Shops with MINI experience in NE
 

I didn't notice any place for this yet. This is a collaborative list of MINI capable shops in Lincoln, Omaha, and the surrounding area. Italic text is my personal experience. Updated 10/22.
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Lincoln

Autoworks (garage/some modifications)
5030 Rent Worth Ct
Lincoln, NE 68516
(402) 423-2201

They have done my clutch twice, replaced a ball joint, flushed my coolant with BMW stuff, and installed an oil pressure sender. I have complete confidence in them. I'd always brought my own parts, but they were able to get a clutch kit from the dealer in Omaha. The service coordinator is named Mike, he is a great guy and understands my love of my car (he'll understand your love of yours too.) I stopped by to visit my car as work was being done on the clutch. The mechanic Jim owns a MINI, well, his wife does, but he drives it a lot it seems. The guy also owns an old Porsche. The point is, he is a real car guy.

Graham Tire Co. of Lincoln (tires/garage/modifications)
1401 Cushman Dr
Lincoln, NE 68512
(402) 421-1500

They do all my tire work, repairs, mounting, alignments, etc. They did my camber plates and rear control arms too - the mechanic's name was Denny/Dennis, if I remember correctly, but odds are he will be given your MINI because of his experience with mine. His tool box is a long mint green unit in the middle of the shop. He followed my printed instructions for the camber plates and control arms perfectly. He also did my right front wheel bearing. I brought my own parts.

Midas (brakes/mufflers/suspension)
7030 O St
Lincoln, NE 68510
(402) 483-2282

They are my brake shop. They did my slotted rotors, pads, stainless steel lines, and fluid. I've also had my fluid flushed manually 2 additional times. I have always brought my own parts.

Beaman Automotive (body shop)
4915 Rent Worth Drive
Lincoln, NE 68516-2508
(402) 423-4922

They are my body shop. They have repaired several "incidents" for me. They play nice with insurance too. Their work is top notch.

The Shop Inc. (modifications/garage)
3200 N 33rd St
Lincoln, NE
(402) 464-2600
http://www.theshopincne.com

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Omaha (and surrounding area)

Sublime Speed Technology (modifications/dyno)
13432 L Street
Omaha, NE 68137-1731
(402) 597-9308
http://www.sstracing.com/

Sports Car Garage (modifications/garage)
1461 S 13TH ST
Omaha, NE 68108-3503
(402) 341-4244
http://www.sportscargarageomaha.com/

Meineke Car Care Center (garage/tires/modifications)
4839 North 90th Street
Omaha, NE
(402) 571-0944

Kryger Glass
4430 S 133rd St.
South west corner of 133nd and I
(402) 330-5700

Papillion Foreign Motors (garage)
219 East 1st Street
Papillion, NE 68046-2456
(402) 339-6460

Zotwave, LLC (car care products)
7202 Giles Rd. Suite 4-290
LaVista, NE 68128
(402) 522-6305
http://zotwave.com/


If you have any shops you really like with great people, post them up and we can build a comprehensive list of shops in Nebraska.

A good one in Omaha is Sublime. They have done all the work on my Mini, everything from my oil changes to dyno tuning my hydra ecu. I have also seen someother good looking mini's in there. Great guys to work with.

+1 on Sublime. Steve Gilmore recommended them to me; he knew one of the guys from racing. Sublime installed a CAI and rear sway bar on Vera I (the Clubman -- sleeper, I think you were in that day), and did a great job at a fair price. They made sure that I understood just what they were doing and why, even putting my MINI up on the lift during the estimate a couple of days before the installation so we could walk around under her and see what would be involved. I'll probably go there when I get a new exhaust and other performance mods.

Great idea, Nabeshin! :thumbsup: I was wondering last week what places in Omaha were MINI qualified.

http://www.sportscargarageomaha.com/

Great reputation from Nebraska area MINI and BMW owners. Been there 30 years, and wow has he tuned some exotic stuff over the years.

Check the BIMRS link on the website.

8:00 am - 6:00 pm MONDAY - FRIDAY
402-341-4244
1461 S 13TH ST OMAHA, NE 68108-3503

I found this company at two midwest auto shows this spring. Omaha people making some great car care products.

We recommend their glass cleaner and tire and trim gel. Unique, fast, and wears well for us! The trim gel goes a long way when applying using a foam pad applicator. The glass cleaner get slick on your window once you have it clean, and smells nice, not a chemical smell most glass cleaners have.

I will have their wax, sealer and clay this week, I"ll edit this with results.

Zotwave, LLC
7202 Giles Rd. Suite 4-290
LaVista, NE 68128
Phone: 402-522-6305

http://zotwave.com/

I would like to update this thread.
The Shop Inc. in Lincoln NE
3200 N 33rd St
402.464.2600
http://www.theshopincne.com

Tell them Paul sent you. They don't have extensive experience with Minis per se but they are a very good shop that I have had good experience with. We have had them look at our Mini once and fixed it for very cheap and very fast. They do honest work. I have had my Subaru in there for some hardware mods that I did not have time for and they did a great job. My sister and parents have been their customer for 6 years and going strong.

