I have a 2007 S with 40K miles, a few weeks ago my clutch started making a weird groaning sound when I put it into 1st gear. I took it into the Mini dealership where they confirmed I needed a new clutch and quoted me almost $2000 to replace it. I am out of the maintenance warranty but still have the factory warranty which does note cover anything with the clutch because it is a "wearable" part. Car sits in my garage since I am afraid to drive it till I get it checked out.

My question is, does anyone know of another shop I can take it to in the bay area to get a second opinion and a better price for a new clutch? Thanks

 

that's right around how much it cost to get it replaced. mine was close to 3K it went bad at 48k.
unless you can DIY.

 

Its seriously not covered under warranty? Unless you are hard on the clutch that is premature wear... Still have the original clutch on my 03 with 76k miles.

 

My dealer told me prior to purchase that even though the clutch is clearly never covered by any OEM waranty, "Mini will give you one replacement clutch." If you are the original owner, I would REALLY pursue this with other dealers. Also, I would find a highly regarded independent shop that specializes in Minis to evaluate the precise symptoms you are experiencing. They can help you determine if you can continue to drive your car without potentially increasing the future cost to repair.

DOC

 

So heres my update, thanks everyone for your comment.

I towed my car to British European Repair (http://www.britishandeuropeaninc.com) owned by BRANDEN. His shop was recommended by my previous mechanic, that worked on my 330i. Really cool guy and busy shop. He gave my an guesstimate of $1400 for parts and labor, he said once he gets it up on the rack and check it out he will call me to let me know how much it will be for sure. Later on that day he called me and said that $1400 will be the price nothing but the clutch is damaged. He said it will be ready by Wednesday 8/24. I will update again once i get my baby back. In the meantime Ill be mobbing the streets in my brothers Explorer. Also the Dealership originally quoted me at around $2200 for clutch replacement.

here is his yelp page if anyone is interested:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/british-and-european-sunnyvale

 

here is his Yelp page if anyone is interested:

http://www.yelp.com/biz/british-and-european-sunnyvale

 

The dealership probably quoted you that much because the flywheel should be replaced, which cost $1300 by itself. If you've driven 40k miles and your clutch is bad but the flywheel is good, good for you, but I would be a little concerned with a mechanic just replacing the clutch and not the flywheel. If your flywheel is worn and just the clutch is replaced your clutch will go bad real fast. I'd spring the extra cash and get it done right; I payed almost $1400 for my new clutch and I did it all by myself...

 

Just had mine replaced at 21K. Cost was $1800--FlyWheel fortunately okay--no mention of faulty parts but they said the parts had to go back to MINI USA. Is this weird? They assured me I hadn't abused the clutch but shouldn't be taking off at greater than 1800 rpm in 1st--s'cuse me? I have never had a clutch go out at less than 100k Driven everything from F250's to Porshes and Saab Turbos to MG's and Healy's. WTF?

 

21k is way to soon to have to replace a clutch and mini should pay you for that.

 

Flywheel was damaged so I'm up to $2336 total parts and labor... FML

 

Update: Picked up my car yesterday, new clutch is really sensitive took me a while to get used to, drove it around town for a bit to test it out. Overall I am happy I got my car back, trying to be optimistic about the clutch burning out so soon. I have my health, my kids are happy, life goes on.

Again hate to be a plug ***** but http://www.britishandeuropeaninc.com/ cool guy, way cheaper than the dealer and does great work... tell him Henry sent you