[Mayimbe1979]

Hi folks, first time BMW owner here. I ordered an X7 40i which is scheduled to be delivered on Tuesday. I spoke with finance today about their extra protection plans offered by BMW. The only one they I'm truly interested in is the wheel and tire protection plan for which they're charging me $1,500.

Is the protection plan worth it and should I go through the dealership or a 3rd party?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[gatordent2007]

My dealership quoted me 2700 for the tire and wheel! He said it wasn’t negotiable either. I think I’m going to cancel it

[Angelo_GraysonMiniBMW]

Which wheels did you get? If I got the 21” I would say no but the 22” might be worth it. It sure paid for itself when I broke an AMG wheel on my CLS63 and had to have two run flats replaced in a one year span. If you’re leasing, I would say get it unless your roads are in excellent condition. One nasty pothole and you could crack a wheel.

[Mayimbe1979]

Originally Posted by Angelo1

Which wheels did you get? If I got the 21" I would say no but the 22" might be worth it. It sure paid for itself when I broke an AMG wheel on my CLS63 and had to have two run flats replaced in a one year span. If you're leasing, I would say get it unless your roads are in excellent condition. One nasty pothole and you could crack a wheel.

I got the 22 inch V spoke wheels with the performance run flat tires. I'm in North Jersey and the roads can be pretty crappy in many areas.

[superpanjy]

In general, Do you have to buy the protection plan when you pick up the car?

[crackerjack15]

I never understand this. I'm my own insurance. Pay yourself, take the chance. I've never had to replace or fix a wheel on any car I've owned. $2700 for something you might never use? Ouch.

[X5M50D]

In the UK you don't have to buy from the Stealership.
You can shop around online and obtain much better deals for more than half the price. I paid £400 (550 dollars) for three years 22" tyre and alloy insurance.
I bought it for peace of mind!

[M2COMP]

For me I have bought it and used a lot. Lots of bad roads, potholes and construction zones. I used to have F10 and replaced nearly 7 tires (for $999 4 yr T&W) as every time hit a pot hole and a side wall bubble. Also nails destroy them. May not use T&W a whole lot in an SUV, but for car it's worth it.

[Phasers]

I went to my local discount tire, and they sold me tire protection for each tire as if I had purchased the tires from them. I believe it was under $500 for all four tires.

I know this isn't an apples to apples comparison, but just a data point since my main concern is nail in the tire.

[POBA]

$1500 for the BMW protection plan sounds reasonable, however you can always negotiate the price with the dealer especially you are buying the car from them. If you elect to get the BMW protection plan, then you must buy it before collecting the car. The 3rd party ones, you can buy them anytime. Good luck!

[davids2954]

Here is my experience having the tire & wheel protection on 3 BMW's now:

5 series - well worth the money. I had a long commute and it seems like I was replacing a tire once a month due to bad road, pots holes and construction zones.

X5 - not worth the money. I had moved and was much closer to work and on back roads versus interstate. In the 3 years I had the X5, never replaced a tire.

X7 - still only 8 months into ownership and a little over 5000 miles, so too early to tell but I have the protection. The tires are expensive and I expect to keep the X7 for quite a while.

Your mileage may vary but based on my experience with the 5 series, I will continue to get the tire protection.

[Angelo_GraysonMiniBMW]

Originally Posted by davids2954

Here is my experience having the tire & wheel protection on 3 BMW's now:

5 series - well worth the money. I had a long commute and it seems like I was replacing a tire once a month due to bad road, pots holes and construction zones.

X5 - not worth the money. I had moved and was much closer to work and on back roads versus interstate. In the 3 years I had the X5, never replaced a tire.

X7 - still only 8 months into ownership and a little over 5000 miles, so too early to tell but I have the protection. The tires are expensive and I expect to keep the X7 for quite a while.

Your mileage may vary but based on my experience with the 5 series, I will continue to get the tire protection.

You must have the 22” wheels. Mind me asking what you paid for the tire-wheel insurance from BMW? I may not get as I plan on swapping out my summer tires for non-runflat A\S when it arrives. I did get the spare tire for this purpose. Most likely save the run-flats for the last 6mo. of my lease.

[unfoundnemo]

I'm definitely not one for paying for insurance I'm not required to have. I basically just follow crackerjack15's philosophy, and make sure you think about the long game.

For my long game, and just speaking to the BMW's I have had:

I did have the tire & wheel insurance once, only because they wrapped it into the price quote they gave and I didn't know until signing. It was only like $1k for a 4 series, and the price was already right, so I let it slide at signing while cringing through it. I did use it once, I think there was a $50 deductible on what was then a $200 tire. Basically, I lost $850 on the deal.

