[courtinnyc]

Someone has punctured my front and rear tires on the drivers side of my MC. The tires are runflats, and the service department at my local dealer - MINI of Manhattan - quoted me at $856 to replace both tires, alignment and labor included. I'm figuring it must be cheaper to take it somewhere else and put a whole new set of non-runflats on ... but I'm not sure what to do. Does anyone have any suggestions? I guess I'm wondering what good non-runflats might run me and if anyone knows any good tire shops in the New York City area I'm all ears!

Thanks for your help-
-Court

 

[dansmini]

Yeah, you can get a nice set of take off wheels AND tires for way less than that! The runflats should cost about $120-$150 each from a store (or tirerack.com). Just for reference, I got a barely used set of 16" 5 stars with runflats off of ebay for $450. But I am assuming you need this fixed NOW, so what I would suggest is determine a couple of acceptable non-runflat options that you wouldn't mind getting and call around for pricing for the whole set to be done. If you are pinched for cash, you could get the two damaged tires replaced with non-runflats and put both of those wheels on the rear of the car, and put the two remaining runflats on the front. Someone on here will probably try to lynch me for saying that, but I know others on here have combined runflats and non-runflats.

 

[MyWiniCooper]

HOW HORRIBLE! damn them punk ass monkies!

Anyway theres a few threads here and there about non-run flats.
and from what i remember, these stock run-flats arent all that great.

theres a storm thats pasing through here in the bay area (california) and driving home through the peak of the storm a few days ago, i was hydroplaning left and right. it wasent anything to throw me out of control or anything, but thats what happens with lower profile tired... i guess.

the wierd part was that the DSC never kicked in. i suppose i should be glad.

 

[Cooper76]

what goes around comes around...they will get theirs, they are only too ignorant to realize it...

 

[courtinnyc]

Thanks for the quick replies!

The local ETD Tire shop quoted me $564 for a new set of Yokohama AVS ES100 tires, including alignment and labor. I'm already saving 300 bucks.

But if have 16" 5-spoke wheels -- the ones in the factory-installed sport package -- what size tires do I need to get?

 

[dansmini]

Check this out:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/faq.php?faq=faq_wheels_tyres#faq_faq_replacement_tires

 

[courtinnyc]

So just a final note to serve as a warning to all New York area MINI drivers:
MINI of Manhattan wanted to charge me $864 for two new runflats with installation.
Prestige MINI in Mahwah NJ will do the same job for about $430... half the cost... I guess their rent isn't quite as high.

It's still a lot of cash, but this whole experience is just another reminder of how Manhattan gouges you!

I'll stick with my runflats for now -- and when it's time to replace them, I'll ditch them for conventional tires.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[MyWiniCooper]

you're in NYC!
take the metro! The R train was my best friend when i was in manhattan for a month. =)

 

[milliethemini]

Yeah, you can get a nice set of take off wheels AND tires for way less than that! The runflats should cost about $120-$150 each from a store (or tirerack.com). Just for reference, I got a barely used set of 16" 5 stars with runflats off of ebay for $450. But I am assuming you need this fixed NOW, so what I would suggest is determine a couple of acceptable non-runflat options that you wouldn't mind getting and call around for pricing for the whole set to be done. If you are pinched for cash, you could get the two damaged tires replaced with non-runflats and put both of those wheels on the rear of the car, and put the two remaining runflats on the front. Someone on here will probably try to lynch me for saying that, but I know others on here have combined runflats and non-runflats.

Hey Dan,

I did a double take when I read this, seeing that I had bought your 16" 5 stars from you over a year ago to put my winter tyres on them - but realized that you got white ones this time, plus they had runflats on them too!!! Not a bad deal!!

 

[dansmini]

Yeah, it was a decent deal. I did forget to mention that with shipping the set was more like $530.

 

[vagt6]

Sorry to hear about the vandalism to your MINI!

Tire slashing is probably covered by your auto insurance policy, as you may know. Your can submit the invoices for repairs to your insurer, you'll most likely be reimbursed for the entire amount, minus deductible and maybe some depreciation for wear to the tires.

Give it a shot!