hey guys, i was looking on mini mania at there new performance parts and i came across the short gear ratio kit... $3,500!!!!!!! for that much you can get a T56
six speed manual transmission!!!. I know import parts are expensive and all but isnt that kinda pushing it? under my opinion i would never buy anything from there, their site does not give enough information and im also concerned about the quallity of their parts. :roll: but i dunno, never bought from there before :grin:

has anyone bought from them before? and could tell of any experiences?

Well, a T56 won't fit in a mini. Don't confuse Chevy parts costs with that of foreign parts costs.

I also own a Miata. When I was looking for aftermarket forged connecting rods for an engine I'm rebuilding I was finding costs were going to be around $800-1000 for a set of four vs a set of typical Chevy forged Carrillo rods were about $300 for eight.

Although some of their parts are a tad high they are in line with most foreign performance parts (a Miata close ratio 5-speed gear set from the Japanese Mazdaspeed parformance parts arm of Mazda costs about $2500 - and that doesn't incluse the case or assembly - just the gears)

Have you seen the BMP or other BMW vendors catalog prices?

Randy

i know that it wont fit... but still its a pretty nice transmission!!! the reason i said T56 and not another driveline part is because my brother is restoring a 1981 camaro.

anyways those parts prob were not manufactured in britian. they were prob made in the US :eek:

What you are dealing with here is the economics of mass production versus limited production, there are at least 100,000 Chevy engines for every MINI engine, plus the development cycle has been around a lot longer for Chevy/Ford/Mopar than for our cars, so most of the R&D costs for aftermarket parts for those vehicles have been paid for years ago. Give it time, our parts prices will come down too.

X2

Nukeman3578: First, welcome to MCO. Also, check your Private Messages (the little red MINI in the upper left corner).

RandyS: Great points. It's also worth considering that a close ratio box is really a niche within a niche (people that mod MINIs) within a niche (people that own MINIs). There are only 20-25,000 MINIs coming to the U.S. each year. Last year VW sold 355,000 cars in the U.S. Both have strong enthusiast followings. Obviously VW has a lot more enthusiasts. Thus there are more people to spread costs out over. Is this an excuse for high prices? No.

One last thought. There is more competition now than there was 3 months ago for your MINI Modding Dollar. By Spring there will be even more competition. We all benefit from that.

Just some thoughts. :cool:

thanks for your peoples advice :smile:, you guys are right, maybe if there is more competition the parts will be cheaper
i guess that gives us all somthing to look foward too

As to quality & reliability of Minimania:

I've bought classic Mini parts from this firm as well as Minispares (their UK affiliate), Minisport (UK), Craig's Automotive (Canada), MiniCityLtd (NY), and Seven Enterprises. Some of them way back to 1970. I have NEVER had a problem with these firms and have always found them helpful and knowledgeable.

A couple of them (Minimania & Seven) are affiliated with Mini performance tuners/racers who have been national champions in SCCA for many decades in various classes. I have utmost confidence that the product they offer has been thoroughly researched, tested and is of high quality.

I would be more concerned about the neo-MINI tuners who just got into the business in the past year or so. What is the depth of their knowledge & experience? Are they just resellers without the experience? How long will they be around when the market for these parts levels out?

I have no relationship to any of these firms, other than customer.

Oh, I forgot, Minimania does offer to match prices with any competitor.

Make sure to check out minispares.com (UK version of MINI Mania)I've found even with shipping and the exchange rate a few parts still come from there cheaper.

Example: MINI Mania Rally/Driving Lights 389.00 for Factory ones
MINI Spares Rally/Driving Lights 120 pounds ($187 US dollars after conversion and $40 dollars for shipping for a total of $227, $162 dollars cheaper)

Just thought I would bump this post....
Folks have been complaining since 2002!!

Hey, they are a sponsor of our site and when you really need a part they seem to have it available.

Yes, their prices are higher than other locations but they are in California.

Yup...I have gotten stuff from them....early on in my MINI days...
They do have one stop shopping for many hard to find parts, but the not so hard to find ones have the same crazy mark-up.
Since not all consumers are price dependent...many MINI's buyers are well heeled, and value simplicity over saving a few $$, I can agree. But some of the prices are borderline gouging.
Jan at RMW seems to do a good job with MINI parts prices..and he is in CA too....was once a sponsor.

10 1/2 years has got to be a record for a thread resurrection, right?
The site was not even North American Motoring at that time and dave who posted in this thread was the owner of MCO, which eventually became NAM and was sold to Internet Brands.

Anyhow, remember the BMW MINI began to be built during 2001 so options were severely limited at that time. Today there are plenty of options but you have to do some research before realizing who the reliable vendors are. Mini Mania has had and continues to have a good reputation. Mini Madness? Not so much. This sort of thing has been happening for years with Madness. Certainly not the worst through the years, though. Do a search for "Palo Uber" and entertain yourself for a while. I know there were more truly awful vendors, but for the life of me I cant' remember their names.