Hi! New to this board, I have a friend who was quoted the following repairs on a 2004 mini. $509 - ABS (wheel speed sensor) replacement $725 - Stage 1 Auxiliary Fan replacement $530 - Passenger Window Motor (which was working when it was dropped off) Apparently some horror stories have been relayed on how difficult these cars are to work on. Are these 3 problems something that the average shadetree can do? How hard would you say these repairs would be if attempted on my own? :confused5: I searched long and hard and couldn't find any info online as far as where the location of the wheel speed sensor would be. I know on most cars it's not a terribly involved procedure to replace.
All of those can easily be done by a shade-tree !! Check out rockauto.com for good parts and good prices. Youll spend a 1/3rd of what you were quoted... Only hiccup, youll need to figure out which wheel speed sensor needs to be replaced. There are four (obviously) and a GT1 or other "good" diagnostic tool can tell you exactly which one is bad.
Welcome, thanks for registering. Is this for an S or a JustaCooper? All of these are possible. First I would recommend picking up a service manual. You can find them "used" now and then or a new one is available from the like of Amazon. [ame="http://www.amazon.com/Mini-Cooper-Service-Manual-2002-2006/dp/0837615119"]Amazon.com: Mini Cooper Service Manual 2002-2006: Cooper, Cooper S, Including Convertible (9780837615110): Bentley Publishers: Books@@AMEPARAM@@http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51crF9q3C3L.@@AMEPARAM@@51crF9q3C3L[/ame] For OEM Replacement parts I am a big proponent of going OEM. Many of the site sponsor carry OEM parts for less than the standard dealership MSRP. Since they support us they are the first place I look. The Stage 1 Auxiliary Fan replacement is kinda thorny. MINI made this as all one piece including the shroud. There are ways to fix the problem for a heck of lot less including replacing the resistor that is the usual fail point.
That is too much, but may be exactly what a dealer charges for all I know. The sensor, while some can be more difficult than others, if all goes well is a 10 min job and a $50 part, so you can replace all of them yourself in about 1 hr for under $250. Of, course as mentioned knowing which one is part of the trick. I think around $300 you can buy all the parts, and if you bring it somewhere, for $300 a guy would be happy to do all the work. Depending on where you live and who you find, it may even be much cheaper. Other areas $500 for labor may be right, but you can do much better than the $1500 or so the quote has to be for.
Real OEM is a good place to see parts diagrams and obtain part numbers. RealOEM.com Online BMW Parts Catalog penskeparts.com also has diagrams and sells parts.
However, there OEM parts search does not currently work, at least not for me. I can select year and mini and then nothing.