Tire and Wheel Protection Insurance

Read the fine print then read it again. Fine out who the underwriter is and research it which shouldn't be too hard and look for reviews. -John

 

Scott,
When I looked at one of these policies for my wife's daily driver X5, it excluded the "curbing" of a wheel. Only covered a truly damaged wheel - i.e. bent rim. Also, only if the tire "blew" or the sidewall damaged to the point of no repair possible, was the warranty applicable.
I have had 12 years of multiple Ferraris and never had a curbed wheel or damage to a rim. And in over several hundred thousand miles of driving over the last 40, I think I have only bent one rim hitting a pot hole at speed on a highway. So I never considered it for my Ferrari and DEFINITELY passed on BMW for reasons above. Wear and tear rarely involves catastrophic loss.
Additionally, depending on which wheel you have, I see 458 wheels going up for sale all the time where a set of 4 is what 1 new wheel originally cost. So, with any luck you can buy a wheel if necessary for chump change down the road.
My only reason to even tell you to consider the warranty is where you live. I live in the south but grew up in metro NJ just outside Manhattan. Pot holes that could be on the moon certainly existed there. So, if your roads are absolutely horrible and you have bent a rim before then I would say, "maybe."

Otherwise, I wouldn't think twice about passing unless fine print gives you more benefits than I think are there.

Lastly, remember, as you know, insurance policies are always in the underwriters' best interest. The dealer AND underwriter are getting a profit.

Best,
Randy

 

I've had a bent rim (giant pothole on the LIE 495) and it was repaired for I think about $500. Miller Motorcars sent it out. I also picked up a spare front rim on eBay at some point to cure some curb rash to one of mine for under $1k (prob could have tried to repair it too but I had heard the diamond finish was hard and the spare rim was so cheap I just went that direction). I also picked up a second full set of the same rims with winter tires on for $5500 here on these boards, so I'm currently sitting at 9 diamond finish rims for about double the cost of your insurance quotes.

 

This. Exactly. Barring an enormous amount of bad luck you're better off holding that money and dealing with whatever comes up.

 

Don't do it !

A tyre costs a fraction and one rim is easy bought for half of one years price ...

And never ever happened to me these last 10 F years ...

 

I replaced two tires live in Baltimore, pot holes everywhere.

 

I've found new aftermarket wheels online for as cheap as $2k per set of 4. Buy a set to use, keep the OEM wheels for when you sell. If you bend one, $500 replaces it.

 

The only coverage that may be worth it would be Ferrari CPO, else walk away...