Reliability numbers on the Mini Cooper or any Volkswagen product would scare me away. Looking at Consumer Reports' April 2003 cars issue, under "the best and worst used cars", they recommend:

(Under $6000)

Ford Escort '97-98
Geo Metro '95 / Prizm '95-96 / Tracker '95
Mazda Protege '96
Mercury Tracer '97-98
Subaru Impreza '95
Suzuki Sidekick '95 / Swift '95
Toyota Tercel '95

($6000-8000)

Chevy Prizm '98
Ford Escort '99-00 / Ranger (2WD) '95-97
Geo Prizm '97
Honda Civic '95-96
Mazda B-Series (@WD) '95 / Miata '95 / Protege '97-98
Mercury Tracer '99
Nissan Altima '96 / Sentra '97
Saturn SL/SW '98-99
Subaru Impreza '96 / Legacy '95
Toyota Corolla '95-97 / Tercel '96-97

The full list is only available to subscribers although they do have some general recommendations. If you want, I'll type in some of the more expensive categories for you. Among other interesting cars that you may or may not have been considering, they seem to think highly of the Infiniti G20's and a long list of Toyota products. Interestingly, they never recommend a car made before 1995, regardless of price bracket.

The Saab 9-3 does make the list, for a '00-01 model (which they think you can get for $22-26K). Of course, for that money, you can get a variety of different new cars.

Lastly, it's interesting to read the "used cars to avoid" section. They pan a long list of Audi and VW products, not to mention a substantial portion of the product line from the Big 3 U.S. manufacturers, including the 1995 Chevy S-10 (4-cyl) and the '96-02 Chevy S-10 (6-cyl). That would support your decision to drop the car and look elsewhere.