So a small child broke my glovebox trying to use it as a seat :( Anyway I checked with the dealer and the cost to replace was $300ish. I looked around on the boards and saw that some people suggested just ordering one and diy it. Well this week I went to a body shop I'd been been to before and for $287 they're replacing my glovebox and broken tail light The parts are coming from the dealer...Amazing the labor rate and the actual time charged is way cheaper then the dealer. Yes, I know the dealer is expensive but for whatever reason it never occurred to me that this could be a body shop repair.

Anyway onto the next issue so my airbag off light doesn't seem to recognize weight properly. When an actual person sits in the seat the light comes on but if I put 12 pack of soda on the seat the light goes off. Mini quoted me about $1000ish for parts and labor. I'm gonna ask the body shop about that fix but I know the part alone from mini is in $700 range. Is there any other way to remedy this issue? Are you allowed to buy the parts and then bring them to the shop? I have a coupon for 20% off at the dealer. I definitely wanna find a solution because sometimes the soda thing doesn't reset the lights and I'm gonna need a va safety inspection in may.

 

Most reputable shops will let the owner supply parts/fluids, and charge only for the labor required to do the work. They may stipulate that you must supply them with a dealer-supplied or equivalent-quality part, however. One thing to ask is what price your mechanic can get the part for; sometimes they can get a better discount than you will (although 20% is a pretty good discount).