Casper

Is time for new tires on my 545 and I only have 12 months left on the lease.

The OEM run flats were horrible, BMW refused my claim, I had to replace them at 12k miles with Good Year Eagle , great tires.

BMW claims I have to return the car with run flats, has anyone returned a car with regular tires? What is the experience? Do they really demand run flats?

I have just turned in a Z4 and a big part of the lease end inspsection was for the tires, they demanded run flats, and mine had them so there was no problem.

But with my 545 I would hate to drive the last 12 months on those horrible RFT.

Chappy

I just pick up my car two days ago, and I asked the my sales guy the same question. He said that the tires must come back with 6/32 tread left. I then repeated my question "Do i need to return the car with run flats". His answer was the same...I take it would be a don't ask, don't tell and you should be fine as long as the tread wear was ok.

unit

I asked BMW Financial Services directly a few weeks back, and here is their response:

Dear Mr. xxxxxxx:

Thank you for contacting BMW Financial Services regarding your 2006 BMW 530i.
We will be happy to assist you.

When your vehicle is inspected at the end of lease, we ask that the vehicle be
returned in the same state it was originally leased in, less normal wear and
tear.? Therefore, if the vehicle came with run flat tires, we require it to be
returned with run flat tires, with acceptable tire tread depth.? We apologize if
this causes any inconvenience for you.

Thank you for your business.? If you have further questions, please respond to
this e-mail or consult a Lease End Specialist, Monday through Friday from 9:00
A.M. to 9:00 P.M., Eastern Standard Time, at 1-800-959-4269.

I'm not sure they would even check for the tire type when it is inspected at lease end, but you would be taking a fairly expensive chance. Hope this helps.

jet190rs

Well besides the amount of tread, did you notice them checking the type of tire your Z4 had?

You might want to check your lease agreement or lease documents if it demands the car to be returned with RFTs. If you lease a car that came with regular Bridgestone tires, and you return it with regular Michelin tires, then its fine as long as there's enough tread. People change tires brands all the time. This is probably what you can argue for - that you're allowed to change brands and types of tires.

One suggestion, if you want to play it safe, is to store your existing RFTs away and put them back on right before lease end (assuming there's enough tread on them now).

Casper

The lease return inspection mentioned the run flat tires specifically, with brand and size, it even included the serial numbers, it was a big part of the inspection report.

Evenflow545

They have to replace your tires with new runflats, if you have a noise claim, and I'm sure that you can tolerate the new ones they give you for 12 months. Everyone at BMW NA knows about the tire problem on the 545s. If they won't replace the tires, after you intimidate the field engineer, I'd buy the cheapest runflats known to man, and then tell your dealership that you're never doing business with them again, and run the car straight through their showroom window, upon return. Just kidding. Just run it into the side of the building.

I want everyone on this board to get some sack and stand up to these folks. It's not like we're leasing or buying $20,000.00 cars. The standard equipment ought to work properly.

EBMCS03

Thats what I was going to suggest too. Drive the run flats a but use enough tires and then replace them with ones you like use all that up and when its time to return the car put the original run flats back on and give it back to them.

mp0i

I just receieved a new set of Dunlop runflats from my dealer. My old ones had 19K on them and were starting to roar. My dealer did right by me and simply replaced the tires. Funny thing is, I already had a set of replacement tires in my garage that I bought off the E60 Classifieds. Anyway, one recommendation is to pick up a set of runflats off the guys that are changing out their wheels and tires. My extra set of tires cost $500 plus $50 shipping to CA. That's a lot better than buying new at $275 a tire. I asked my dealer about the run flat issue upon lease return and he indicated that they would take it but to make the car a CPO, the dealer needs to have runflats on it.

Robert A

The lease agreement probably says that the car has to be returned with BMW Approved tires. In other words, you don't have the freedom to put anything you want like some cheapo Korean tires -- they have to meet factory specs for your make and model car, which in this case probably means RFTs.