Hi Guys! I'm new here and I'm the owner of a Laser Blue R56 Cooper S from 2008 with a 6 speed. I purchased the car around 3 weeks ago and I am in Massachusetts, but there isn't much rust because the car has lived most of its life in Tacoma, Washington. Lucky for me I got a service history with the car that even included the window sticker! As I mentioned, I live in Massachusetts, relatively close to Boston. I am not from Boston originally though. I'm from Northern California. Currently, I have lived in MA for nearly 14 years as it stands. I'm 17 years old and my Mini is my first car. Nice to meet you all! Also, Foody is really my last name.


This is the car. Currently I don't have the roof box or the roof rails on it because I prefer the clean look.

 

Welcome!

 

Welcome to MINIland. I don't envy you driving a MINI on Boston roads!

 

The easiest way to deal with Boston drivers is to trust none of them but having a small car around here is great

 

Welcome! Happen to want to sell the roof rails? I'm looking for a set!

 

Welcome! That thing is a long way from home!
My Mini came from Northwest MINI in Tacoma also. I too got the full service history including the window sticker and build sheet.
Both Mini dealers here in WA are good dealerships. Your car has been well cared for if it was worked on there.
Congrats, and welcome. I wish I would have gotten a mini for my first car!!
although it would have been a classic, because I’m getting old, ha ha

 

Sorry but I plan on keeping the rails and the box for when I go to college.

 

Yep, mine did come from Northwest MINI in Tacoma. The interesting thing about the service history is all the common problems you see in the R56 N14 turbocharged cars happened to mine while it was in Massachusetts. Mine had the death rattle at one point but was fully repaired by the Boston MINI dealer. The Bluetooth and AUX didn't work when I got the car and I discovered on Saturday that the whole bluetooth module was corroded so badly that I had to vacuum out the whole area. That module was nowhere near recoverable.

This is after I vacuumed out most of the corrosion from in the bluetooth module compartment

Same time, different view

Currently though the one problem that's been bothering me is an oil leak at the front of the engine causing oil to burn in the exhaust. I can't read the dipstick for the life of me but I'm pretty sure it was overfilled when I had the oil changed this past Friday

 

Hi and welcome to NAM, Sean!
Congrats on acquiring a MCS!
Look in the gen 2 area, on this site, to get insights on your R56! A few more pics would not hurt here either!

 

Welcome to NAM Sean. Congrats on the r56 purchase, I love the spot lights!

 

Well, quite coincidentally I took a few photos yesterday.


This is just after I washed the car yesterday. My driveway has maple trees hanging over it so the car gets filthy without really going anywhere


Unfortunately the rally lights don't work and I still need to troubleshoot them.


Opinions on the blacked out taillight covers?

 

I'm very happy to hear that Northwest MINI, the dealer where my car came from, takes great care of your Countryman. Most of the weirder problems that have occurred with my car have been throughout the three years that it's been in Massachusetts though. At some point someone (I'm not sure who) put in an extra "1" on the previous owner's title so the milage on the title read something like 1,113,083 when in reality it should have only been 113,083. Now there's a title discrepancy when I registered the car but I'll get that fixed because I have a lot of service bills which have the mileage of the car when it went in and out of the Boston MINI dealer. Someone at some point hastily repaired the valve cover breather tube with some really cheap silicon crap that looks like it costed no more than $10. The car threw a check engine light once a new hole showed up in the breather tube but that's been all fixed. I think the most unusual problem my Mini has had is that water leaks somewhere on the underside of the car so the carpet of the driver's side rear seat gets damp after some rain or a car wash. I couldn't figure out why my bluetooth and AUX wasn't working until I took out the module and discovered that it had been completely corroded. Here's a picture of what it looked like before I replaced it:

Yeah, there was no way this thing would have been salvageable.

 

It is most likely the sun roof drains. They clog with debris and the hose falls off, particularly the front driver side one and leaks in the kick panel, where the electrics are. If the hose is off on the top, glue it in. I use gasket sealer.
Your issue is showing a long time leak!
ps. You can blow out the lines, but too much pressure will blow the hoses off.