I was wondering if there is a big difference in different brand tensioner pullys for the r53. I got a quote from a shop to replace tensioner pully and Idler pully. the quote show a charge of 276.92 for the tensioner part yet I found the same part manufactured by INA which is a gem manufacturer for BMW and its only 117.99. that's 150.00 less. is the shop trying to take advantage of me or is 276.92 a legit price?

 

That price is about right for a genuine Mini belt tensioner.

 

This is one of the simplest parts replacement that you could do -- and save a bunch of money.

 

nope, INA, GATES and OEM are all exactly the same. It's not a terrible job, but I ended up putting my car into front end service mode for the tensioner cause I couldn't get it out any other way.

 

thanks everyone. Im having a lot of maintenance things taken care of to get my car ready for a track day in march and don't really have the tools to get this stuff done before then to do it my self and I'm cool with the labor charge as I know shops have to make a profit but, if I can get a part for 117.00 then they can to. so I'm not going to pay 150.00 more then i should. I'll just buy the parts and have them install them.

 

You are lucky to find a shop that will install customer's parts if they buy/bring them in themselves.
All the indy BMW/Mini garages in my area refuse to install any of my quality BMW or aftermarket parts unless they supply it.
Same with tires. Found a great deal on a set of Continentals online at TireRack, since I wasn't able t find them locally. I haven't found a reputable shop that would mount them if I brought them in.
I kind of understand why to a certain degree. Never had this issue before I moved to another state.

 

TireRack has thousands of local installers across the country that have agreed to install TireRack tires for the price they have listed on the TireRack web site. They will even "drop-ship" the tires direct to your installer, so you don't need to handle them. Just plug-in your zip code and see who they have available. https://www.tirerack.com/content/tir...installer.html

When you click on an installer, scroll-down and you will see the prices that installer has quoted for installing TireRack customer's tires. It has worked for me multiple times. Though on one occasion, when I visited the TireRack installer before placing the order, and showed them the tire price + their quoted install, they offered to match TireRack prices and included a free alignment!

 

Thanks for that!
You know, I feel rather foolish now. I spent enough time on TireRack comparing tires and should have noticed the option for ship and installation shops in my zipcode.
Free alignment too??? - Thanks again for bringing that to my attention !

 

Maybe too late. Just my 2 cents. Ordered a cheap aftermarket tensioner for the savings. Looked exactly like the OEM. Installed exactly like OEM. Spring was weaker than OEM. Issues constantly. Bit the bullet and ordered OEM from FCP. (no more issues and lifetime warranty) Same issue with BMW window regulators and Vehicle Speed Sensors. Some pieces need to be the real deal.

 

I bought mine from FCP also😛