Seattle MINI vs. Eastside Bavarian

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   Hi there!
I've been using Eastside Bavarian since first moving up to Seattle in 2007. It was a serendipitous pairing, as my fuel pump went caput the evening I arrived in town (after a 2000-mile road trip), and I was staying in Issaquah at the time.  They were great then and continue to be.  My problem is logistics.  I now live in north Kirkland and work over in Magnolia.  It's already a long drive in, but if I need to take my MINI in for service, it's usually a big ordeal: renting a car, taking extra time off work, driving a half hour to forty-five minutes just getting there.  I have complete confidence in the crew there, but as I said, it's logistically inconvenient.

So now Seattle MINI is in town, and has been up a couple years now.  And they're right on my way into work (if I go above the lake instead of over the bridge).  Really convenient.  So I wanted to solicit the boards for information about Seattle MINI, and how their service might compare to Eastside's.  I'm thinking about pricing, turnaround, quality of repair/service, weekend availability, etc.  Can anyone substantiate whether Seattle MINI's service/repair charges are roughly equal to those of Eastside Bavarian?

Thanks for all the help!

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weezgrrl Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Nonmember Joined: March/13/07 Location: United States Status: Offline Points: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote weezgrrl Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Seattle MINI vs. Eastside Bavarian Posted: October/17/11 at 1:39pm
	Hi there! I've been using Eastside Bavarian since first moving up to Seattle in 2007. It was a serendipitous pairing, as my fuel pump went caput the evening I arrived in town (after a 2000-mile road trip), and I was staying in Issaquah at the time. They were great then and continue to be. My problem is logistics. I now live in north Kirkland and work over in Magnolia. It's already a long drive in, but if I need to take my MINI in for service, it's usually a big ordeal: renting a car, taking extra time off work, driving a half hour to forty-five minutes just getting there. I have complete confidence in the crew there, but as I said, it's logistically inconvenient. So now Seattle MINI is in town, and has been up a couple years now. And they're right on my way into work (if I go above the lake instead of over the bridge). Really convenient. So I wanted to solicit the boards for information about Seattle MINI, and how their service might compare to Eastside's. I'm thinking about pricing, turnaround, quality of repair/service, weekend availability, etc. Can anyone substantiate whether Seattle MINI's service/repair charges are roughly equal to those of Eastside Bavarian? Thanks for all the help!

CINIMIN Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Master PSMINI Member Joined: August/27/05 Location: Everett WA Status: Offline Points: 3762	Post Options Post Reply Quote CINIMIN Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/17/11 at 2:14pm
	Paid PSMINI Members get a discount on parts and labor at Seattle MINI. Many of us are very satisfied with the service and the support Seattle MINI provides to our Club Members. Check out some of the posts in the dealer forum.
	Jack - CINIMIN 2006 CR/W MCS - 6spd - LSD -15% Pulley - Dinan CAI ASA JH6's Koni FSD's 22mm Bar Have you hugged a curve today?

Sanderskog Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Master PSMINI Member Joined: October/08/04 Location: Sammamish Status: Offline Points: 1890	Post Options Post Reply Quote Sanderskog Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: October/20/11 at 3:17pm
	Personally I've used Eastside Bavarian for years with my first MINI and my BMW. Unfortunately I had a really bad service experience which wasn't handled well which made me leery of using them again. Against my better judgment I recommended them to a friend who had a similar experience. I'm done using them. I expect errors, it's how a shop handles the errors that matters and twice now they've disappointed me. Seattle MINI has been great so far. I'd also recommend Zahntech in Redmond based off my experience. Todd
	2009 John Cooper Works Clubman PW/B - OREO Speed has never killed anyone, suddenly becoming stationary… that’s what gets you. – Jeremy Clarkson LIVESTRONG

Roy Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List MINI Admin PSMINI Member Joined: March/09/08 Location: Kirkland Status: Offline Points: 160	Post Options Post Reply Quote Roy Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November/04/11 at 1:44pm
	I think Seattle MINI is great. I've had nothing but good experiences with them and their work. They are also right on the bus line, which is very convenient for getting to/from downtown. Plus, you can do some MINI shopping while you're there.
	Roy (formerly Shazoom) 2008 CR/B JCW Cabrio

bobbyd Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List PSMINI Nonmember Joined: January/31/11 Location: Seattle Status: Offline Points: 260	Post Options Post Reply Quote bobbyd Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Posted: November/05/11 at 12:10am
	There are certainly advantages to using the dealership with their knowledge and expertice, special tools and diagnostic equipment, and if they dont have an answer they can contact BMW Technical directly to get it. But you do pay a premium for those services. that being said there are a lot of companies out their without all those special services that still want to charge you premium rates and dont even have factory trained Mini techs. as for the charges well most auto repair facilities opperate off of a standardized time for each repair. you will hear it refered to as "book time" meaning its the amount of a time that the book says it takes to repair it. so then the cost is really just about the hourly rate that a shop charges. I think the dealer is around $125 an hour these days. certainly worth every penny for diagnostics but maybe not the best deal on a 15 hour clutch replacement. Ultimately you just have to decide what its worth to you. I know that probably doesnt help. maybe the best answer is the short answer. Yes seattle mini can supply you with good car care. For general maintanance there is a shop in Magnolia called Group2 Motorsports that does very good service work as well though they are not a BMW or Mini specialty shop I highly recomend them. ...and remember that wherever you take your car you can ask for Genuine Mini Parts. That way you get Genuine Mini Parts and a 2 year warranty on parts and labor.