I have made significant mods to my JCW 2012 Roadster. The local mini dealer (Mini of Westchester, NY) will no longer service the vehicle. Can anyone recommend a garage in the NYC metropolitan area that can perform service and continue to work with me on engine mods. I have used Greasy's Garage in Worcester, MA, but it is a three hour drive from my home. I would greatly appreciate recommendations. Thanks.

 

Wow - what kind of mods did you do where a dealer won't even touch it?

 

Yea, I would like to hear this also. That stinks they will not service it.

Here are some others :

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-nyc-area.html

https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...-mod-shop.html

 

ECP Auto Service
794 Raymond Blvd.
Newark, NJ 07105
(973) 589-5871

Frank Da Silva is the owner and a MINI Owner.

 

The dealership actually said they wouldn't service your car? They are setting a new standard? This is a first.

Interested to know what mods you made, thought!

 

Isn't your 3yr/36mile month warranty up?...or do you have mods like; down pipe, de-cat, other mods that are illegal in your state.

 

I have made significant aftermarket mods to my JCW 2012 Roadster. The local mini dealer (Mini of Westchester, NY) will no longer service the vehicle. Can anyone recommend a garage in the NYC metropolitan area that can perform service and continue to work with me on servicing a car with engine mods. I have used Greasy's Garage in Worcester, MA, but it is a three hour drive from my home. Along with the original JCW full packages from the dealer, engine and other modifications include:

Koala Intake Manifold Spacer
AR3" Ceramic Coated Turbo Downpipe w/ Cat
Aluminum Radiator Overflow Tank
Sprint Booster
IP Performance Ignition Coil Set
45mm Performance Turbocharger
Forge Blow-off Valve Kit
Turbo Oil Line Upgrade Kit
Turbo Thermal Blanket
Hsport 22mm Rear Competition Sway Bar
Hsport Adjustable Rear Control Arms
NM Engineering Air Charge Pipe
NM Engineering Discharge Pipe
NM Engineering Oil Catch Can
ScanGuage 2 Code Reader
AEM Water/Methanol Injection Kit
Billstein B16 Coilover Kit
DDM Works Cold Air Intake System
Braided Stainless Steel Brake Lines
Alta Front Mount Black Intercooler
CravenSpeed Ultimate Dip Stick
CravenSpeed Gauge Pod Array (Oil Temp, Boost, Oil Pressure, Water Temp)
Mars Two-piece Lower Stress Bar
Borla Exhaust System
Fire Extinguisher and Passenger Seat Mount
Alloy Sump Guard Skid Plate Undershield
BSH Lower Engine Mount
GP Rear Diffuser
Carbon Fiber Front Lower Spoiler
Renline Floor Mats and Racing Pedals
Blackout Headlights and Blackout Tail Lights
Blackout Exterior Trim Package
30% Black Tinted Windows
Custom Undercarriage and Wheel Well Lighting Package
Custom Tune from ECS Tuning
Custom 1,200 Watt / 8 Speaker-2 Subwoofer Audio System
Custom Integrated Radar Detection System
(- plus a host of other body and interior trim parts)

Your help in identifying a mechanic that is willing to work on the car would be greatly appreciated. NYC Metro area would be very helpful. Thanks.

 

If I had to guess I would imagine that if what needs servicing does not fit their service quality standards they do not want to put themselves in a position of warranty issues, as most upscale brands (such as bmw) offer warranty on their work.
So if it's as simple as brake pad change, or oil change, I doubt they would refuse. But if it's something more complicated as it relate to major modification they might figure it is in their best interest not to accept the work.

Now, I'm not sure but I think there are laws for "dot" approve aftermarket parts. But it probably depends on the mods... So like others have asked . . . what are the mods?

 

I have made significant mods to my JCW 2012 Roadster. The local mini dealer (Mini of Westchester, NY) will no longer service the vehicle. Can anyone recommend a garage in the NYC metropolitan area that can perform service and continue to work with me on engine mods. I have used Greasy's Garage in Worcester, MA, but it is a three hour drive from my home. Along with the full OEM JCW packages, other engine mods include:

- Koala Intake Manifold Spacer.
- Akrapovic 3" Turbo Downpipe w/ Cat.
- BSH Lower Engine Mount.
- Sprint Booster.
- IP Performance Ignition Coil Set.
- Aluminum Radiator Tank.
- 45mm Performance JMTC Extreme KO3 Turbo.
- Forge Blow-off Valve Kit.
- Alta Front Mount Intercooler.
- Turbo Oil Line Upgrade Kit.
- Turbo Thermal Blanket.
- M7 Turbo Heat Shield
- M7 Oil Catch Can Assembly.
- HSport 22mm Competition Rear Sway Bar
- HSport Adjustable Rear Control Arms.
- MARS 2-piece Lower Stress Bar Kit.
- Billstein B16 Coilover Kit.
- CravenSpeed Ultimate Oil Dipstick.
- CravenSpeed Steering Column Gauge Array (Water Temp, Boost. Oil Temp, Oil Pressure).
- ScanGauge 2 Code Reader.
- NM Engineering Air Charge Pipe.
- NM Engineering Discharge Pipe.
- AEM Water/Methanol Injection Kit.
- Braided Stainless Steel Brake Lines.
- DDM Works Cold Air Intake System.
- Manic Tunes Stage 2 ECU Tune.

