I am the original owner of an '03 Cooper S that just hit 60K miles last week. I took him to the MINI dealer today for service and to have a couple issues looked at. The brake pad indicator came on a few days ago and I have a metallic sounding grind when the AC is on.

The MINI service also found these items need repair:

All points service inspection (oil, oil filter, plugs, belts, etc.)
Oil pan leak
Suspension bushings
Power steering hose
Rear brakes
power steering fan

All told, including $535 off for already being knee deep in the engine, they quoted me $3235.

Am I being overcharged or is this reasonable. I checked the Kelley Blue Book and this would constitute about 1/4 of the car's value.

Thanks for your replies.

SMF

 

my question is, why not try an Indy shop?

Anything like parts and labor costs are double or triple the cost at dealers.

they overcharge you on EVERYTHING. period.



drew-

 

Yes it sounds a bit high to me, I would try to find a independant garage got to save you a third a least.

 

All points service inspection (oil, oil filter, plugs, belts, etc.)

Inspection: $90
oil: $40, Filter: $10 - 30 mins
plugs: $35 - 30 mins
Belts: $30-100 - 30 mins

Oil pan leak : Oil pan gasket : $30 - 2~3 hours
Suspension bushings : $250 for a set - 2~2 hours
Power steering hose : i guess not that much
Rear brakes : Sensor: $20 - 30 mins
Pads: $100 - 30 mins
Rotors : $200 - 30 mins
Brake fluid : $15 - 30 mins
power steering fan : $200 - 1 hour

Parts total: $1090

That's if you do ALL the work.

Now, Mini spepcialist indy shops like WCM here in SoCal charges you $120 an hour.

and I just gave it a ball-park figure labor time:

it equals to 8.5 hours.

Labor charges : $1020


TOTAL charge $2110....


So.. yes... to answer your question. you are getting ripped off of about $1000 dollars.

 

Thanks for the insight and your help. I've had to take my Cooper to the shop so infrequently that I didn't think of an independent service center. There a few here in Las Vegas that I will contact.


SMF