BMW Run Flats

[jerseyguy357]

I just bought a 2010 BMW 428I and it has runflats that need to be changed. It has a very hard ride. the guys at discount tire quoted me
$1,400 to replace them. Here is the kicker. I am not cheap, I am Broke! Please let me know the most inexpensive brand. My car has
two 225 45 18 and 255 40 18 and I only go 5K per year. Thanks for your help

 

[BMWTurboDzl]

The cheapest is their house brand "go flat" tire. Just keep a slime kit in the trunk in case you get a flat

 

[slacktide_bitog]

Are you sure it's a 2010 428i? I can't find that when searching for tires in your size. The 4-series wasn't split off until 2013

Chuck those stupid runflats and replace them with regular tires. The cheapest all-season tires in your size combination 225/45-18 and 255/40-18 seem to be the Landspider CityTraxx Front Rear, which will be under $400 installed

The cheapest all-weather tires available in both sizes seem to be the Nitto Motivo 365 for $600 plus installation at a local shop, so $700-800 installed.

Yeah, expensive tires aren't the only reason used BMW's are so cheap

 

[meep]

BMW may not be the best “budget” vehicles out there. They have excellent engineering behind them IMO but do require maintenance and generally prefer OEM parts.

But yeah. Ditch the run flats it will ride much better. You can buy “spare kits” for a couple of hundo for these and keep in the trunk, or roll the dice with a patch kit and air compressor. Do not use slime, it creates quite a mess later.

 

[wavinwayne]

BMW may not be the best “budget” vehicles out there. They have excellent engineering behind them IMO but do require maintenance and generally prefer OEM parts.

As someone who drives an older BMW daily, I couldn't agree more. Some are expensive to maintain/repair, and others are VERY expensive. If I was broke and needed a dependable daily driver, I'd try to buy a used car maintained by @The Critic

 

[slacktide_bitog]

As someone who drives an older BMW daily, I couldn't agree more. Some are expensive to maintain/repair, and others are VERY expensive.

BMW may not be the best “budget” vehicles out there. They have excellent engineering behind them IMO but do require maintenance and generally prefer OEM parts.

But yeah. Ditch the run flats it will ride much better. You can buy “spare kits” for a couple of hundo for these and keep in the trunk, or roll the dice with a patch kit and air compressor. Do not use slime, it creates quite a mess later.

This.
OP should've gotten a Mazda2 (a decent Fit would likely be too expensive). An older BMW is not the car for someone who is broke

 

[CleanSump]

There were no 428i until 2014. Not sure what you have there.
#1 Girl's 2008 328i came with hard riding runflats. First time she needed new tires we got Bridgestone runflats recommended by a majority of forum guys who didn't insist Michelin or die.
The Bridgestones were much softer riding without giving up any control or weather traction.
For cheap, the guys already pointed out the best options price wise.
We've had no major work on any of our BMWs. Recalls, coolant tank and hoses. That's it. But we didn't get them used, so no dealing with PO's problems.

 

[edyvw]

I just bought a 2010 BMW 428I and it has runflats that need to be changed. It has a very hard ride. the guys at discount tire quoted me
$1,400 to replace them. Here is the kicker. I am not cheap, I am Broke! Please let me know the most inexpensive brand. My car has
two 225 45 18 and 255 40 18 and I only go 5K per year. Thanks for your help

I remember during the Great Recession, one girl had an MB C230 Kompressor but ended up on food stamps. People were always questioning her because of Mercedes. But, true story was that she lost the job, paid off the car, did everything by the rules, and now she was broke. Paid off car is always better than one you have to make payments on.
That being said, if you are in that situation, you should try to figure out how to offload that car for something simple. You are driving a sports limousine, not an appliance vehicle. That comes with territory, and I am a BMW guy, and I will drive BMW ICE until I die.
But, like any luxury sports car, things are sophisticated, made for performance. BMW's don't like cheap stuff.
Guess what am I doing today? Changing coolant hose on 2011 328 (I am assuming you have 328). Why? Because at 100k, I gave the guy who owned the Euro shop at that time to change all coolant hoses. I told him get BMW OE hoses. He got half a BMW, half of them, Rein, to "save me some money." Well, 60k later, here I am changing that cheap hose bcs. It started to sweat around the connection.
So, no, you don't need RFT tires; get something from the DT brand, whatever it is. Do alignment so you don't mess up your investment.
If you can swing some maintenance items on a car, I can help you figure that out so you do not stay without vehicle bcs. Some cheap part you did not see the need to change.

 

[Kestas]

I bought a BMW with run flats. Once they wore out I bought the regular go-flat tires and a mini-spare with tools. BMW still designed the vehicle with a spare tire well for a spare. They left out the spare to save weight for whatever reason, probably for CAFE reasons.

 

[wavinwayne]

I bought a BMW with run flats. Once they wore out I bought the regular go-flat tires and a mini-spare with tools. BMW still designed the vehicle with a spare tire well for a spare. They left out the spare to save weight for whatever reason, probably for CAFE reasons.

The spare tire well is where the battery is on my 535d. Probably helps prolong its life since it's not in the hot engine bay.

 

[Marcozi]

My '18 M240i ain't got no stinkin' spare.