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I thought I would post this as a bit of advice/experience that saves money.
So, just received my fantastic MCSD 5 Door a few weeks ago. Love it to bits. After fitting steel winter wheels to my 2014 cooper for £530 from the dealer I thought I would do the same for the SD. I don't have lots of cash to burn but the 15 inch steels just weren't right enough for the 5 door SD so had to rethink.
Looking at the Mini website wheel configurator I found the standard loop alloy wheels plus TPMS sensors and winter tyres came in at an eye watering £1344. Just a bit too rich for my liking.
Next stop eBay. There are plenty of wheels for the R56 (2nd Gen mini) but little on offer for the F56 F55 as of yet. However, there's a guy on here that clearly works for BMW/MINI as he's got plenty of standard wheels on sale. They are second hand, but nonetheless they are cheap. I picked the standard loops (which I really like the design of anyway) for £200 inc. delivery.
The condition of them is good - albeit they have very slight markings. You get what you pay for, and I'm thinking the money I saved can be offset against retouching after the winter season is over.
Next thing, those expensive TPMS sensors. Took a gamble here. Didn't want to pay the £260 Mini were charging so looked at two options. Rather than go for 3rd party ones, I went for BMW ones. The same guy had them advertised as being suitable for BMWs, but didn't mention MINI. However, another german company did have them advertised as brand new for both BMW and MINI F56/F55 - these were priced at £170 which is still a good saving. Zoomed in on the pics, took at note of the part number which in my case was 6855539 and went back to the guy I'd bought the wheels from. He sold them to me for £90 for the four. Again, these were obviously used, but only barely.
Finally, bought the tyres from Black circles with fitting from a local independent garage (this was cheaper than going to the very same garage direct!). These were the same tyres that Mini would have fitted themselves. I tried calling the local Mini garage to get a price for fitting and tyres only and the best they could do even with discount was £100 more.
So went to the local garage (Laws in Altens, Aberdeen), they fitted the TPMS sensors and tyres onto the wheels and even wiped down my existing 'summer' wheel set and put them in bin bags and into the back of the car. All was done in just over half an hour. Really good, friendly service.
Finally, and the thing I was really worried about - resetting the TPMS sensors. I didn't have to worry. It doesn't matter that the sensors were on a different car originally. The fitter explained that it's down to the MHz rating (433MHz noted on these) and if that coincides with the car and the serial/part number. All I had to do was press the reset button in the centre console and within 6 miles the system had updated.
So all in, the cost of doing this was substantially less than going via the dealer. Dealer cost £1344 (though could get about 10% off I reckon), the money I spent was £730 so about a 40% saving even with a discount. You're using nearly new parts rather than brand new (tyres themselves are brand new), but it's still a saving worth doing and it will get cheaper or you'll have more options available to you as the new mini becomes more prevalent.
Happy boy. Going to treat the family to a meal to celebrate. Hope it helps someone thinking of the same thing.
Oh should mention, there is a big difference driving with winter tyres when the temperature drops - the car hugs the road beautifully. Haven't had the opportunity to test them out on snow as of yet, but have done so on the 2014 cooper and they're worth investing in.
Stay safe and keep those Mini's in tip top condition folks!
So, just received my fantastic MCSD 5 Door a few weeks ago. Love it to bits. After fitting steel winter wheels to my 2014 cooper for £530 from the dealer I thought I would do the same for the SD. I don't have lots of cash to burn but the 15 inch steels just weren't right enough for the 5 door SD so had to rethink.
Looking at the Mini website wheel configurator I found the standard loop alloy wheels plus TPMS sensors and winter tyres came in at an eye watering £1344. Just a bit too rich for my liking.
Next stop eBay. There are plenty of wheels for the R56 (2nd Gen mini) but little on offer for the F56 F55 as of yet. However, there's a guy on here that clearly works for BMW/MINI as he's got plenty of standard wheels on sale. They are second hand, but nonetheless they are cheap. I picked the standard loops (which I really like the design of anyway) for £200 inc. delivery.
The condition of them is good - albeit they have very slight markings. You get what you pay for, and I'm thinking the money I saved can be offset against retouching after the winter season is over.
Next thing, those expensive TPMS sensors. Took a gamble here. Didn't want to pay the £260 Mini were charging so looked at two options. Rather than go for 3rd party ones, I went for BMW ones. The same guy had them advertised as being suitable for BMWs, but didn't mention MINI. However, another german company did have them advertised as brand new for both BMW and MINI F56/F55 - these were priced at £170 which is still a good saving. Zoomed in on the pics, took at note of the part number which in my case was 6855539 and went back to the guy I'd bought the wheels from. He sold them to me for £90 for the four. Again, these were obviously used, but only barely.
Finally, bought the tyres from Black circles with fitting from a local independent garage (this was cheaper than going to the very same garage direct!). These were the same tyres that Mini would have fitted themselves. I tried calling the local Mini garage to get a price for fitting and tyres only and the best they could do even with discount was £100 more.
So went to the local garage (Laws in Altens, Aberdeen), they fitted the TPMS sensors and tyres onto the wheels and even wiped down my existing 'summer' wheel set and put them in bin bags and into the back of the car. All was done in just over half an hour. Really good, friendly service.
Finally, and the thing I was really worried about - resetting the TPMS sensors. I didn't have to worry. It doesn't matter that the sensors were on a different car originally. The fitter explained that it's down to the MHz rating (433MHz noted on these) and if that coincides with the car and the serial/part number. All I had to do was press the reset button in the centre console and within 6 miles the system had updated.
So all in, the cost of doing this was substantially less than going via the dealer. Dealer cost £1344 (though could get about 10% off I reckon), the money I spent was £730 so about a 40% saving even with a discount. You're using nearly new parts rather than brand new (tyres themselves are brand new), but it's still a saving worth doing and it will get cheaper or you'll have more options available to you as the new mini becomes more prevalent.
Happy boy. Going to treat the family to a meal to celebrate. Hope it helps someone thinking of the same thing.
Oh should mention, there is a big difference driving with winter tyres when the temperature drops - the car hugs the road beautifully. Haven't had the opportunity to test them out on snow as of yet, but have done so on the 2014 cooper and they're worth investing in.
Stay safe and keep those Mini's in tip top condition folks!
