Hi guys I'm located in Charleston, SC and the mini shops here are limited. These are just the labor prices from a local independent shop affiliated with a mini group around town. I feel like they're a bit overpriced but I'm new in the mini scene.

I got quoted at basically $285 for the 15% pulley (3 hours?!?) another $91 for the ati super dampener and $41 for the intake for a total of $417 just in labor. Seems high to me but hopefully you'll know better than I do. Thanks for your input.

 

What are the normal labor rates in SC? Out here in CA, the quote for the ATI and intake would be very reasonable, with the pulley slightly on the high side. Other than removing the belt, nothing really overlaps on all the jobs.

I think a reasonable time estimate for the SC pulley would be 1.5 - 2 hours. A really experienced shop could do it in 30 min - 1 hour, but most shops still use book time for quotes.

 

Pulley is high, ATI is low, intake is about right.

 

I was pretty sure I had read about mini shops doing the pulleys in 30mins to an hour so I guess that's where I felt the price was on the high side. Just wanted to make sure I'm not getting hosed.

 

I tackled the SC pulley with someone who was mechanically inclined, but I ended up doing all the work.
If you have the tools, all of those aren't too difficult if a job. There are great write ups on this forum.

 

Per/hr labor charge aside, the two pulleys should take no more than 2 hours at a Mini-specific shop. For the S/C pulley, they'll have to remove the engine mount(s) and lift the entire engine a bit - that's where their labor is. But once the drive belt is off, it should take no more than fifteen minutes to pull and install a crank pulley with an air gun. A CAI (is that what you mean by "intake"?) is pretty easy to get to and change out, but might take some fabrication depending on the brand. You could probably install the CAI yourself with a screwdriver and/or a set of torx bits.

For comparison (in the Los Angeles area), I paid a Mini shop $400 (labor) to install a 15% pulley, new belt tensioner and belt, and short-shifter all at once. I figure the shifter install (dropping the exhaust, etc.) accounts for more than half of that labor.

And btw, $91/hr for Mini mechanic labor? I'd like to move there, please.

 

We charge $450 installed for pulley kits.

Crank pulley plus $100 install.

Intake is a free install if done with the pulley kit, because it has to come off to do the pulley install.