Hi all,

I will be ordering a MINI soon, and I'm wondering where (besides the dealer) you all take your MINI for repairs. I've been using Jamco for my Honda, but they do Japanese makes only.

Any recommendations?

Thanks,
Dave

 

You might want to consider Waylen Way. I know he isn't exactly "local" but he is good, has been know to travel to St. Louis, and he charges a fair price. He is a gas to talk too as well!

 

Thanks SumWon, I hadn't heard of him.

For mods or custom work, Indianapolis isn't too far away (and like you said, he might come here once or twice a year).

For standard maintenance work, though, I was hoping for a local shop.

 

I'd like to know too.
There must be several MINIs in the area with expired warrantys. Where are people taking them for repairs?
Besides the MINI/BMW shop, I've seen some MINIs (along with BMWs) being serviced at a shop on Olive a few blocks east of 170. Can't remember the name of the place though.

 

near Olive and 170 you may be talking about Bavarian Enterprises. I bought a BMW from Bavarian before my most recent MINI. Jon Laclaire is the owner and he knows his stuff. check them out here: http://bavarianonline.com/

i had talked to him a lot about whether they would work on MINIs or not. the last i knew is that he wasn't - but things might have changed.

dave, why wouldn't you use the dealership for your maintenance? you will have a 36k, 3 year maintenance program and 50k, 4 year warranty.

 

Aha, I see now why some of you must have been scratching your heads at my original post.

Mike, yes, I'll be using the dealership for warranty work. Since I'll be doing track days, though, I'm thinking about things like off-schedule oil and brake fluid changes which I assume wouldn't be covered by the warranty. Eventually I plan to learn to do that kind of thing myself, but I don't necessarily want to have to do it myself...

While we're on the topic, how satisfied have you all been with Autohaus' service department? Great? Fine? Typical of dealer service departments?

Thanks for taking the time, by the way. I hope to come by the Feb 9 happy hour and meet some more of you (and pepper you with all my questions in person. )

 

I do come to St. Louis from time to time. So if you ever do need service work, performance parts, anything other work or just have a question just let me know.

 

the oil change and bleeding and changing brake fluid is really, really easy. especially if you get the speed bleeders.

anything i can't do myself i will take to miller brothers in university city.

 

Cool. I'm sure it won't be long before I get the itch.

Thanks so much -- I really appreciate that.


Glad to hear that. And thanks for pointing me to Miller Bros. I'll check them out.

 

[FONT=Verdana]In response to your question about how satisfied I am with Mini of St. Louis service . . . I have an 03 MCS and have been dealing with the service department ever since. The service department was absolutely horrendous. They never fixed my car the first time it was in, they were rude, and it was absolutely horrible. I was about to start driving to KC for service because I was so fed up with the incompetence of the service department. Recently though, they got all new service writers, and it has been a complete turn around. They have been wonderful. Ask for Rick Drezick (service writer), he is awesome and will take great care of you. Happy Motoring![/FONT]

 

Yikes, I'm glad to hear it's no longer like that.

Thanks.

 

My '03 S has recieved nothing but top notch service at MINI of Saint Louis, from day one. They have gone over and above when working on my car. I even have them do my additional oil changes, since I know oil should be changed more often than every 10,000 miles. When it is there, I always ask them if there are any upgrades posted for my car.
Motoring down life's ever changing road, with a big smile on my face,

 

Yeah, that might be the place. It is right next to "Royal China BBQ" and whenever I am there for good Chinese food there has been a MINI or two parked in the lot.

 

Dave,

MINI of St Louis has been excellent with the service on my Cabrio. They replaced the entire convertible top & the rear windows recently. I had a loaner for 3 days. And I didn't even buy my 2nd MINI from them.
Also, I know a Dave Messina. Are you by any chance from the High Ridge area? Hope to meet you at the Happy Hour.

Lois

 

Hi Lois,

Great to hear another report of good service from St. Louis MINI. Dealers (and especially their service departments) seem to be hit and miss, so I'm glad to have my concerns allayed.

I'm curious, though: why didn't you buy your 2nd MINI from them?

Oh, and I'm not from around High Ridge, but perhaps we know each other some other way -- looking forward to meeting you, too!

