Wheel Warranty - What does it cover?

[APC7654]

I'm about to pick up my 128i next week, and I know they are going to offer me this Wheel/Tire Warranty. Instead of making a spur of the moment decision, I'm wondering who is covering this warranty,,, BMW or some third party company. Also, exactly what does it cover,,, replacement tires, wheels, ????

Any info would help me make a good decision.

[ralawren]

I bought a second set of used OEM wheels for $600 and put all seasons on them. I figured if I damaged a wheel I would have a replacement.

[timwin]

Get the BMW one. It will cover the Rims when you hit something in the road and will no longer hold air. They will replace with a new one from BMW. Tire will have to have more than 3/32 thread for them replace it if it has a nail or bubble on the tire. They will not cover a worn out tire (i.e bad alignment)

Make sure that if you hit a curb make sure you state that there was something in the road and you couldnt move out of the way and it was to late. "road hazard" not i hit the curb while getting a value meal.

Also dont let service fool you. If you get new tires the warranty travels to the new set of tires. So you can go to discount when you wear them down.

[jpd]

I just bought a new Z4 and read the policy carefully.It does not cover curb rash. It does cover wheel damage. Our roads in the Pacific Northwest are not too bad, but if you live in an area where there is significant pot holes it may be worth it. One last thought, the price of the warranty is not fixed. The dealership makes a significant profit on all the extras it sells at the time of sale.

[Freon]

Generally they make good money on those extra warranties and insurance. The actual risk for them is low and they mark it up a lot.

Insurance is there to cover your big risks, like a tree falling and causing $50k damage to your neighbors house, or you having a tire blow and plowing guard rail and getting a huge bill from DOT to fix it, etc. That is, catastrophic stuff. Thus I tend to think you don't want to pay for insurance for any smaller losses. Keep the money you'd pay into that in savings. Remember, insurance companies are there to make money off you and in the long run they do. If you can keep enough cash to cover any smaller losses and insurance on the big stuff (car ins., home owners, person liability, etc) you're playing it smart.

Your normal car insurance should cover a wheel if it is damaged to the extent it won't hold air as well. If it doesn't cover cosmetic damage I don't see the point, other than you may save your car insurance deductible.

You can also usually get stock wheels cheap in this kind of forum as well. Everyone likes putting aftermarket wheels on cars so factory wheels on pretty much any car (especially popular tuner cars) are worth fraction of the new dealer cost. There is a healthy supply already out there for the 1er.