That's the cost according to Mini of Darien, Ct. - with flywheel. That is so far removed from the cost of replacing said components in any other car.

 

Michael, were you just getting an estimate? or you having it done there?

 

Wow thats a little ridiculous...

 

CRAZY! Labor at any dealership is just stupid expensive.

 

that is with install i hope...

 

spec stage 2 clutch and spec flywheel cost ~$800-900. another $800 or so for install from a reputable tuner. that leaves another grand to install the quaiffe lsd while you are in there.....

 

W3rd

 

That is a consistent number from a dealer.....If you do a SEARCH you will find that most dealers are charging around that much......But why would you even consider non-warranty work to be done at a dealer

Dealers rip-off the customer by routinely charging 2 or 3 times the actual labor required to do a job. Want proof? take a look at any of the retrofit guides over on motoring file....those guides list installation time required....then call your dealer and price the retrofit. They will quote you a cost that is at least twice the book rate. I am still waiting for a lawyer to start filing lawsuits for price gouging consumers. You either bill for actual work done or by "book rate" A standard number of hours an average tech can accomplish a standard task....I feel as though the book rate could and should be challenged in court.....given that the average hourly rate at dealer is about $100/hr there is no way a clutch repair should "book" as an 18 hour job!!!! and that is giving a very high parts estimate of about $1200....

The job can be done at any local shop for half of $3000

 

Yeah - the whole "book time" thing got a lot of TV time back in the 80's on 20/20 and similar shows. I remember one case where an owner got charged for 24+ hours of labour when his car wasn't even in the shop for a full day!

My brother-in-law was a mechanic for a Jeep dealer a few years back, and he told me that any decent mechanic can easily come in under the "book time" for *most* repairs. There were exceptions, though. I think the "book time" for replacing the fuel pump in one of the Jeep models is only 45 minutes or so, even though it involves draining/dropping the gas tank and a few other time-consuming steps. He never could get that particular job done in the time allotted, but he said he still routinely performed 12-15 "book hours" of labour in an eight-hour shift.

 

18 hours; is that all? I past that time mark more than 18 hours ago and I've only dropped the gear case.

 

FWIW, I had the clutch replaced at a local independent on my 2002 MCS. He charged me $800 for parts and labor. The dealer wanted $2000.

 

No, not getting the work done now, I'm planning ahead. I should have included that information, sorry.

I've never had a clutch go in a car, so when the odometer reads 110,000 miles, I have it replaced because I feel it's on borrowed time. My car has 85K on the odometer now and I'll be at 110,000K miles by August/September. Since the company pays for the repair, and, I develop a budget for my 'area' I asked Mini. I fell off my chair

I've also replaced clutches in the past, but I'm not in that mood anymore, nor do I know how to install an LSD.

I thought I would share that info here as a question...I was also informed they get 10 labor hours to replace all four shocks . The tech said, "there's no way you can do it in less than 3 hours on the ground"...

I received a PM from Dr Obnx and now have a source for LSD and other goodies that go inside the tranny...

 

X2

this is my plan...... the dealer charges about $1600 labor.....boo

 

Why? I have never known a clutch to go out suddenly and without warning. they usually start slipping long before you get stranded. If it ain't broke dont fix it.

 

You could always buy the OEM clutch parts and have a local shop you trust install it for half the price? Same thing in the end. If you go aftermarket take advise from NAM members who have one particular brand or another, I only say this because when I bought my MCS it had a new "race" clutch I don't know the brand, but it was a nightmare..... harsh engagement, heavy pedal, very hard to pull off the line, shudder, the dealer ended up putting a stock MCS clutch in at their expense!! I have the usual mods and it works beautifully, so please beware and take the advise from people speaking from experience when it comes to aftermarket clutches. OEM

Of course you can forget all this and wait till it starts slippping

 

I feel the same way, although if someone else were paying for the clutch swap like his company is, I might do it just to take advantage of the opportunity to swap in some performance parts at the same time under the same labour bill.

I just sold a Honda and a Toyota that were still going strong on their factory clutches after 135k+ miles, and my truck only got a new clutch at 150k miles because the engine was pulled for a rebuild. Likewise, the clutch in my brother's Mercury Capri XR2 was only replaced at 165k miles because the clutch actuator failed, and there was no additional labour cost to replace the clutch while the actuator was being replaced. The old clutch still had a significant amount of the friction surface left.

 

Very true...I actually had one go and the slipping began in 5th gear first under high load - uphill. Plenty of warning. The real reason, I hate surprises and my luck will have me stranded someplace at the wrong time.

But the, if it ain't broke don't fix it, mindset certainly takes advantage of all the life the clutch has.

It's in the shop for a Xenon and O2 sensor...the Zenon is just over $700.00 plus labor and tax...dunno what the O2 sensor will cost yet. The mini is turning out to be a very expensive little car to keep up...Ouch!

 

[quote=meb;1422011]Very true...I actually had one go and the slipping began in 5th gear first under high load - uphill. [quote]

That's actually a pretty good test of a clutch - with the car stopped, put the transmission in 5th gear (or 6th, if you have one) and pop the clutch. A healthy clutch will stall the engine immediately, while a worn clutch may let the engine continue to run for a little bit.

 

I think the O2 is about $250 if my memory serves me right

 

Dude, get some Harbor Freight jack stands for like $50!

 

Holy crap!!! Are those cinder blocks holding your car up?? Good way to win the Darwin Award. Get some jack stands.

 

Looks like a bucket on the other side :impatient

 

Keith has been in, over and under that car probably more than any of us, he knows what he's doing.

 

Thats what the bucket is for, easy reach

 

Maybe so, but if he uses cinder blocks to hold a car up well.