Hi, I have a 2013 Mini Cooper S Clubman. Love the car, one of the favorites of all I've owned. 52,000 miles. Big trouble, unfortunately. I noticed a whirring type of noise, varying with engine speed. I took it in to the dealership to get it diagnosed. They are recommending a clutch repair, costing $4,700. Yes, I wrote that correctly. $4,700. About half is parts and half for labor. I am going to get a second opinion from a local shop. Beyond that, I don't know what I am going to do. The car has been treated well. I would seem to be a pretty big defect to result in the necessity of this sort of repair. Any helpful advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Just had mine replaced by my mechanic for $1400, new OEM clutch, resurface flywheel, new fluid, and bearings. I called around to all of the specialist around here in Cincinnati and the highest was 2150, that was replacing everything, even all bolts.

 

Don't get a Mini dealer to do that type of repair for you

 

I would definitely have a private mechanic replace the clutch. My suggestion is to do a single mass flywheel conversion, since the dual mass flywheel cant really be resurfaced. It will save you a ton if you plan on keeping the car long term, also the single mass flywheel is lighter so you might get a more aggresive feel.

 

Getting it done by another local shop; $2,500. I could probably drive it several more years but this definitely has me thinking of getting a newer car.

 

I wouldn’t let a clutch repair get you down. Break it in for the first 1000 the have fun.

 

Update, still driving it. Just replaced the tires with new Pirellis. Happy to still be driving it. Great car.

 

$4,700

For that much you could do a complete clutch job and have a LSD swapped in and still have $$$ left over


Even funnier is that you considered selling the car because of a $$$ repair. Did you think you could own a BMW (essentially) and not experience a $$$ repair at some point?

 

Two weeks ago I had an independent mechanic replace my clutch on my 2014 Clubman S with only 47K miles. I never took it to dealer because I knew better. Cost of OEM parts came to about $400 for clutch disc, bolts, and slave cylinder. Labor came at $850 so about $1250 out the door. My mechanic which was referred to me by my local MIni enthusiasts club president, said there must have been something wrong with original clutch assembly to wear out so early. He noted a couple of things:
a) The bolts located at 12 and 1 o‘ clock positions came out with zero effort, as they were never tightened, they were loose!
b) The slave cylinder’s top point that goes in the center of the clutch was wet (I never noticed any fluid leaking but that could start soon)

He believes some combination of the above two pieces of evidence caused the clutch plate not to engage fully and start an abnormal wear pattern.

New clutch works like a charm, hoping to get 100K plus out if it. In summary, typical German car that has a few issues but once you sort them out you are good to go for a long time.