Are we on a MINI or Subaru site here? Subaru extended warranty?
I have found Bridgestone tires to not wear gracefully in the long run. The tires are pretty good initially but once you get up into the higher mileage on them, they start to get noisy. Really annoyingly noisy. But that may be because of the size of my tires (17" wheels). I have had the same issue in the past with Goodyear tires also. Still, non-runflat tires seem to be a lot more robust than the Pirelli runflats that came with my car.
I'm not sure about other areas in Canada, but the price of a brake job at MINI Yaletown was not out of line with the aftermarket. I got front and rear pads and front rotors replaced for under $700 taxes included. This was far less than what I paid for the same thing on my family car (a Buick). So you should check with the MINI dealer. If you think you can get the parts for cheaper, I think most of the MINI dealers are
mod friendly and will just charge you labour for the work. But I think the dealers here in Vancouver are fairly reasonable with their pricing, especially if you belong to one of the clubs.
I seem to go through a set of brakes in 3 to 4 years of daily commuter and a few roadtrips type of driving. This would be pretty good for a car with ABS and traction/stability control. Your mileage will vary depending what you do with your car.
