Has anyone in the Fort Worth Texas area used any of the "dealer service" alternatives? There's British Auto Specialists, Sam and Joe's & Lone Star Bavarian to name a few... Just trying to find a lower cost, competent alternative to items not covered on my aftermarket warranty. I've been using Moritz Mini in Arlington and have been happy with them on warranty services the car has needed, but they're a bit pricey for me to pay for out of pocket. HaHa Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks~

 

You may get some closer-to-home responses if you post at metroplexmini.org, if you haven't already. A Mini of Dallas tech is going\has gone to a non dealer shop in Arlington to write service but not sure where. Jeff Sloan at British Auto Specialists is a straight up guy, but haven't seen him in many years. Good luck!

 

Thanks for the response Mike, hadn't heard of metroplexmini... I'll give that a try. Should I decide to go with BAS, I'll ask for Jeff...

 

If Dallas isn't too far for you see if you can track Eddie down he'll take care of you.

 

GTS - Great group of people from all over the metro, diverse interests, always something going on. DIY days, discounts, drives and stuff, racing. Worth the price of admission! I think the Pres lives in or on the Ft. Worth side. Monthly meeting this weekend:
http://www.metroplexmini.org/forum/s...ad.php?t=35264

 

Sorry, new to NAM and MINI scene... Who is Eddie with in Dallas?

 

Thanks Mike... I'd like to get out there and meet some of you guys on Saturday. Appreciate the heads up! If clutch is up for it, I'll definitely try to be there. BTW, is this something I can just show up to or member only deal?

 

You can just show up. You are always welcomed. I have heard of Eddie but never met him. He's an independent, may work out of his house, not sure. I guess he does good work for a fair price and has been around for some time. Not sure I'll make it this weekend, on call, but I'm going to try.

 

Cool... Thanks again for turning me on to the local scene. Will try to catch you when we can both make it out there. Take it easy~

 

I thought Sam and Joe's was a little expensive. I know they wanted $1800 to change the compressor in my R53; I opted to go elsewhere for considerably less. They did an alignment on the same car and a few oil changes, but that's the only experiences I had with them.

I haven't used Lonestar yet, but I plan to in the future. The owner has posted in the timing chain thread and he seemed very knowledgeable about MINIs. I think you'll find that the FW indy shops generally are since we don't have a dealership here.

I have taken both my R53 (in the past) and R56 JCW to Loeffler's in the NRH area for a few things. It's a true Ma & Pa shop and both "Ma & Pa" are from Germany. They are very very nice people. I feel like they really shoot you straight and you get your car washed, carpets shampood, tire gel, the whole 9 yards as an added service when you take your car in. Prices might be a little on the high side, or on par with a euro-shop, but not too bad.

Hope I was able to help some.

 

Hey Muzak, appreciate the input... I'm going to give Lonestar a call and have them quote my clutch replacement. Actually the quote from the dealer wasn't as bad as I was expecting. They said $1200

 

Wasn't quite finished with my post there... Haha as I was saying, the dealer wasn't as bad as I was expecting. $1700 or so for clutch and install if my flywheel is ok. $1200 for install of my parts. That brings me to my next question which has been covered on the forum, but no cut and dry answer as to which is the best clutch for stock JCW with AP. Any recent thoughts on clutches guys? Factory clutch had 62k on it...

 

This may be more than you want to spend but I replaced my stock clutch with the OS Giken GT:

http://www.waymotorworks.com/os-gike...-cooper-s.html

It's been great so far and feels just like the stock clutch but much better quality, especially since you have the AP.

For install check with the guys at Texas Track Works:

http://texastrackworks.com/

They know their stuff and do great work. They're actually in Ft. Worth.

 

Forgot about Tx Track Works. My only concern there would be that they haven't done any mini clutches but worth a call for a quote. Maybe they have. I like those guys.

 

Thanks for the info and reviews on clutches and service centers guys... Really appreciated! Yeah, I'm sure OS G is a super sweet setup Sooper, but a little pricey for me right now. I've been researching like crazy~ reading old posts, propaganda, talking to a friend of mine at a Hot Rod Honda shop. He said I can get a CM stage 1 and flywheel for a little over $800. Any opinions on ClutchMasters? Better than stock? They like them... Geez, I just want a clutch that's livable, cheap and that will last! haha, I know, you can only get 2 of those 3!

 

Not sure about the CM clutches. I'd check with Way about that. He's had a lot of experience with different clutches and manufacturers for the Minis.

 

Thanks Sooper... Seems like there was a thread where they suggested stock over a CM clutch for FJCW.

 

that's simple don't get the Clutchmasters clutch. They are junk and I'll NEVER install another one again. And when it fails CM will just blame the user for abuse.

 

Thanks for the warning Way... My friend said he'd had very good luck with them but had no experience with Minis. My factory clutch was letting out very close to the top when I bought it around Halloween with 60k on the clock. It was still holding with no slippage until I did an AP flash for stock 92 octane JCW. I think that pushed it over the edge. Should factory clutch be sufficient if it's fresh? No plans for more mods... maybe an intercooler down the road, but that's all. Have always had M/T cars and no trouble with clutches wearing prematurely in the past.