Just got back from having John from Gleneleg Servicenter install my 15% pulley and I had to write a review, because they are AWESOME. And I highly recommend anyone who wants a pully (or other MINI service) done in the Washington, Baltimore area and doesn't want to do it themselves use John.

First John owns and races a MINI, so he knows the car real well. I brought my 2005 MCSa in this morning, and Brian was totally professional filling out the paperwork. John drove my car back and then invited me in. I watched the whole time, and John did not mind at all. He gave me a lot of great, invaluable advice about the pros and cons of other mods, tips on track driving (I'm going to Summit Point next month) and explained a lot on what he was doing and talked about general stuff (we both love old British bikes). I was the first automatic he has done, and there were a couple of differences (nothing major) but you could tell he has done pully installs dozens and dozens of times. He was totally thorough, even checking my tire air pressure at the end! (I hadn't checked since I got the car 1400 miles ago, and he was wondering how good the dealer filled them). Took a couple of hours for the whole thing. The only scary part was when John test drove it (with me in the passenger seat), we get on the little two lane road outside his shop, and he just floors it! "Yep, working good" he says as I'm gripping my fingernails into my leather seats!

Even though he is a little over an hour from me, I will definately use him for any non-dealer service or upgrades on my car. The thing I really like about both Brian and John is that they really listen to what you want in the car and will tell you what mods are a total waste of money, what are only a small gain for the price and what ones really work. You get the feeling that they would never try to sell you something just to make money off installing it. And John really knows the MINI and all tuning aspects of it inside and out. I highly recommend them.

Their website: http://www.glenelgservicenter.com/

- John Connor

Oh, and the price was $400, same as Randy Webb and $200 cheaper then Sterling (and i trust John a lot more)

 

asterix,

I told you. Great guy - great service. Like you, I will gladly drive an hour up there for quality service.

 

Great guys over there at Glenelg, for sure! We highly recommend them for any of your MINI needs

 

I had a really good impression of them until I was quoted a flat rate of $680 for just installing springs in my MCS.
Just for reference, Helix charges $150.

 

$680, i had my springs installed by them and didnt pay that much.

 

Is the $400 price including the pulley, or just for the install?

 

$400 includes pulley.

 

Thanks VoiD

 

The wife and I sampled at least 6 MINI owners before we decided on Tate MINI of Annapolis. Every owner that purchased from Sterling was very dissatisfied with the purchase experience due to dealer "surcharges", condescending sales staff, and lousy follow-up service.

Our sampling of owners occurred during 2002 to 2004; I hope the staff at Sterling has since improved their customer relations!

 

I have an appointment with John for Friday at 3:00 PM to get an in-between oil change and tire rotation on my three month young '05 MC. I have 6K miles on Red 5 and I just can not wait until 10K for an oil change on a brand new car and engine.

I will write a review of my experience with John and company.

MTFBWY,
--Will

 

Are you sure that was just for labor and didnt include the springs? I was quoted like $800 for springs and rear bar installed including parts.

 

Just had the pulley install done on Wed 23rd. I love it my car is nice and smooth and pulls hard. I highly recommend them. Oh and the changed their name its now Lucky Dog Garage.