So, i ordered a set of tires (General Exclaim's) because i didn't want to run the RFs that came with my 09 cooper. I figured i'd just bring my car to the dealership to get them installed. When i came to pick up my car after work the bill was $155! is this common at a BMW dealership? Mind you, i'm in canada, so it might be a little more expensive than in the US, but i've never paid more than $60 after tax for a tire change. I think this is just a little bit rediculous. What have other been paying at the dealer for a tire change?

 

Most installers charge a premium to remove run-flats, so that may be a factor, plus there would be a charge to mount and balance your new tires. And, there may be a 'tire disposal fee' even though your removed tires are new. Yes, the number is high, but not unimaginably high.

 

I just paid $115 at a non-dealer shop for my mount/balance of new tires

 

Next time you get any work done get an estimate before the work is done so you won't be shocked after the fact. That way if you don't like the price you can either try and negotiate or go somewhere else.

 

Where did you purchase the tires? Tire dealers often have "free" mounting and balancing, but the cost is really just included in the price of the tire. On TireRack, there's a list of recommended installers, and $20-$35 per tire seems to be the usual range for installation, so $155 for four at the dealer is about right, if you didn't purchase the tires from the dealer.

I've considered Tirerack before for tires, but found that when I added in shipping costs and the mounting and balancing costs, the savings were marginal or non-existant for regular all-season passenger tires. I also prefer doing business locally, in case there's an issue with the tires.

 

Cost me $50 to mount and balance four tires on my MINI last fall. Tires were shipped from discounttiredirect.com and I brought in the tires and the car. They did the rest.

Keep in mind they have to pay a factory trained technician whatever the flat rate fee is for mounting and balancing a tire, even if he does it in a fraction of the time it says it is supposed to take.

That is why experienced mechanics love it when they have to perform a 30K or similar maintenance on a car. They get paid for 4 hours of labor, even if they can do it in two. When I was a service writer some techs got paid for a 10 or 12 hour day when they were physically only there for 8 hours.

Browser has it right, always ask for an estimate, in writing.

 

It cost me $136 at a local tire dealer when I needed to get tires fitted.

 

sounds like a normal dealer price to me...

 

Like mentioned previously, most places charge anywhere from 15-20 a tire.
Plus a tire disposal fee.
Now mind you, almost ALL dealerships charge a higher mark-up on services such as this. In the future, I highly recommend calling around to tire installation places to do some comparative shopping.

I had bought a set of 18" aftermarket rims and a new set of tires off the internet, brought them to National Tire and Battery, they took the stock Web-Spokes off, removed the TPMS, fit them on the new rims, mounted and balanced the new high performance tires (high-performance/lower profile tires are an additional charge at most tire places to mount and balance) and sent me on my way for $130. There was no tire disposal fee since I took my old tires with me and sold them to a ricer on craigslist for $200 bucks!

 

Thats sounds a bit high, but not unreasonable for a dealership.

 

I had to get my 09 MC tires removed and changed for winter tires. The Mini dealer I was working with wanted to charge me something like a $150 dollars. So I went home with my new MC and went to Walmart and they changed the tires for about $55 instead. Although they didn't have Mini's in their computer, lol.

 

I went to walmart a month ago to installed a pair of runflats for $10. The service guy totally hooked me up.

I'm finally getting off my runflats with a set of kumho asx which i'll install tomorrow. i'm going to try a local dealer first and if not, i'll drive the extra miles for walmart.