I've wanted a Mini ever since the car was reintroduced. Life gets in the way and it wasn't until June of this year that I finally bought one. Got a good deal from my local dealer on a 2010 R56s with 42K miles. It's a model that I've wanted most. I can't stop smiling when I'm driving.

I'm the third owner, and there's work to be done. Starting small, just balanced the four tires and did an alignment. Trying to isolate a noise I hear at speed.

Engine runs very well. Car stops and goes, and thanks to a recent alignment, it goes straight when I want it to.

Interior, exterior paint, and chrome are all mint. The hood stripes are cracked and need to be replaced. I'm pretty sure they're factory installed because they wrap under the front of the hood.

I'd like to change out the 17" wheels for something the same size, but the stock ones will do for a while. Running Hankook Ventus now, but they are due to be changed. Would appreciate recommendations. I like the half-profile size of these tires, and I might track the car once, if ever, but I'd like to drive the Tail of the Dragon in NC some day.

Perhaps a tune is in my future as well.

Eventually, this will be the car I give to my son. He's 11 and will be helping me with it. My daughter, who's younger, will help us, too. It's going to be a great family project.

Been reading on here for awhile. Had to answer a few questions already. Lots of great people in this group. See you around.

 

Welcome!

I just replaced my tires with Continental ExtremeContact Sport and they're an excellent summer tire so far. I haven't pushed it too hard but so far they ride much quieter than the ContiSportContact 3 RFT that I had before. Grip levels seem very high and I wouldn't hesitate to use these on the track or autocross. I think these will be great for tail of the dragon or any other twisty road and for $110 a tire the price is hard to beat.

 

Welcome to the forum

I know how you felt. I wanted one for over 2 decades, but had to wait until the kids grew up and now that I retired, what the heck .. now its my turn !!!!!!!

 

Welcome and Congrats on the nice low mileage purchase.

Keep up the maint and it will be a good car. Hope we can help when you need.

 

Welcome to NAM. Any pictures?

 

What month was the car manufactured? You do know that after August of 2010 the engines changed from N14 to N18?

 

Good question. It's a March 2010 vehicle with the N14.

CarFax service history is inconsistent among the two previous local owners, but it is checking out OK so far. No major noises, except perhaps the vacuum booster on cold start. I'll put a screwdriver stethoscope to it this weekend to make sure. It goes away when the engine is warm (and the oil is flowing), so I'm pretty sure that's it instead of a throwout/input noise. It also goes away when the engine is in gear, meaning the cams aren't under drive load.

Luckily, there's no chain noise to speak of.

Photos to come!

 

Welcome to NAM! Congrats on the purchase of your R56. I am here if you ever have any questions. Be sure to check out our extensive tech article library for any help you may need no or in the future.

 

Be sure to change the oil every 5,000 miles.