I didn't order black wheel rims for my current ordered Mini. Was turned off when one MA was telling me how difficult it was to maintain and if you curb it (which my wife has a uncanny ability to do), it just looks really bad and noticeable.

I still am interested to order some black rims for my next Mini.

From those that have black wheel rims....how difficult is it to maintain ? Would you do it again?

 

Not difficult at all...I'm kinda confused as to why your MA said that?

I have black rims and I love it! All that brake dust before I changed my pads was terrible but not noticeable if you had the silver alloy finish on the rims. If you do black, it's easier to maintain and I also recommend upgrading your brake pads to EBC(green or red stuff) or Hawk pads!

 

My current MA that I ordered the Mini from didn't say it. It was the lame MA which I dumped at a different dealer who said it.

He was saying scuffs can be easily seen because of coloration, if not cleaned more often than silver alloy they look ragged and they really look bad. Who knows it could just be his personal preference . Same time I would like to give it a try for a contrast to the car colors

 

Scuffs can be seen if your not careful but for a year and a half I've had no issues. I always park far away and if I do park next to the curb, I look carefully. I'm sure you'll be fine. If I had to do it over, if still get black rims.

 

If you do get a little curb rash, go to an auto parts store and get DupliColor "Universal Black". You can easily touch up a black wheel with that. FWIW, black wheels don't completely hide brake dust. The dust appears like an orange-ish film on the wheels. It is also matte, while the wheels are glossy. Definitely not as noticeable as on the silver wheels, though.

As an aside, my 2010 R56 had factory black Bridge Spoke wheels. My Countryman has silver wheels. Apparently, MINI has changed the composition of the brake pads, because my wheels stay cleaner much longer than the silver wheels on my 2006 R50. Those would be filthy after 2-3 days.

 

Black wheels aren't too bad to maintain, but they will show curbing more than silver wheels. What about a set of black wheels with a polished lip?

Unless you REALLY like the MINI wheels and are willing to pay the big bucks for them, look at aftermarket wheels. There are some great looking wheels for less money and a much wider selection of styles.

 

I prefer black wheels cuz the help to hide the coal miner brake dust that builds up on the wheels.

I took my OEM silver wheels and had them stripped and powder coated black. Lots cheaper than buying a new set of oem wheels in black.

 

I won't be buying replacements. Sticking to my twin star spokes non blacks. But planning for my next mini which may come any time. I have a feeling my wife or kid will commandeer my mini the. I get to reorder.

 

I'm going into my second summer on a set of A-spec R112 replicas. One of them has a very minor scratch in it that you can't see unless you're really looking for it. I put two coats of wax on them this spring before they went on for the summer and the brake dust just washes right off still.
You can tell when they are dirty because like ASKtheteach said, brake dust is matte and the wheels are gloss. Other than that I've had no issues at all. I love my black wheels.