joel wrote:
I have some work i need don my mini and so far iv taken it to Greig at mini classic(whom iv found to be very good).Near where i live is a mechanic who has worked on my girlfriends families cars for years and he is trust worthy,what advice has everyone got for someone who wants to take their mini to a non mini mechanic who has experience working on minis.The work i need doing is on my alternator,brakes,and sdeedo cable not full on engine work,sometimes i think i can be a bit precious

with my car thinking that only a mini specialist can do the work,how hard can they be to work on thanks

Many "Mini Mechanics" will have you believe that the Mini is some rare exotic beast and if you havn't worked on them for 30 years you couldn't fix one. This is an absolute load of crap. In my experience after having some lets say, very questionable dealings with a Mini Guy with 40+ years experience you are far better off using a real mechanic who you know and trust for all your work. A real mechanic will be able to work on any vehicle as long as he has a manual and a brain.
I personally will never have any "out of town" work done on a car again. The new guy working on my car lets me drop in and keep an eye on it - he even invites me to help him work on it if I want to. He had never worked on a Mini before my car, and in a short period of time has fixed up many of the "experts" mistakes - still pleanty to go but he is getting through them.
I am sure there are heaps of really good "Mini Mechanics" out there - I just havn't come accross one yet and certainly not one with a clean reputation. It seems they all take great delight in bagging the piss out of each other, and totally contradicting others ideas.... Good luck.
Jacks.