need some advice!

Hi all,

My last car was a '08 Cooper S when I lived in LA. It was an automatic (LA traffic would KILL clutches!!) before that I had a 1st gen Cooper.

Now I'm back living in the UK. I'm slowly getting to grips with driving on the other side of the car on the other side of the road! I'm also getting used to a manual car.

I'm obviously going to go back to a MINI but I was wondering if I should get a cheaper 1st gen so that I'm not stressing about damaging it or if I should just bite the bullet and get another 2nd gen???(either 08 or 09) I'm not interested in getting an "S" at the moment. My insurance would be way too high!!! Need a couple years of UK driving before I go back to an S.

Also is it worth getting MINI Cherished? Or should I just look for something from a regular dealer?

Any advice appreciated :)