My daughter is after a mini, got to be auto and she would like a diesel. Problem is she’s only got 3k to spend, I’ve noticed a few for sale on here so is there anything to watch out for ? Geoff

MUST it be a diesel? There will be few to choose from and if it’s an R50 (pretty certain at that price point), it’ll be the Toyota Yaris diesel which is not that robust, especially with their turbos.
The 1.6 Tritec petrol engine is as tough as old boots, especially combined with the later Getrag gearbox - don’t have any experience of the auto though.
Look out for rust perforating the sheet steel under the tail lamps and lift the trim on the tops of the sills, where the doors open - it’s the first point to rust.
Wheel bearings can fail in 50,000 miles.
You’ll need to realign the headlamps for most MoT’s!
General build quality is high and it feels much more robust (Yaris diesel aside) than the equivalent Fiesta.
Boot and rear seat space (and access) are hopeless.
They are a lot of fun to drive 👍

This is where it all used to happen, but my MINI years were 2004-2010.

https://www.mini2.com/

I think she wants a diesel because the current petrol beetle she has uses too much fuel. Good job she doesn't have a FFRR. She's not in a rush and says she might wait until next summer, but as the beetle is a convertible I bet she keeps it. Thanks for the info anyway very useful. Geoff

Also a little known fact…. Mini of the BMW era was designed in Gaydon as JLR was part of the same group at the time!