I have a Mini Cooper S R53 (2004) lovely car to drive but can be expensive to keep well maintained.

I took it to a mechanic to look it over, and I knew the clutch was going. He took some time to look at it. Told me the clutch needs replacing, oil leak needs to use special stuff to show where it is leaking. The power steering rack needs replacing. All up $8k note located in Australia. It sounded expensive.

He didn’t charge me anything to look at it. although I don’t think he had a long look. I wanted a service but he said was a waste of time. His workshop on a Wednesday wasn’t particularly busy with customers, empty.

The vibe I got wasn’t positive one (walk away) because even if true he seemed to be expensive and imprecise on a quote, to open ended. He had a lot of cars up on jacks but no work being done.

I asked if the car was safe to drive back home with all he found wrong, he said if you got he you can get back fine. I live in a rural area, and drove to a city (Canberra) a hour and half away.

The car drives fine, doesn’t over heat, oil pressure fine, no oil leaks.

it is hard to find a mechanic you can trust. I am happy to pay but feel I could be taken for a ride. How to know if mechanic is good any signs other than trying and being burnt.

The channel is great, you have almost convinced me to buy a Toyota Yaris performance car, on their reliability, I just wish they weren’t so poor on styling. Maybe the unreliable cars look great and the opposite is true on the reliable ones.