I'm new here and new to cars in general so please excuse the simplicity of this post!

I'm buying new tires off tirerack.com (Kumho Ecsta PA31) and I want to know if you all think it's acceptable to have the alignment and suspension checked and to have 4 new tires installed at a place that isn't a MINI dealership. The manual always says go to the MINI dealer but they are so expensive that I'm thinking of going to STS Tire and Auto Center. What do you all think? It's the one in sicklerville, nj fyi.

Thanks in advance!

 

Skip the dealer. Tirerack lists installers on their site, and I've been totally pleased by one of the independents they list for my area. Just check to see if they do alignments, too, but the MINI is not some rare beast that only the dealer can align.

 

I would trust a tire shop more than the dealer to install tires!!!

 

Thank you! I didn't know about tirerack's installer list so I'll be sure to check it out!

 

The dealer is NOT the place to have anything tire related done. I use the local Discount Tire store.

 

Each tire center or dealer is only as good as the dude doing the work. My former favorite tire shop has seen a change of employees and now they can't even fill the tires evenly with air after install. Mini dealer got that part right, and the cost was the same or less than the local shops. YMMV

 

On something like tires, the MINI isn't particularly special, so any competent tire shop should have no difficulty. The sensors for the TPMS do require a little special attention, but no more than any other make. Another consideration is that your dealer may not be willing to install parts/tires that they didn't supply. Or they may refuse to put non-runflat tires on a car that was originally equipped with runflats. I've bought several sets of tires through TireRack and had good experiences with their recommended installers. Welcome, and good luck!

 

Take photos of your wheels prior to taking it in. Proof of their condition should they ding them during the change.

 

I had a great experience buying winter tires/TPMS from Tire Rack. The installer had an issue with the TPMS and the folks at Tire Rack worked with them to figure the problem out. Didn't damage the wheels and bagged my other wheels/tires so they wouldn't dirty the interior.

 

Dealerships always seem to have the highest rate on mounting and balancing tires as they have higher paid technicians and more overhead to do the job. So a tire shop is always going to beat the dealer price on tires.

Now before you order from rack go to your local tire shop and talk to them. Most tire shop will actually charge you more to install tires you purchase from tire rack. It's like bringing your own steak to a restaurant and asking them to cook it. Also tire shops have to sell XXXX number of tires to be a licensed dealer for XXXX brand and maintain their margins.

So talk with your tire guy, a good tire shop can give you good advise on what will fit your needs, offer you any incentives avail., and the most important thing which you need no matter where you get the tires is to have them mounted and balanced.

 

Take a look at your old tires and that will tell you if you need an alignment or not. If they've worn down evenly just mount/balance the new tires.

 

I just had a great experience with ordering tires from DiscountTireDirect.com and having them installed by my local Discount Tire. I think going with them, or TireRack is the way to go.