HELP! Shop recommendation in Little Rock area please.

AJT · #1 08-15-2009, 08:41 PM

My wife has an 03 MCS with 99k. We recently moved to the area (Benton) and need a good shop take her car to for service. We made the mistake of driving all the way to Memphis today to get her car serviced at Roadshow MINI. Never again!

Sparing the details, she needs a new A/C compressor and drier installed and needs new front lower control arm bushings. These were quoted at ~$1,600 and ~$550 by Roadshow, respectively. Please any suggestions, it's hot and she doesn't have A/C!

Your help and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

Popeye · #2 08-16-2009, 03:34 PM

There are a couple of choices in the Little Rock area. First is a guy by the name of Daniel Vaught 870-293-9063. He has a shop and is an independent mechanic. He knows a lot about MINIs, but I have never used him myself. I always go to Roadshow, I'm still under warrantee. The other choice is Donnie's Foreign Cars in west Little Rock. They have quite a bit of MINI experience, again, I've never used them, but have heard both good and bad, so don't really know. The last place is Parkway Automotive. They were coming after the klub's business pretty hard at the beginning of the year, but we haven't heard too much from them lately. That's it. Again, I haven't used any of them, so don't really know where to tell ya to go. We have klub members that have used all of them and I haven't heard anything bad about any of them. Good luck.

'Ton the Mon · #3 08-22-2009, 03:56 PM

Donnies. I use them for everything. Minis are not cheap to fix, but they have done it correctly every time. And Donnie is a good guy. Real good guy.

oldbunratty · #4 08-27-2009, 10:15 AM

Anybody know if Daniel Vaught is working out of another garage somewhere? Noticed in the past few weeks that the Arkansas Biofuels/Green Garage location in downtown Little Rock on Chester St., where Daniel used two bays to operate his business, is closed and for sale. I heard the Biofuels guys could not make enough of a profit margin on the price of biodiesel to stay in business?

Anyway, Daniel did great work on brake replacement for all four wheels on my MCS, and did some free research on other repair questions I had. I'd definitely go to him again, and plan to if he has a new location.

oldbunratty · #5 09-23-2009, 11:33 PM

I finally got around to e-mailing Daniel Vaught, after finding out that the Green Garage had closed. Here is his reply:

Yes, we are still open. We moved into a much larger building about 6 weeks ago. It is located in the warehouse behind 1023 w. 7th. This is the corner of 7th st. and Ringo, one block to the west of Chester. We definitely still work on MINIs. Our telephone numbers are still the same though we have added a "shop phone" at 501-374-4343.

Here's other contact info for Daniel:

870-293-9063
dvot18@gmail.com

oldbunratty · #6 10-28-2009, 10:11 AM

Following up with one more plug for Daniel Vaught at Little Rock Green Garage. As many of you know from listening to me whine about it at every meeting, I've been living with a cooling system problem for months and have topped off and leaked enough $30/gallon BMW rebranded antifreeze around the state to qualify as an ecoterrorist.

Finally got the car into Daniel a couple of weeks ago - he checked it out, replaced the thermostat housing and gasket (apparently, a common replacement in older MINIs) and tested the rest of the cooling system; he also replaced my worn air filter while he was in there - all for <$200 parts and labor. He did a great job, as usual; I've run around for a couple of weeks now, including several hundred mile round trip to Norman, OK and back with no sign of any leak or loss of coolant.

He's earned the loyalty of at least one local MINI owner. I'm going back to him in the next couple of months to have my serpentine belt replaced, for a power steering pump rebuild (another older MINI problem) and for some other work.

Tess · #7 01-09-2010, 05:34 PM

This is great to know!! Hopefully i won't need him but, this is within a few blocks of my office!! Too bad he can't do work under my maintenance agreement though.. I'll be headed to memphis in a month or so for back brakes, oil and who knows what else

KC Jr 54 · #8 08-19-2010, 10:03 PM

I know this is a dated thread, but i just wanted to throw it out there that Daniel is awesome. He has been under Minis since they first came out, so who knows them as well as anyone. I knew him well before i owned a Mini myself. He is a general mechanic and races when he has the chance. Euro imports are NOT the only thing he knows, as his knowledge is fairly vast he can help you no matter the car or problem.

HighVelocityMini · #9 09-01-2010, 12:28 AM

I agree with KC Jr 54, I know Daniel really well as he does business with me (local vehicle wrap shop) and I have seen his work. He is very dedicated to doing things the right way. I have only had my mini for a couple of weeks but will definitely be using him as my local mechanic.

katikate · #10 01-20-2011, 07:55 AM

Just to add, I go to Little Rock Auto in downtown. Murry is the head guy, and he knows his stuff and is reasonably priced. When my Clubman hit the deer, he repaired and repainted it all, and got it done under two weeks, including waiting for insurance. Before this he worked on my 1978 VW, and always did an excellent job. His number is 501-370-5099.

I went to Donnie's twice, and both times got charged as much as the dealership and was only treated with repsect when I had my husband or father with me. Sorry, they burned me. But everyone's expericence is different

SRICHS · #11 01-27-2011, 09:47 AM

Hey

Check Out Chenal Automotive Services. They are in Little Rock. I'm from Chicago, IL. The Owner just purchased my MINI S from me, and with the knowledge he was able to display to me-- I worked for a MINI dealer for 7 years -- He is VERY KNOWLEDGABLE!!!

Hope this helps.

oldbunratty · #12 06-26-2011, 06:41 PM

Dropped off my 03 MCS with Daniel Vaught last week for power steering pump replacement (finally!), a new serpentine belt and some other work. Noticed he had another MINI (gray and black) up on the rack. He is still operating out of garage space behind the building at 1023 W. 7th St. (corner of 7th and Ringo, downtown LR). Telephone: 501-374-4343; cell: 870-293-9063; e-mail: dvot18@gmail.com.

oldbunratty · #13 09-19-2011, 10:21 AM

Updating: Couple of months of post-repair driving, and Daniel's work on power steering, serpentine belt, etc. was excellent as usual (and price was very fair). Taking my MINI back in coming weeks for motor mount replacement and some other work.

HighVelocityMini · #14 12-09-2011, 12:34 AM

Just wanted to update those interested. At one of the local meets I got a chance to talk to Jeff from Chenal Automotive Services. After talking to him for a bit I decided to go to him for an oil change and since then I have been going back. He is really knowledgable about Minis and cars in general. Very resourceful and excellent prices. I recommend him to any one needed service. The shop number is 501-868-3900.