Welcoming myself to the forum!

New to Mini Coopers, but I've eyed them for quite a while. Found a 62k mile 2009 MCS for a great price in Iowa. Stored in the winter, very little rust, and the timing chain has already been done! I've owned it for about 2 months now, and I'm finding all the little devils in it, and trying to track them down. What's been done so far you ask?

New radio - picked up one of the ali express Android units w/ cameras. Overall it's pretty decent and the install went well. Still haven't gotten the cameras all plumbed, but overall I'm happy with it. Wireless Android Auto works great when it pairs up, otherwise it just hunts and hangs until I turn it off and on again.

Subwoofer - just a little 8" with a built-in amp. Needed just a little more bump.

Lift-gate button - it was trashed when I bought it, got a replacement installed in the first week.

Thermostat housing - threw a light in the first month, ordered the new housing and had it in within a few hours, not nearly as bad as it's made out to be.

Radiator fan - original fan resistor looked cooked. Again, relatively simple swap, if you discount the busted knuckles getting it to slide in.

Exhaust - one of the previous owners put on a Malian exhaust - it sounded pretty good, but at interstate speeds the drone was unbearable. I opted for the Miltek resonated catback system. I also got the non-resonated section as well. Haven't put the non-resonated on yet, but the resonated cat-back is pretty awesome a little more growl, but really well behaved on the interstate.

UltraGauge - with the thermostat and cooling fan issues, I wanted to make sure temps were staying in-line. After swaps, it hovers around 226 most of the time. Seems high based on all of my other cars, but scanning through the forums, this seems like it's within reason for the 2009 MCS.

What's left?

Well, the interior lights come on every time I step on the brakes. The internet suspects that it's the footwell module. I'm in-line at the local mini dealership for the recall, latest update is that I'm number 46 on the list, and they are at 43. Hopefully soon!

New intercooler - bought one of the knock-off intercoolers off of ebay but haven't installed it yet. We'll see how it goes. I'd like to do a tune and all the advice says if you go past stage 2, intercooler tends to be a limiting factor. We'll see how well this one does, but I may have to swap it for a reputable one.

Vanity Mirror covers - battery was draining, tracked it to both vanity lights staying on all the time. I've disconnected them for now, but I'll probably end up grabbing two new covers to fix it correctly.

Tires - while they have good tread, they're 4 or 5 years old, and probably just need to be replaced. One has a sloooow leak (every 2 weeks or so I get a low tire pressure warning).

Boost? Tunes? Forged motor and ridiculousness? Overall I'm happy with the ride so far, a few minor little things here and there, but for something that's as old as my daughter, I'm pretty happy with it!