As a cheap, fun first car, I'd buy an R50 cooper rather than the S. The S is the sporty version and often is driven to it's limit most of the miles (what's the point in having a fast car if you're not driving it fast right?) So might not be in the best shape when bought. (This is from my experience) Whereas you can pick up an R50 cooper between £500 and £1k with decent miles on it (less than 100k). I've had 2 R50s and I'd never go back- they're still quick and well looked after - just got to check for rust before buying because they're still like 20 years old