Hi all,

I've done a search and can't seem to find a satisfactory answer... I was offered, by the dealer, the wheel/tire insurance. I am leaning away from it, because it is very expensive ($548 for 5 years) and I believe I could replace all 4 tires for less, but how pricey is it to get new or get rims fixed if they are damaged? Also what kind of money am I looking at to replace a damaged/blown out run-flat? I have the 16 inch wheels that come with the cooper sport package.

I've got until tomorrow to decide. I've been driving for 16 years without a tire/wheel problem (knock wood!) and wonder if I'd be throwing money away.

TIA!
Jenny

 

Yea....I wouldn't get it, especially since you have a spare (if needed). It's just BS to get you to spend more money. You can get performance tires for pretty cheap...under $100, so I imagine regular all seasons would be even cheaper. For tires, check out www.vulcantire.com for the best prices. I just repaired a bent 17" S-lite and it was $125...but if you DO bend a rim, it would probably be easier just to find a spare off of here (NAM) or buy a whole new set of aftermarket.

Hope that helps.
-Cody

 

I concur with Cody. $548 would easily get you a new set of skins (I just paid under $400 for 205/50 16's at Firestone, and got the Dunlap F something-or-others from tirerack.com for almost half that previously). Rims are pricey, but when was the last time you bent a rim?

 

Actually, $548 is pretty close to getting you new rims and tires at www.tirerack.com

 

But if you decide to stay on RunFlats....

I had a nail dead center of the contact patch, and made the misteak of going to a MINI dealer for tire reparis.

BMW/MINI does not repair RunFlats. They make you buy new ones.

1 tire, mounted and balanced with new wheel weights... Just under $290.

For that price I could have had 3 brand new Kuhmo ECSTA's!!!

I will NEVER head back to a BMW/MINI dealer for tire repairs/tires!

Maintenance, brakes, Warentied items and such yes but NEVER TIRES!

 

But make sure that where ever you go with your runflats, that they have the right equipment to work on them. Or they could damage your rim/tire beyond repair.

 

Thanks y'all. That was pretty much what I was thinking. I don't know if I will stick with run flats forever, but they are fine for now. I'm a daily driver, not a performance gal... for now...

Jenny

 

About a month ago.

Yea...the RF's are good for me right now...especially when I hit that pothole and bent a rim....I was able to get home. Anyway...just because I can't afford new tires...I'm sticking with the RF's for a while. When they wear out I will be replacing them with some Falken Azenis RT-615's.

-Cody

 

Hay Cody I can show you how to wear out those RFs real quick. Glade to see you got your rim repair and back on the road next time I will point out the potholes.

 

Thanks Ralph! Hey...have you talked to Justin? I'm fearing he doesn't like me anymore lol. He's not returning my calls or e-mails. PM me!

Anyway...I'm hoping to auto-x with you Ralph next year when I'm 18....also would like to join BMWCCA and do some track time.

-Cody

 

Well, I'll play the other side of the fence on this one....

I see you're in NYC. Are there a LOT of potholes? I live in the pothole capital of the world. Probably why that insurance wasn't offered to me. I am currently riding on three bent S-lite rims and four bad run flat tires. Because I have hit potholes. AND, I navigate around them real well, too. When a pothole runs the width of your lane, and you've nowhere to go? BAM. And we also have MAJOR ridges in our highways. Almost like speedbumps in the middle of a 65 mph section of highway. ANYONE from NE Ohio can feel where I'm coming from on all this.

Knowing what I know now, and had the insurance been offered? Heck ya' I would have gotten the insurance. BUT, I also need to start doing research on rims and tires that I want. I definitely want performance!!!! Oh, and I'm a gal who started out as a daily driver, too.

 

for $548 I'll ship you a set of S-lites, less than 200 miles on them

definitely not worth it, you can find a set of take-offs for less than the cost of the insurance. . .

 

The reason I opted for the standard all season 15" was cost based and the fact that at no time will I ever drive my MINI where it would require anything but the 15" tires.

 

I've bent 2 in the past year - Damned northeast.

The first time I replaced my tires it cost me almost $900, OEM Dunlops drop-shipped from TireRack to a local tire place, which did the mounting and balancing. So the second time I replaced them (after finding out about one bent rim) I ordered a tire/wheel package, because it was only ca$300 more than I paid for the first tire replacement (and I got better tires, too). It took me about a month to bend one of the new rims. :impatient

Take from that what you will -- I probably wouldn't buy the insurance, personally... but I'd factor in the road conditions where you live.

 

You may not know, but you ARE a performance gal now that you own a MINI.

FWIW, I wouldn't but the insurance from the Dealer either.

There's a tire store here in Texas that offers a Road Hazard policy on the run flats even if you didn't get the tires from them (I think it was around $125). I bought it when I picked up my used '04 MCS and I've used it once since I bought it... it's already paid for itself.

Good Luck,
Mike

 

I feel very lucky. I haven't bent a rim in decades...and I aim for every pothole, just to show 'em who's boss!

 

Right now I drive to and from the burbs 2-3 times per week... minimal city driving and she's garaged the rest of the time. While my dealer was very good to me, I opted out of the tire insurance... it just didn't seem worth it. I love everything about this car. Even sitting in stop and go traffic for the first half of my commute home was a joy because I was sitting in my mini. I am sure that too will pass. My cute little midwife-mobile!

Jenny

 

I don't know nothin' 'bout birthin' no babies, but the jot of sitting ANYWHERE (traffic included) in your MINI never wears off!