Basically, trying to see if it's worth doing the suspension replacement work at the dealer (I know, not the cheapest place) or elsewhere and driving it further or trading it in. The MINI is my daily driver with 90K miles of highway and suburban driving.

My 2009 MINI was diagnosed by MINI Dealership to need major suspension work and an oil filter gasket replacement. For the Suspension Issues (Major)
a. Front lower control arm bushings have excessive play, torn, and leaking - $1544
b. Rear trailing arms both bent in rear - $2477

Plus - Oil filter housing gasket leaking oil and coolant - $1881

Has anyone else gotten this kind of work done on their convertible and where did you go? AT this point, I am just looking for OEM parts, not looking to upgrade. I know there will be questions about my driving style. I know I've enjoyed the car, but I don't race it and it's toughest day has been a tight corner here and there and maybe an occasional speed bump taken a bit too quickly. That's it. Seems too early to need all this work.

Thoughts?

 

WOW holy prices man.

For way less than that you could bring your car to Atlanta and we would do the bushings much cheaper, and use the powerflex so you would never have to worry about them failing again. I know you said you're good with OEM, but the powerflex are so far superior it'd be crazy to go back with the stock rubber ones.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/powerf...shing-kit.html

And for rear trailing arms??? You need another opinion on that as that is a crazy price again. But those arms are aluminium so they don't really bend, if there was something wrong with them they would likely crack.

And the oil filter housing again is high. But at the dealer you're going to have to pay to get that "free" car wash and all those employees.

I'd find another local shop that works on MINIs that is honest.

 

+1 on what Way said.

Rear trailing arms won't bend, that is insane. Check out the pics in this post https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...l#&gid=1&pid=3

 

Yeah I'd get a second opinion. Also why not try and do the work yourself? Little common sense and some basic tools and you can get the job done and not spend all that money.

 

Thank you very much all three of you! I was beginning to think my MINI was a lemon. I wish I did live near Atlanta. I really like the idea of going to the PowerFlex inserts. It would be great not to need the rear trailing arm work. I saw the pictures from the referred post.

Even if I could do the work, I would still have to wait. I am "between homes" right now and waiting to move in...so no garage or tools at my disposal. What a God send to be able to go to this site and hear from the real experts.

The upside is that once I do find a trustworthy shop and replace the truly needed parts, it sounds like the MINI would actually perform better. So I guess 245 and 215 is also high for replacement of coolant and brakefluid? Thanks again.

 

Wanted to send an update on the repair shop search in Northern Virginia.
BLUF: I haven't gotten the work done yet, still working on estimates. But I've spoken to one mechanic and found another that will see the MINI this week.

1) I went to NOVA Automotive and spoke to the owner. Found them on YELP. For the same work the dealer quoted me, his estimate is approx $2,000 less than dealer. They've worked on several MINIs. I know nothing else about them. They use Olympic or Olympia OEM A parts.

2) Also found GT Peace Automotive. This business is listed is also listed on YELP and has great reviews. They've definitely worked on MINIs. Previous MINI owners have reviewed this shop with 5 stars.

I'll update again once I have a decision on where I go and what gets done.

 

Those are the highest estimates I have ever seen for that amount of repair work. Most Mini dealers are using a x 1.65 of the warranty repair to quote cash repair invoices. Its very important to have the estimates show both labor and parts prices. In your case if you recalculate the labor using above AND take 20% off the parts prices ( club loyalty or over the counter discount at many dealerships) - this will yield a $$ that you can compare to other shops.
Just like Apple and other companies - mini would rather everyone lease new cars for a fixed price. They continue to slaughter their customer base with commission hungry service advisors that all drive Toyotas and hondas to their Mini Cooper employer. So sad! Very few dealer employees are in touch with the costs of keeping these fun cars on the road.
Keep shopping around and like Way says - you could road trip down to Atlanta for a few days and get your car fixed - it would be cheaper!!

 

Those prices are insane. Look for a reputable euro shop nearest you and get a second opinion. 9/10 times a euro shop is all you'll need. Staying MINI specific isn't necessary but many MINI owners tend to think it's the best route.
OR, buy you a Bentley manual and do the work yourself.

 

I got great service and found a new trusted shop at GT Peace Automotive. I found them with dcMetroMINIs club website and on yelp. This team is lead by prior MINI dealer mechanics that started there own shop to provide service and work at reasonable prices.

The bushing work that I needed was only front end. I didnt have the bent rear trailing arms. They showed me exactly by providing an under the car inspection...outstanding! I asked about the oil leak, they saw it, but recommended I wait. A performance wheel balance and rotation was done.
All that plus new ceramic front breaks and rotors for less than $1600. Nice!

 

I know you already got this work done but for everyone else out there in this spot, DONT GET CAUGHT IN THE “I DONT HAVE A GARAGE TRAP”

in almost every city now there are small businesses popping up that rent out repair shop bays and tools including the kind most weekend non-pro mechanics wouldn’t have or need. They all usually charge about the same (around $15-25 per hour to rent a bay with a lift) and although their staff aren’t exactly pro mechanics they are usually pretty handy and can offer advice/help.

i own a bus repair shop and i still will use the little rental shop here on my personal cars because my lifts are too big for cars and my lifts make too much money on bus work for me to tie one up for my own car. Ive used these places in 3 different cities now. To find them either just google it or call the mechanic school at your local community college and ask them, they will probably know.