2014 JCW R60. Turbo is failing according to the diagnostic from the dealer. I have been getting repeated CELs and 2C57 codes on my Carista.

What options do I have? I'm at about 88-89K miles. Aftermarket turbo? I do some stuff myself, but I don't have access to a lift and this seems like something out of my comfort level. The dealer quoted me just north of $4K to replace which seems stupid.

 

Did you check to see if your car is covered under the 10 year extended warranty for the Turbo?
If not find a good indy mechanic to install one for you. Dealer prices are fking nuts. Our local MINI dealer will supposedly match a legit quote for repairs/parts. I had some success on that but they were still too high in the end result.

 

I did check, and unfortunately my vehicle is apparently not covered by the 10 year extended warranty.

 

Mr. Grumpy a poster on here did the Turbo and posted his experience. He DIY'ed it so may not be what you want. Worth a read. https://www.northamericanmotoring.co...wastegate.html

 

The turbo should be covered up to 100K under the emissions warranty. The dealer replaced mine at 78K under the warranty

 

I called Mini USA and they confirmed that my VIN is not covered by the extended warranty.

I did get an offer from them to cover 25% of the cost of the replacement of the turbo. But this repair is still going to cost me almost $3K at the dealership.

I guess I'll be checking out some private garages in my area to see if I can do better, but I'm really not happy.

 

Yup, had the same issue with them, they said mine wasn’t covered either.
Saw my name mentioned so figured I’d chime in with my 2 cents.
Honestly it’s not all that bad. Did mine about a year ago in my driveway with nothing but hand tools and a set of ramps.
It is time consuming because of the small workspace, but putting it into the service position helps a lot and is very simple.
The price of the turbo is a lot. I would check out JMTURBOCOOPERS for a turbo. It’s the labor charge that really gets you with these. I think it was close to ten hours of labor they were going to charge. I set aside 3 days to take my time and do it.... had it done in two. Then needed to adjust the wastegate a bit, but that’s pretty simple, and takes driving it to see if you are hitting your target boost.
When all was said and done, for what ended up still being under what the dealership wanted to charge for an OEM replacement, I ended up with a slightly upgraded turbo, catless downpipe, GFB DV+, charge pipes, and a tune, and replaced the oil filter housing gaskets too while I was in there, along with all the bits, like gaskets and stuff. Even with the tune, I ended up close to $1000 less than the quote.
You could do it way cheaper if you avoid the upgrades and mods that I did along with it.
im happy to answer any questions or anything. Pm me if you need to.
It’s really not as bad as it seems right now. If you can do most general maintenance, you can do this. There are some excellent DIY’s for it out there, Pelican Parts has a really good one.
When I first got my Mini, I was very intimidated to work on it, with the way today’s cars have so much computer integration. But after paying a shop a few times, I got over it really quick, ha ha. I used to work on all my vehicles when I was younger, but was seriously intimidated by this car! But if you get in there, you figure out really fast, that it’s still a car.... the mechanical parts still bolt or screw on just like they always have.. But now lots of those parts have an electrical plug...thats about the only difference in the end.
Theres lots of resources to diy it. Right here on NAM you can find just about all the info you need.
good luck and keep us posted, I’m following with interest.

 

Shame it's not a covered one as that would save you. I would recommend just going with a brand new OEM one as it will be a direct bolt on and the fastest and easiest fix.
https://www.waymotorworks.com/jcw-tu...8-r59-r60.html

 

Anyone had any other experiences with aftermarket turbos that they want to share? Thanks.