My top is broken, and I'd like to sell the car. Do any of you guys based in Los Angeles know of a good independent Mini mechanic that knows how to fix convertible top? I have a feeling that my top issue is due to the hall sensors, but I don't know enough to feel comfortable repairing it on my own.

I'd like it to be a cheap repair... the woes of being a college student. But if you guys know of any mechanic that does great work, then I'd rather pay more for quality work.



Secondly, I'd like to change my car to another Mini -- specifically, a hardtop.

My current car is a 05 R52 JCW with 75k on the clock, and I'd like to side-grade to a 05-06 R53 JCW with similar mileage.

Now, I've had a really hard time finding a 05-06 R53 JCW with similar mileage, primarily because the ones I find are either overpriced ($18k? Seriously? I can't even sell my current car for $12k) or have 100k+.

My question is... can I just buy a regular 06 R53, then mod it to match a JCW in performance (while being cheaper)? Or am I better off specifically looking for a JCW?

 

A good car interior shop should be able to help with the top with no issues and I beleive cheaply.

Yes you definitely can do this cheaper. There are many posts on this same question. Try a search or wait for all the comments you may get. Good luck

 

I found a shop down in Huntington Beach when I was searching for a Mini mechanic on Yelp... CoastMotorWerks... anyone know of them?

Aaaah, indeed? I'm glad to see this. To be honest, I tried searching for it. But perhaps my search terms were too broad or too specific, but I couldn't find posts about this. I'm sure there are posts that discuss this very same thing, but really, all I'm concerned about the next car is that it matches my current car's performance and be a hardtop.

So what is it, a pulley, ECU flash, header upgrade, cold intake... and thats it?