So I'm looking around for wheels and I come upon www.finishlinewheels.com which says they sell both OEM and fake versions of Mini wheels.

A 2-piece R90 OEM goes for $259 compared to $379 from Mini.

An R99 double spoke OEM goes for $162 as opposed to $218.

As I understand it, OEM products are the same as Mini's, just without a Mini badge on them (but OE center caps would take care of that). If so, these would be a good deal for somebody on a budget. They promise a lifetime warranty on the finish. Thoughts or experiences with this vendor?

 

I am not certain but I think that this is a central selling website for a number of wrecking yards. They list a large number of shipping points and the prices for the same type of wheel vary widely. I would be cautious.

 

Those aren't really OEM.

The OEM R9__ wheels are all produced by BBS. OEM just means original equipment. BBS wouldn't be selling them unmarked on a site like that.

Those are replicas not just unmarked OEM wheels and my guess would be that they are fake two piece wheels rather than being true 2 piece wheels like the real ones.

 

I went to their web site and they list, for a 2006 Cooper S, R-90's and S-Lites in both OEM and Replica. I have never seen or heard of Replica S-Lites but I have heard of Replica R-90's before.

As Rally says the replicas are most likely a one piece wheel. There are people on this site that have bought Replica R-90's and seem quite happy with them. I don't have any idea if they were purchased here or somewhere else.

I would not be surprised if the wheels came from salvaged cars or something like that.

Hope this helps...

 

As KrautHammer pointed out, I think the deal is that the OEM wheels come from salvaged vehicles. If a car gets totaled, it can be parted out and I imagine there are plenty of undamaged wheels from such cars.

So some of these are the original equipment wheels, but they have to be sold as Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) as opposed to Original Equipment (OE) because they can't sell them with the Mini brand on them. The problem is not knowing whom to trust on the web for something like this. Sites could sell replica wheels, improperly repaired or refinished wheels, etc.

I asked Alex from Tire Rack if there are any reputable dealers of OEM wheels and he sent me a link to www.transwheel.com. They do not list Mini as a make they carry, but I haven't called them to see if they can acquire them since I'm not in the market for new wheels until at least I need new tires.

 

I just checked out the transwheel site and they do show Mini Coopers but not under "Makes". Leave that section as "All Makes", then go to the section "Model". Scroll down and you will find "Mini Cooper".