Have the 2009MCS and was recommended by the dealership to replace my front tires, which I understand that I'd eventually need to do. They also mentioned replacing tire mounts and an alignment. The two tire replacement is estimated at $530 and the alignment for $300. I used to take my previous car to a mechanic I've known for years but he specialized in japanese cars. Should I go through the dealership or can I get these things done for my beautiful MCS through someone else for less?

 

Go somewhere else. $530 will get you a great set of non run-flat tires (better than what's on the car, IMHO) from a lot of places, and that's almost twice what my MINI dealer charges for an alignment (three times what my local shop charges).

Call your old mechanic.

MINIs aren't magic cars (although there are some MINI "magick" tools in the BMW tradition). A good mechanic/car-care guy you trust can do most anything you want/need.

 

I definitely felt like that was overpriced but wanted to check here. Thanks

 

You can take the written estimate to your mechanic and ask if he can do anything for you but I don't think so.

What do you mean by tire mount? You mount and balance tires?

Also if you have an MCS then you have 205/45-17 runflat tires? If so then you would want to match your rear tires to your fronts and move the rear wheels to the fronts.

Alignment is only done at shops that have the equiptment. In the case of a MINI ask for a four wheel thrust alignment. Your old mechanic may lack this equiptment.

To find a less costly source of the replacement runflats try Alex@tirerack.com and where your nearest local installer (as recommended by tirerack.com) and perhaps they do alignment too. You have your tires sent to the installer directly and they call you when they come in.

 

Thanks! I'll check that out. Unsure of what he meant when he said tire mount but he did mention moving rear wheels to the front.

 

I'm surprised they didn't quote you the muffler bearings!

What tires are those that cost $265 each? Must be RFT crap with dealer markup. Do yourself a favor, order tires from TireRack, and ship them to a nearest TR-recommended installer, listed here: http://www.tirerack.com/installer/index.jsp

Tire mounting does not require a particular car specialist. In fact, I would trust a tire shop to do a better job of mounting and balancing the wheels (especially if they have road-force balancer) then ANY dealer.

There is ABSOLUTELY NO need to re-align the car when you install new tires. NONE. ZERO.
Unless: you see abnormal tire wear, were in an accident recently, or have just installed new suspension components.

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Good to know. I'll be sure to go to my usual tire guy.

 

If folks are going to take the time to respond to a post from your phones, one should at least take the time to actually read what the OP wrote....In this case an alignment is absolutely necessary IF the MINI has the "recommended services performed" - Replacing front mounts. And that was the Rec for her MINI.

Abnormal tire wear in a MINI is more typical at the rear not the front unless it has alignment or suspension component issues. In this case the tech noted replacing front tires, and recommended new MOUNTs be installed/alignment....

And while one could just throw on new tires and call it a day, the OP will be back for more tires sooner than later if suspension components are out of spec. Worn or cracked mount(s) will cause excessive camber in our cars and poor handling when driving thru water on the road.

- Muffler bearings ?

IMO you get what you pay for and you'll prob never get a better MINI alignment than one done by a BMW/MINI alignment specialist. Specs for that alignment can vary depending on your stock suspension ( obtained by VIN ) which after/inde shops will not be privy to....

And as a matter of research on this very subject, I actually purchased a set of inexpensive upper strut mounts on ebay then compared them to stock since they were about half the price. The ebay ones were of lighter construction, metals/rivets and seemed to be cheap knock off's from china.....not a component of our suspension system I would go cheap on IMO.

PS: Would only add that it would also be necessary when changing wheel/tire size when circumference of the set up is different than OEM.

 

<gRay rAvEN>,
You are missing the point: the dealer was trying to hose <magineary> by quoting replacement of "tire mounts". Whatever that may be.

There were no references made to replacing suspension components. If those were damaged, they would either be replaced under warranty, or <magineary> would have been told what those were and the price quote would have been much higher then what was stated.


I could not disagree more.
There is not mystery to factory Mini alignment specs. They are preloaded into most alignment wreck databases. You can also Google for the details.
Nor is there much to adjust - only front and rear toe. Camber and caster, front and rear, are fixed by the OEM suspension components.

If curious, more info here: http://www.underhoodservice.com/Arti...ni_cooper.aspx
http://www.juanjchong.com/wp-content...-44-29_472.jpg

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