Across 6 years in an X5, X6, and X7.. I replaced 2 tires due to outside forces. That was probably $500 in total vs what would have been over $6k in insurance, So I'm + $5500 there.

In my M3, I bent 4 wheels at once, along with 2 more throughout the 3 years I had it, plus an incident that took a nice gash out of my wheel+ tire that made me have to replace both (even though I probably could have gotten away with refinishing the wheel). Total OOP for that pretty horrible series of events was about $2000 and I think they tried to sell me insurance for around $2500, so I'm still + $500 there.

In the M8, I did have a bubble form after a track day, I think that was about $400 and I'm less than a year in, but they wanted around $3000 for that insurance, so still + $2600.

So in all, I'm up $7,750 after 6 cars vs paying for the insurance, and the only time I lost out was when I actually (albeit unintentionally) bought the insurance. Even if I manage to mutilate all four custom painted 863M wheels and MPS4S tires on the M8 in the next two years, I'll still be ahead.

[thenew3]

How are you guys going through so many tires/wheels?

I've been driving for over 30 years and have driven well over a million miles and over that time I've only had to replace 4 tires (they were slashed by some teenagers) and 2 wheels (piece of 4x4 fell off a truck in front of me on the highway and I didn't have enough time to dodge it so drove over it and bent 2 wheels).
Other than that, no damaged (other than couple of curb scratches) and all tires normally worn out. (occasional nail but those were all patched).

The roads aren't in good shape where I drive either.
12+ years in New England (very bad winter damaged roads)
7 years in Texas (ok roads)
12+ years in CA (very bad roads).

[G39x]

I didn't care for the package, I am in TN, so we have pretty good roads and throughout my car ownership, I haven't encountered bad roads unless I count the times I road trip to Jersey or anywhere up north, which I don't plan to anytime soon. Also, I rather pay it when it happens.

[Jagu]

Refuse the offer and just go to discount tires to purchase their tire protection. I had 12 blowouts with my M550 and they replaced the tires all the time except once when the tire was worn below standard. The policy costs about $47 a tire
You can self insure the wheel.

[Mayimbe1979]

Thank you all for your input. After speaking with the finance department the specified that the package being offered is as follows:

3yr tire/rim BUNDLE (includes dent/ding & windshield repair) with ZURICH for $1495.

My X7 will be delivered tomorrow and I have until taking possession of it to decide if I want the coverage. I'm leaving towards paying for it to have peace of mind and because the roads are so bad in my area.

In any event, thanks for the feedback. Can't wait to officially join you all as an official fellow BMW owner.

[Phasers]

Originally Posted by Mayimbe1979

Thank you all for your input. After speaking with the finance department the specified that the package being offered is as follows:

3yr tire/rim BUNDLE (includes dent/ding & windshield repair) with ZURICH for $1495.

My X7 will be delivered tomorrow and I have until taking possession of it to decide if I want the coverage. I'm leaving towards paying for it to have peace of mind and because the roads are so bad in my area.

In any event, thanks for the feedback. Can't wait to officially join you all as an official fellow BMW owner.

$1500 vs less than $500 at Discount Tire. Unless you really think you're gonna damage the tire so bad the wheel is also damaged, you're throwing $1k+ away.

Edit: Just called Discount Tire, was quoted $308.xx to cover all four of the 22" Continental SSR OEM tires.

[dmanb2b]

Just read the fine print on the dent and ding coverage. It's usually a PDR only type repair coverage and maxed out at the size of a credit card. Also typically does not cover the bumpers or glass replacement, just repair. Basically, it's secondary coverage for those with $500+ comp deductibles. I personally declined this and just lowered my ins comp deductible to $50. Comp claims don't impact your insurance unless you switch insurers and in NY we have full glass coverage with zero deductible.

[TXSchnee]

I always take the wheel and tire coverage, as it will completely replace a rim if it isn't fixable. It is also a small percentage of the purchase price of these type of vehicles, if I am already paying this much, why is the additional $1500 too much? Never used it, yet, but like any insurance it is a peace of mind purchase.

[gatordent2007]

I’m considering canceling mine. I was charged 2700 for wheel and tire and paint protection with no deductible. I agreed to it originally bc my wife drives the car, but now I’m second guessing it thinking it’s a waste.

[Phasers]

Originally Posted by gatordent2007

I’m considering canceling mine. I was charged 2700 for wheel and tire and paint protection with no deductible. I agreed to it originally bc my wife drives the car, but now I’m second guessing it thinking it’s a waste.

For $2700 I would cancel, no questions asked.

Like I said above, you can insure the tires for $300 a set.

With a vehicle this size, and runflats (reinforced sidewalls), it is extremely difficult to damage a rim even if you blow a tire (ask me how I know).

There is a big difference between $300 and $2700, which can cover a lot of paint or rim repair.