However, I do have to say I am not pleased with Graham Tire. I have taken my Subaru to their location on O Street a total of FOUR times on two different occasions and they were NEVER able to get my balance right. I went to Firestone on North 66th instead and they have done a great job. I can not recommend FOR or AGAINST Firestone at that location because even though they did a good job, on this one occasion I took the Mini in and asked them to check the balance and alignment, they did a balance and rotation even though the tires are, for all intents and purposes, in need of replacement. I feel that an honest shop would have called me to give me a heads up instead of charging me for the job knowing full-well I would not get anywhere close to 6K miles or however long a rotation goes for.

I have heard good things about TO HAAS on North 84th as far as tires goes and I will be taking both the Mini and Subaru there.

Interesting post Fishbone.

I had our new tires and rims mounted by Meineke on 90th Steet, between Fort and Maple. They are one of Tire Racks recommended shops, and they did a fine job. Balance is spot on, done very fast, less than 2 hours. They also do mod work. They install exhaust and brakes also for their bread and butter. I talked with the current manager and he said "bring your parts, we'll install them per the instructions the items come with, or your instructions.

Same with oil changes and brake fluid flushing.

I liked their prices, felt they treated us well, and they did solid work. We will be having a few mods installed by them over the summer, so we'll update as it happens.

Meineke Car Care Center
4839 North 90th Street
OMAHA, NE
402/571-0944

Has anyone heard of or had any experience with
Lael's Import Performance
3220 S 6th, Ste 4
Lincoln, NE 68502
Phone: 402-423-3777

I have been having trouble finding a shop that would work on my mini motor with my aftermarket warranty. So far they say no when i tell them about the warranty and how i have a rod bearing out. I am still looking in Lincoln and haven't moved to Omaha, but I was recommended Laels by the AAA guy that towed my mini home for me. When I googled them, it said they have all the latest diagnostic technology for BMW/MINI, and work on mainly european imports.

I haven't even heard of them, honestly. Have you tried calling up Autoworks?

ya called them today. talked with Mike for quite a while. He said the same thing as everyone else and they are skeptical about doing motor work with the warranty. He said he would probably want to put in a new motor, or at least new bottom end, and usually warranties will only pay to fix the rod bearing. I am still looking, in the back of my mind i still want to buy a motor from Jan. :wink:

I've had oil changes and other repair work completed at Papillion Foreign Motors. I know they've service other MINIs as well.

[SIZE=5]Papillion Foreign Motors[/SIZE]

219 East 1st Street, Papillion, NE 68046-2456(402) 339-6460

I must not have noticed it earlier...

I just finished updating the list, and made some edits.

Lincoln Mitsubishi (formally known as Saturn of Lincoln) has a Mitsubishi tech that has experience with the MINIs. He is a very knowledgable tech that has been around the imports for along time. Stop in and ask for Derek or Rob.

Another very knowledgable Mini tech works at Husker Auto Group on the GM side. Unfortunately Husker does not have the best reputation, but he does awesome work. He and I put my 15% pulley, JCW intake, exhaust, brakes, and suspension on a couple years ago. He is my father-in-law. He is a Master ASE GM tech that has also been around for a long time. Stop in there and ask for Randy. He will be more than happy to work on any MINIs. It would be a good change for him considering GM's quality. :lol:

Got the Mini belt replaced at Autoworks, great crew, very knowledgeable and patient. Used top notch part (Gates) without me even asking and the price was very good.
+1 for Autoworks. I am taking my Subaru Legacy GT in there Monday for a tranny fluid flush.

Running Wild Motorsports out in Elkhorn can do pulleys for superchargers. He specializes in turbos...
http://runningwildmotorsports.com/

Has anyone heard of Kyle Gannon from dsaperformance (DSA Performance) on N. 33rd in Lincoln. My friend and car broker who found my '05 MC-S recommends him. I didn't see it listed on Lincoln contacts.

A friend had some work done there. Adding a boost guage I believe. He recommended Kyle to me.

Kyle's done a couple of oil changes and a front brake job on our MINI. He's a real nice guy. I'd go there more but it's a bit of a drive from Plattsmouth.

Good to hear, Rainman. I'm here in Lincoln, so a good place to try. If my broker takes his Porsche there, he must have some trust built up with him. Anything out in Plattsmouth. Where do you go?

Buyer Beware...

I would reccomend doing some thurough research of your own before going to Sublime or Running Wild for anything. Sublime has a bad reputation of bad tunes and theft of customers cars. Myles, the owner of Running Wild has sold a friend of mine a 2JZ as being in good condition, and refused to refund him for months after he showed evidence of it being a bad motor.

We recently had our MINI worked on at Ed Cordel in Elkhorn. This is our only experience with them as previously the dealership did all of our work but it was a good experience. Been interested in checking out Sports Car garage as well. Ed Cordel did a Thermostat Housing for us.

Has anyone worked with European Auto Tech on N 57th in Lincoln? Their website says they specialize in BMW, MINI, Land Rover, and Mercedes service and repair.

Also, do any of these independent shops update the service records on your key fob when they work on your MINI, or does that only happen at dealerships?