Howdy friends,

I came into a 2011 Countryman S all 4 with 79,543 miles. I got it from my dad who took care of it, and only drove it around town. He owned it for 8 years put about 40,000 miles on it with an average speed of 27MPH. I thought I was getting a great deal! On the way home, car broke down. Turned out it was the fuel pump relay. After fixing this, and taking it for a test drive to check it- an engine core plug popped out and flooded the engine with coolant. I have spent almost $3,000 fixing this. At any rate, its still not running quite right and I have diagnosed the timing solenoid, the one at the top of the engine. The service manager where I have been taking the car said me might me able to allow me to bring in my own parts. The part I am looking at 11-36-8-610-388 OEM is around $200 at various places. But I see the same part from Blistien for about $55. I know that I have the Prince engine and Mini doesn't make all the parts - so any suggestions on an aftermarket OEM that isn't $200? I am little confused on OEM vs MINI brand. Thanks for any advice.