Hello,

Enjoy reading your forum, and will be getting a Mini Copper S very soon. I wanted some advice on the wheels. I went to the dealership and they informed me that 16" were standard but if I wanted the 17" web spoke wheels I would have to pay $1250 and some other fees, and that I would still have to keep the 16" wheels. Is this normal? What would you recommend? I just want the 17" wheels when I purchase the car and don't want to be taken.

Thanks,
Mick

 

Just go online to MINI USA ( http://miniusa.com/#/MINIUSA.COM-m )and choose "build" from the top menu, --- and you can see the options and pricing -- the short answer to your question is no it is not normal.

If it where me I would purchase after market wheels less expensive and many more choices.

 

Normal or not depends on if you are buying the car from dealer inventory off the lot.

If you are buying a car that the dealer already has and it has 16" wheels on it, then buying the 17" wheels is expensive. And they do not have to take back the 16" wheels. Of course it is not good customer service for them to not buy them back but they really do not have to.

If on the other hand you are ordering a car to your specs then it is totally wrong of the dealer to tell you this. as the car will come with the wheels you want and not the 16" if you do not want them.

As ron-s mini said there are a lot of other wheels out there to buy that are less expensive. IMHO o really do not like any of them but that is just my opinion.

 

Get the sport package and it will come with the 17" wheels factory installed along with xenon headlights, bonnet stripes, DSC, white turn signals for about that same price.

 

Hey Mick, just went through this when we ordered a MCS. We were told that the price included the 16" wheels w/runfats. Period. So, since you are 'paying' for them anyway, you may well take them.

This gives you the option of going out now and buying the OEM 17" wheel or an aftermarket wheel of your choice. Also, buy new runflats, or switch to non-runflats.

Once you get your new MINI, march on down to your local tire center and get your new wheels/tires installed and sell off the stock 16" setup.

In the end you get exactly what you want and hopefully save a few bucks.

Good Luck

Lloyd

 

+1

 

Except when you ORDER a car it comes with the rims and tires you specify. If you specify 17" wheels on the order then that is what you get, you do NOT get an extra set of 16" rims and tires.

 

The build process seemed a bit odd. If you opt for a package or a wheel in the performance section the stock 16's are replaced with your new wheel selection. If you pick a wheel from the JCW or accessories section, you pay for the new wheel and still get the 16's. (by 'get' I don't mean they deliver the car with the 16's in the back. It's still listed as part of the order)

The base price includes the 16's. If you replace with 17" web spokes, you pay an extra $1250. That does not look like you got a 'credit' for the 16's. Just seemed expensive to me.

For us, it was less expensive to buy the wheels/tire separately and sell off the stock wheels that come with the car. Lots of options....made my head spin...

 

That is just like any other option you select. You do not get a credit for the original part. I.E. steering wheel upgrade. light package upgrade, any upgrade.

But if the OP really wants the Web Spokes then he should add the package deal and get Xenon head lights, headlight washers, bonnet strips, and DTC for free.


well tehy do say over 10 million configurations are possible. But I did not find it hard at all.

 

You have to go through the variations and decide what works best for you financially, but there's really nothing mysterious. In steps 1-4 of the MINIUSA configurator, you choose the wheels that will be installed at the factory. You keep whatever wheels are specified in steps 1-4. If you select wheels from steps 5-6, you are buying them separately from the dealer as an accessory. They are an additional purchase, not a swap where you pay the difference . Many wheels (such as JCW) are not available installed at the factory and you must purchase them separately from the dealer.

If you are buying a car off the dealer lot, anything goes and it's whatever you can negotiate with the dealer.

 

Yeah, buying the wheels in step 5/6 and keeping the original four wheels is the way to go. That way, if one of your new wheels gets damaged, you can use one of your four spares (of course, it'll handle kinda funny with different sized wheels, but you soon get the hang of it)...

 

Bah, standard wheels /= youification. Also, aftermarket wheel options can be much cheaper than OEM. My advice would be keep whatever they give you standard to use for your winter setup and pay substantially less for a nice set of aftermarket rims.

Unless of course you don't get to "enjoy" winter