This is my first post in here, and I guess I'm not part of this club, but I thought I could offer a bit of advice.
I just had a pulley and exhaust installed by Funktion Auto out in Dulles. Everyone there was very professional and nice. There were 2 minis getting worked on besides mine, and all of the staff that I spoke with were knowledgeable about mini upgrades. I discussed what I wanted from my mods before hand with their staff and they offered good advice about brands to check out.
I ended up spending 1520 for everything: Alta stealth exhaust was 800, m7 pulley was 120, so thats 600 for labor. I think their rate was around 120 an hour, and it took 5 hours.
I dont know if I payed too much, but I am confident that I got quality work done on my car. Another added bonus was their waiting room; I spent the whole day there and really didnt mind (wireless internet, satellite TV). I enjoyed that I could watch them work on my car from overhead as well. Check out their website for pictures.
Oh, and they also give a discount (I think 5%) for first time customers.
If you have any other questions you can PM me.
And, btw, you wont regret getting the mods done; I was hesitant to take the $$ plunge, but it was absolutely worth it.
Tires: I had eagle f1s put on at the sears auto at montgomery mall. The guy hadnt done minis before, but he ordered them for me and installed them just fine. They did my alignment there as well. To be honest with you, driving my car home that night with new tires was more fun than after the exhaust and pulley. Go switch your tires now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by polepino
Ok, well I posted a similar post in the regular forum but I thought I'd ask the 'modders' if they had any ideas. I've done a few DIY mods to my car (SRP's and CAI) but I'm thinking of doing a few more mods which I wouldn't feel comfortable doing myself (maybe lowering springs, or exhaust, or header, etc.).
Now personally, I have never bought a mod for my car and had anyone else install it for me(Well if you consider tint a mod, then yeah I did have Solar Solutions up in MD put that on for me). It's pretty much something I can do myself or I don't do it at all. I do have a friend who's a mech at Acura, but I don't know anyone who works on MINI's so I was wondering what do you guys do, if you do at all, if you want someone else to install a mod for you? Do you take it to MoS or other dealers? (I know MoS will def install Dinan parts but I think thats about it).
Are there any reputable garages in the area that will install aftermarket parts on your MINI that know what their doing with MINI's? Also, as far as tires go(I'm definitely thinking of going non-runflats) can I just take my car with a new set of tires anywhere(i.e. Merchants, Mr. Tire, etc.) and have them mount them? Will they have to have some knowledge about MINI's in order to get the alignment right? Hopefully I'll get some pointers!
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