fit in the smaller parking area of my garage where I've been keeping the quad. A quick measurement said I had about 18' total, and I have to be able to parallel park it in that space, so I figured I needed something less than 14' long realistically. I first started looking for VW Super Beetles, but wanting to have something more reliable than a 50 yr old air cooled car, kinda pushed me out of that. (That being said, if the first guy I contacted would have gotten back to me quickly, I might already have said VW, LOL).
Long story short, I ended up showing Amy a Mini Cooper and she actually really seemed to like it, and even showed interest in driving it. So I started looking and ended up finding a fresh listing on Sunday evening pop up local (Barberton) with only 25k miles. Most of the low mileage cars had 80k+ on them and this was priced similarly to those, but not being listed by a dealer helped with the pricing.
He quickly got back to me and we got together Monday after work with MostMint helping with local logistics since he was pretty close to there. Despite the downpour we were able to go over the car, drive it around the block, and seal the deal.
I'm out of time on this post, but will add more this evening or tomorrow morning.

-BP

We met at a Chase bank which was conveniently located right by the license bureau so notary and temp tags were super easy to get. All in all, a good buying experience. The seller forgot to bring the stock taillights with him to give me, but will be dropping those off at MostMint's place this weekend at some point.

I was able to procure a uhaul tow dolly on short notice, so I could bring the car home myself and not run around with several people to pick this up. Today I got the title transferred, the e-check paperwork ( the test was done recently, but he forgot to give me the paperwork), the license plate registration, and Hagerty insurance which was only about $16 a month for $9500 worth of coverage. I was surprised they would even cover it...

I did drive it around for all my errands today and ran it through a touchless wash just to knock the heavy stuff off. It does need a real detail job, but is super clean and from what I can tell everything is fully functional at this point. Seems like a fun little car for the money.

More to come.

-BP

Pictures...

I did a bad job as wingman didn't spend a lot of time going over the car. Anyway its super clean underneath too.

We met the seller just a minute or two before a huge downpour. Luckily we parked on the east side of the building with a big overhang so we could chat a bit til the worst of it blew over. Location was good too with the BMV within view of the meeting place.

I love the Union Jack in the taillights. What did Amy think of it in person?

She really likes it. She hasn't had a chance to drive it yet, but I expect that will happen this weekend. Once I get the original taillights back, I'll determine whether to keep the aftermarket ones in there, or put the stockers back in.

-BP

Is this the supercharged version? I figure you'd have mentioned if it was, but..

TURBO! Paleez. I would NOT buy a normally aspirated Mini Cooper. I'm on a fine line of manliness as it is.

-BP