When I bought my used 2012 R57 Cooper S Cabrio in April I was just about to ask the selling dealer (not a MINI dealer, by the way) to replace the tires on the car with non-run-flat tires before I took delivery. But I fell so fast in love with the car that I sent my ride home and told them to prep the car for me right then and there.

The dealer is two hours from home - by car - and my ride to the dealer had left, so I didn't feel like tossing a wrench in the works. As it turns out, there is now a wrench in my tire life.

I have a favorite tire dealer here...and because the miles on the car are at 98,000 I'm just about out of any warranty the original owner purchased and I don't really have a loyalty to the local MINI dealer except for warranty work. But that local tire shop has two strikes against it (they count as three because any one strike means I have to go elsewhere for my tires).

1 - Their policy is not to replace run-flats with non-run-flats. BUT I can almost get around this because the run-flat tires on the car are on wheels that I'm taking off for the rest of the summer. I am bringing in my own set of new 17x7.5 inch wheels. Onto these new wheels I planned to have them put the new traditional tires.

2 - As of last year, they didn't have a four-wheel alignment machine and therefore couldn't align my car and drivetrain as needed when you put on new wheels and tires.

SO...I'm in a bind.

I can order from Tire Rack (yes, I'm planning to put TPMS sensors on the wheels I already own). BUT I already own four perfectly good wheels.

I could buy new tires and equipment from my MINI dealer - does anyone know if they have a policy about run-flats vs. non-run-flats? BUT the price at MINI is going to be substantially more for all phases of the job. Alignment, install, sensors, tires, etc.

Or I could call around and see if Firestone, Town Fair Tire, NTB or other shop - we don't have Pep Boys and I've already crossed Costco off the list - will do the swap, install and alignment.

Any advice? The wheels I have are used, but in fine condition and I plan to switch back and forth twice a year until the run-flats on the existing 16-inch wheels are done. Then I'll upgrade those tires to non-run-flats as well and then continue to do the wheel swap in the spring and fall.

**Best thing is by buying a set of tires, the swapping, balancing and so forth is covered when moving sets of tires back and forth. And until new rubber is purchased, I won't be back in the 'need an alignment' camp for a couple years.

Oh, one last thing...here is what I'm looking at for tires... Your thoughts on these brands and models would be great, too.




That total price is before the discounts noted. The BF Goodrich are buy-two-get-two free with the install I plan to have done anyhow. The other two brands offer an $80 rebate.

Thanks in advance!

Jeff