Changing Tyres ..Through dealer or not ?

Depends on the machines and experience that the local tire shop has. Most mounting systems have metal pieces which can make some nice engravings on the wheels. Others, have a hard plastic which does not scratch should the mounting go wrong. A specialized shop should have these, a typical Firestone/Discount Tire would not, unless they've refreshed their machines.

How much would you be spending through the dealer?

 

Here's one of the better machines. It is only a few years old and much different than what I used back in the early 90's. http://www.hunter.com/pub/product/tirechanger/3814T/index.htm

 

Send the tires to your dealer.

 

The high hassle, low risk way:

I ordered a new set of Goodyear Eagles through Tire Rack, had them drop shipped to my Ferrari tech, where my car was in for its annual fluid service. The tech removed the wheels, and center caps, and his assistant took the wheels to the tire place he uses for the cars he works on (Miuras, vintage Ferraris, etc.); then the wheels were reinstalled at the Ferrari tech's shop.

Cost was $80 for labor/transport beyond what I paid for the tires. Zero damage to the wheels, center caps, lugs, etc., and it was done while my car was being lifted properly at the Ferrari shop -- no tire monkeys trying to figure out the lift point on a 1980s Ferrari.

Cost-wise, I saved enough on the tires that the $80 labor was pretty much a wash.

 

Recently, most Pcar, BMW and MB dealers are pretty close on tire prices compared to mail order. In my experience, if you mention Tire Rack they will come close to a match. I'd use the dealer if possible. I had a 745i with these great 20" factory rims on it. I had them mounted at Discount tire and they bent one rim and scratched another. On the other hand, as mentioned above, the BMW dealer had mounting gear with nylon rim protectors on them.

 

If you don't buy your tires from a tire shop, this is the typical price for a swap. $20 a tire for mounting and balancing. That isn't over the top at all, just very typical. So... you gotta good deal.

 

Just make sure they know you are a savy buyer when you are getting the quote. If they think that you don't know any better they will rob you.... Know what tire you are getting, and know the Tire Rack or Discount Tire price. Then if they try to stick it to you tell them "no thanks, I can do better than that" and they will generally come around to a reasonable deal. If not, the Tire Rack also has a list of "preferred installers" that you can have the tires drop shipped to and they will do the installation. For the most part these are good shops, and I have done this a couple of times with excellent results. As noted mounting and balancing should cost about $20/tire + a disposal fee. The Tire Rack installers will give you a quote up front so you should know what to pay and be able to compare with a dealer. Some dealers will shaft you, it's their nature, they think any owner of a premium car is a sucker waiting to be taken...