Dave

 

Hi Dave,

MINI of St Louis had a $1500 markup over MSRP on the Cabrio plus the usual $500 they charge. I ordered my Cabrio from Roadshow in Memphis. Got to eat some great barbecue & hear a little blues when I picked her up

Lois

 

Ahh, makes sense.

So MINI of St. Louis charges $500 over MSRP for hardtops? Hmm, that doesn't sound so great, but it's probably not quite enough for me to go through the hassle and expense of buying out-of-state.

Thanks for letting me know.

 

We also purchased our MINI Cabrio from Roadshow in Memphis. They had no mark up, and we were treated quite well. I have had the car there twice for service work(installation of Aux. Input and warranty replacement of the H/K Amp) and have nothing but praise for their work so far.

And like Lois said, good excuse for great barbecue and blues!

 

I have had OK service with my 03 mcs. When ever I call to ask about something they seem annoyed, also I don't know if it is because i am young they seem to not believe me about things. I have had my window motor replaced 3 times, the last time the guy was like "wow we did this 4 months ago...." like he did not believe me or I broke it on purpose. For the most part they are decent I would not say great, they get the job done. Sometimes I want to say this is my car I drive it everyday, I know what I am talking about. Sorry, really they are OK. O.. one time they rotated my tires with out asking me and made me pay for it. It was such a rip off.

 

Another place you might want to consider if your not happy with the dealer's service department is BimmerRus on Kingshighway just south of 44. I went there last Friday to have some tires mounted I got from the TireRack and to have my alignment checked. At first the seem a little high in price but when I told them I had a lower quote from a tire shop they match that price and did excellent work. My Cooper is 2 years old with 18,000 miles and had never had the alignment checked. I can't believe how much better my car is riding(no runflats) and handling.
Larry

 

i tried them one time with my 325 and they tried to tell me that my transmission needed to be replaced (between $3k and $4k). then when i took it back to bavarian, they said there was an issue that may need to be fixed (NOT replaced) but not for another 10k-20k miles and that we should just be aware if anything changed. 8 months later when we sold the car, the transmission was still fine. we had taken the car there to fix some interior problem and thought we would try them.

i've heard many people say bimmerus sell cars at pretty reasonable prices but they really get you on service.

i trusted john at bavarian with my 325 and will take my mini there when the time comes that i need service outside of warranty (my warranty runs out this may).

 

Thanks again for the feedback, guys. This discussion has been really helpful.

 

A few weeks ago at a party I met someone who happened to be an officer with the SCCA and a member of the BMW club. We started talking about the costs of car maintenance and repair and he said that the BMW club has "shared" club tools, diagnostic gizmos, etc. Any club member could use these shared tools/gizmos to maintain/repair their cars and members helped each other out.

Maybe this is something the MINI club might discuss?

 

Good Evening Everyone,

I just bought my mini at the end of July '07. I was told by the dealership that it is still under warranty & need to take it to an authorized mini mechanic... I live in Mattoon, IL so, that means the 2 closest are Indianapolis or St. Louis. My mini had a hard time starting the other morning (32 degrees)- I am told the cold weather should not affect it (but, it did). I have emailed the STL Mini Dealership several times & no one has picked up my request for service. I am really considering not going there, since the attention they give potential customers is (as of right now) is Zero, Nada, Zilch. Now, I am extremely scared to take my brand new baby there. Plus, do they overcharge/ or better question what is there base labor price per hr. ? Can anyone offer some advice please? I have never owned a car with a warranty before & this is a complete mystery to me. Also, this is the most amazing, fantabulous vehicle I have ever owned & I don't want just anybody messing around with her. So, Ummm... Please help.

Thank you,
Andrea.

 

Andrea,

Welcome to the MINI family. I live in Effingham, so maybe I will see you around sometime. I have a 2005 MCS Cabrio (Chilil Red/ Black 6 speed). I take my MINI to St Louis for warranty work - but you will need to call them instead of e-mailing. For some reason, no one seems to monitor their incoming mail. What type of work does your car need? If you just need an oil change that can easily be done at home if you have the right tool. Let me know and maybe I can help you out.:impatient

Linda a/k/a
MsBrit