Hi folks, I just picked up a 2006 MCS and I'mlooking forward to many years of ownership. The car is out of warranty and I'm looking for a good independent shop with expertise about MINI maintenance and troubleshooting. Any recommendations in the Nashville area? Thanks in advance.

 

Sorry you haven't received any hits on this. I was interested in what people were going to say. I've got a great independent Mercedes mechanic down off Church St. (he actually works on all sorts of vehicles but was trained in Stuttgart and sent there by the communists, as he's originally from communist Poland). But he's not worked on a MINI yet (mine is still under warranty).
I don't know a lot about them, but there is IAM in Nashville (they messed up a friend's 1950 something volvo, but that was 30 years ago). BelleMeade Motor Cars (I think that's what it's called, on Harding at Harding, near the Hwy 70/100 split) sells a few MINI's and they have a good shop off Charlotte. You might want to call down there and see if they work on MINI's. I do know they do Import Restorations...They're really pricey (like dealership pricey), so IMHO it would be a trade off. There's an MB Mechanic on 7th at Drexel (across from the Homeless Hotel), I don't know if he works on anything but MB, but he messed mine up a number of years ago, so I won't go to him.
Let me know if you found anyone... it's always good to keep that kind of info filed away for the "just in case"...

 

Hey thanks for the reply - I had kind of forgotten about this thread. I decided to take my R53 to the guys that also work on my E46 BMW - Treehouse Racing, located near Nolensville Pike and Thomson Lane - www.treehouseracing.com. They are a BMW-specific shop but all their diagnostics equipment works on MINIs as well. So far I've had them do the Inspection I, software update/reflash and also track down a coolant leak. Anyway, check them out and ask for the owner John - good guy.

 

i would avoid treehouse racing, but i have personal reasons..he was my boss. not to mention you will pay more than double for the part there than buying it straight from the dealer. but wherever you go i guarantee you i can get you the part brand new from the dealer for a ton less than what they would want and im more than happy to help anyone who needs parts out.

 

Oh Mike... my new best friend! Tee hee hee... Maybe Mocha can get the driving lights she's always wanted!

 

well if you want them, i can help you get them.

 

is everyone taking their minis to the dealer for oil changes? doing it themselves? going somewhere else?

 

I do my own. It's not too hard if you're mechanically inclined.

There a couple of good threads with pictures to show you how. On 1st Gen it's a bit tough to get to the filter housing, but not too bad. You will need to get a low profile socket, 38mm I believe, to remove the housing.

Be careful when you remove the filter. There's a small plastic valve assembly in the bottom of the housing bracket that is easily broken if you're not careful.

Another good addition is to put a Fumoto quick drain valve in place of the drain plug. Once done this really speeds up the process.

 

i also do my own changes, its pretty simple once you have done it a few times. if anyone wants to buy their own materials ill even do oil changes for you at my place on weekends for free

 

What about resetting the computer? I am new to Minis but owned over a dozen British cars in the past.

 

i believe you can reset your computer by unplugging the ecm.

 

There's actually a reset routine that's not too difficult to do. There are several threads. Also depends if you have a 1st or 2nd Gen MINI.

1st Gen Reset Thread

Not sure about 2nd Gen; might do a search in the appropriate forum.

 

Thanks!!! Will try it today.

 

I was asking my other half about possible upgrades we could do to get a little more hp outta Miss Scarlett. He said something about reprogramming the chip. . .is that possible? Remember I'm no motorhead so answers in "dummyspeak" please.

 

One of the easier "chip" mods is the Unichip. Not exactly cheap, but nice thing is it's a plug and play type mod. And if you need to take your car in for warranty work, it can be removed with no trace to be seen by the dealer.

 

but the stock ecu will also relearn its way around the unichip. thats why i got rid of mine, i only felt power after i unplugged it from the uce and let it sit for a bit and then plugged it back in. the only real way to upgrade the ecu is to have someone reflash the whole ecu or run a stand alone ems.

 

Does reflashing the ecu void warranty? If it does then I might wait to make that upgrade after I've at least motored my first 36k.

 

i would say if your ecu blows due to this then yes it voids it. but i believe for something to void your warranty they have to prove that a specific part caused the failure...BUT if the dealer has to do a dme upgrade it will probably overwrite the computer.

 

What about a shop in Murfreesboro? I'm thinking of Rays Imports. What do you all think?