Thoughts on 2008-2011 Minis

Thinking about getting a Mini somewhere between a 2008-2011 model. Probably a regular cooper or maybe cooper S. Not interested in a clubman or anything. Anything to look out for, or check for? Seems prices are kinda high for one with low miles even for a 2009 model then around $9000 for high miles. I hear about high maintenance costs and the tranny issue. Thoughts? Thanks

I will say that I've always liked the Mini Cooper S. The regular one is ok, but the S model is really cool because you get 180 hp in a car the size of a shoe and the weight of a feather. At the same time, the fuel economy is pretty damn good. The Mini and the Fiat 500 Abarth are the only subcompact cars I've ever considered as cars I might actually buy if the price is right.
The issue of high maintenance and repair costs on a Mini doesn't surprise me at all, since the company is part of BMW. However, they do have a reputation for being pretty solid and reliable. The transmission issue isn't one I've heard of, but to be fair, I've only ever looked at manual transmission models. If there's an issue with the automatics, I wouldn't know just because I've always overlooked them.