I would greatly appreciate recommendations. Thanks.

 

Did you see the links above. You do have a good list running I cannot believe with those they turned you down :( You dont have anything thats modified past the engine, inside it and on the transmission) maybe the K03 , most is bolt on.

 

Agreed. It appears that the dealer doesn't want to spend time on anything that is not OEM stock from the dealer. Why buy a mini if you can't tinker???? Tuning is the big issue. They won't touch the car with any engine mods. Welcome to New York!!!

 

Some dealership have changed in the years, in the Gen1 MINI days when i just got my R52 , they were mod frienedly, now some are pulling back, but i cannot understand it, as people will spend money anyway?

Hope that link helps and you can find a place, As a R58 JCW onwer you have a nice R59, any pics ?

 

You have a ton of drivetrain mods there each effecting air/fuel/spark management including a tune done by Manic. ( Have heard Sketchy info on that one....GL) Maybe its just a matter of being able to cost effectively diagnose codes for the customer.....when under warranty, or entering a PUMA case to BMW their response/suggestion for replacing a part is based upon the car being equipped with what it came with from the factory. And lets face it, yours is far from being factory now....

 

Wow...you weren't kidding!

It may be a good thing actually...if a shop is worried about messing something up, I wouldn't want them to touch my car either. Or, most likely, they just don't want to deal with any complications that may arise working around aftermarket stuff they may not be familiar with.

For out-of-warranty work, a good independent shop is usually faster and cheaper anyway.

 

I don't have any recommendations but it saddens me to hear that your local dealer refuses to service your car. They should be happy that owners have such passion and investment in MINIs.

MINI of Madison in WI is very mod-friendly, and the head tech was kind enough to give me a quick tour of one of the fastest MINIs in WI that was in the shop. Originally a MINI Cooper S replaced with a full JCW engine and too many mods to count. The tech said this guy has all of his mods done at MINI of Madison, and that he is the only tech that the owner trusts to work on the car. All said and done this owner has spent more than $100k at the dealer according to this tech.

Tell your local dealer to give MINI of Madison a call and learn the right way to treat customers with mods!

 

Did you catch the whole SEMA vs EPA thing could be affecting their decision making. Over the river from you run lime Rock sometimes doing a drysump build now,, well should be getting back to it. Would turn a friendly wrench now and then with local Mini people if they are interested. I think comments are still up so write in on EPA mess.

 

Sincerely, I don't blame them. You should be better at a speed shop with all the money you invested.

Furthermore, it make sense that any modifications should be factory approved for the warranty to be honored.

 

I think they are simply refusing to do any work on his car weather he pays or not. That means they are refusing factory support and since they dont publish much useful info anymore how will you get basic specs or help. Ive asked for simple torque specs and been turned away. Might as well start building cars from scratch or living with stock only,, and stock only would be sad.......

 

Highly recommend these guys. autocouturemotoring.com

 

Helix in Philly. Great folks there.

 

What were you trying to have the dealership do? Most dealers in my area (CT,RI, MA) will work on cars with modifications,...

 

... probably have them replace the water methane injection kit, to which point they replied: "the what?"

With that many mods I can't truly blame them. I'm sure they're okay when you have this or that aftermarket modification. But when it gets to this level they know if something goes wrong it turns into a blame game and it can get messy very quickly. Dealer staff are trained to follow specific procedure maximizing car turn around of under warranty vehicle for a big part. So if their mechanics are by the brand book, and mostly know that environment, it becomes a risky proposition for both parties.

At this point I truly would go with someone else, even if they were willing. It's not that I don't trust the mechanic. It that I wouldn't trust the business model in that instance. Just me probably

 

I've liked the MINI BMW Techs I’ve met, and BMW now has an OEM water injection system. Was it the service rep or the actual techs who didn’t want to do the work and didnt know about water injection? I usually do all my own work but when stuck for time on a rare occasion Ive had the techs do a job or two. I do stop by the parts counter first to get something small and if I want to talk about a tech project they will usually get a mechanic from out back. Im sure they would need to be a bit creative in how to code the work. Anyway what happened to the water meth kit or do you just want a different injector set up to add more boost?