Basically, daughter bought a 2003 chili red mini cooper with about 68k miles. no warranty. from a local car dealer. (not bmw/cooper)

She took it to the closest BMW/Cooper dealer to do an oil change and check up on the car. (I think they saw a 19yo rich girl instead of starving art student.)

Their list of items to be fixed: (highest priority first)
1. Driver Read Upper Control Arm Bent - labor: .75hr, parts: $155
1. Read Pads - passenger, inner close - labor: 1hr, $93
2. Control Arm Bushing, shuddering - labor: 5.25hr, $82
2. Passenger, front struct leaking fluid, labor: 2.25hr, $166
3. Oil pan gasket seeping, residue - labor: 5.25hr, $36
3. Driver upper struct mount impacted, labor: 2.25hr, $60
also needs alignment, $160

She was not amused, since labor at least $100/hr. She is not interested in taking it back there.

So, instead of taking it to another cooper dealer (which is about 45min+ distance), how do I find a shop that can work on the car?

I asked a local brakeshop, and they said that they can work on the car if the parts are available from the dealer. But, is this a good idea?
(are coopers easy for the mechanics that probably only see hondas, fords, toyotas, etc most days?)

 

It's just a car, there's nothing special about working on it.