When my wife started having problems with her Mini it was very usual. It was very low mileage for a 2007 (22,000) and we hadn't had any problems up tot this point. We brought it to the MINI dealer and they said it was a 20.00 seal that could be fixed but they'd have to take the engine out to get to it. So of course we didn't do that.
We brought it to our local mechanics who did what they could, made the noise kind of go away and gave us a little bit of relief from thinking the worst.
Then we found Mike on Yelp. We brought it in, he asked us right away if it made a certain noise, of course it did, and he knew exactly what it was, how much it would cost and how long to fix it (and it was less than replacing the seal).
Well Mike had it in his shop, gave us several updates during the time he had it and then called to say it was ready.
It hadn't run like that since the day she bought it.
Mike is great. MP Motorwerks is now our go to shop and we wouldn't feel right bringing it to any other place.
If you have a problem with your MINI or other foreign car, please take the time to bring it to Mike. The results will be incredible, affordable, and you'll be back to driving happily before you know it.