£1,500 would buy an old original Mini. It won't buy a BMW MINI. The old Minis are a nightmare. What I fondly remembered as huge fun to drive as a kid back in the 1970s turned into something unutterably awful by the time the model was on its last legs. And they rot like French cheeses. Any visible rust is almost bound to be ten times worse in the front and rear subframes. Best avoided and the money spent on a proper car.