mini cooper s auto transmission issue.
 

the other day I was riding in my friend's auto 06 mini cooper s with around 60k miles and I noticed every time the car shifted it shuddered, my immediate thought was the fluid probably has to be changed... So she took it to the dealer and they said that she needed a completely new transmission (for 10k !). Anyways I was wondering if it's worth it to just go ahead and change the fluid/filter just to see if it would help or trust the dealer.
I'm usually not one to go to the dealer if I don't have a warranty issue... but I've never worked with BMW/mini dealerships...

The dealer probably said it needed a new tranny because most dealers don't service parts anymore, they just replace them.

BMW wouldn't service the tranny on my old M3 beyond fluids, if something broke they wanted to replace the whole thing. Doesn't surprise me Mini does the same thing

Take it to a smaller mechanic and get a second opinion. Could be she just needs new fluid, could be a larger issue. I had a car that did super jerky shifts because one of the solenoids in the transmission was clogged with clutch material.

Don't let the dealer do it!!!! They are ridiculous. The auto mini trans sucks. They almost always have issues. Call around to some different trans shops. You can usually find someone to do it fairly reasonable with a rebuilt or low mile used trans.

Seeing as how you could probably find another used 06 mini s for around that same price that's pretty rediculous. ..

Drive it till it breaks. I believe that model has "Lifetime Fluid". I doubt a fluid swap will fix it so the cost of the fluids and effort to swap it might not be worth it. Here is a nice Pelican Parts (great place for BMW/Porsche info/parts) article:

http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...uid_Change.htm

Here is a nice law suit over the Minis and the "Lifelong Fluid":

http://abcnews.go.com/Business/mini-...ry?id=20579484