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Our MINI Countryman needs £2000 of work - is this reasonable for a relatively young car?

We have a 2014 MINI Cooper D All4 Countryman, that's done 28,000 miles. It has recently developed a whining sound and the MINI dealer has identified it as a transfer box problem. The parts, labour etc will cost £2114. Is this reasonable for a car less than four years old and reasonably low mileage? If not, can you suggest our best course of action?

Asked on 11 January 2018 by Trevor Marklew

Answered by Honest John
This sort of thing can happen due to a disparity between the tyres of more than 3mm. The system detects that as slippage, engages 4WD when it doesn't need to be and causes undue wear. Buyers of cars with 'automatic' AWD systems need to be made aware of this. I've been trying to make them aware for a couple of years, but really dealers should be compelled to warn buyers before they drive away in the cars.
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