X5M wheel & trie insurance

[journeyguy]

Let me know what you guys think about wheel & tire insurance for X5M and if its worth it....thx ! Dealer quoted $1670 for 3 years and $1900 for 5 years ( $50 deductible)+ $200 additional cosmetic coverage for wheels.

[wdimagineer]

Completely worth the cost. I already have used it twice for nails. $100 instead of ~$1200 justified the expense.

[UrbanExtant]

I bought it for my X5 M when I signed the paperwork. I included cosmetic coverage, as well. I don't recall mine being that expensive, though. I thought the total I paid was around $1500, and it was the BMW plan. When I have time later, I'll dig the paperwork out, and look it up for you.

[Luca42]

Originally Posted by journeyguy

Let me know what you guys think about wheel & tire insurance for X5M and if its worth it....thx ! Dealer quoted $1670 for 3 years and $1900 for 5 years ( $50 deductible)+ $200 additional cosmetic coverage for wheels.

I'm lost here -- what does it cover? Curb rash for the rims? Cracked or damaged rims? Does it replace flat tires? Blowouts? Nails in tires?

I'm sorry if this is repeated somewhere else, but I never understood this insurance. I understand where you insure against catastrophic loss, but this seems like the classic case where self insurance is better and cheaper. I imagine that BMW has a bunch of actuaries who know the risk of loss and have set the price accordingly.

I really want to understand this. I confess that I tend to discount the information from a sales person, as s/he has a clear financial motive in getting me to buy it.

[UrbanExtant]

Originally Posted by Luca42

I'm lost here -- what does it cover? Curb rash for the rims? Cracked or damaged rims? Does it replace flat tires? Blowouts? Nails in tires?

I'm sorry if this is repeated somewhere else, but I never understood this insurance. I understand where you insure against catastrophic loss, but this seems like the classic case where self insurance is better and cheaper. I imagine that BMW has a bunch of actuaries who know the risk of loss and have set the price accordingly.

I really want to understand this. I confess that I tend to discount the information from a sales person, as s/he has a clear financial motive in getting me to buy it.

It covers all the options you list for damage, so long as you include the cosmetic coverage as well. There is a $50 deductible, and few questions asked. It is a pretty seamless operation when one uses this coverage through their dealership.

[journeyguy]

I was told For another $200 I can add the cosmetic coverage that covers (4) cosmetic repairs to the wheels with no deductible. (Curb rash)
there is no limit to flat tires , so if you have two flat tires and two bent rims in one visit it'll be $50 deductible.

Originally Posted by Luca42

I'm lost here -- what does it cover? Curb rash for the rims? Cracked or damaged rims? Does it replace flat tires? Blowouts? Nails in tires?

I'm sorry if this is repeated somewhere else, but I never understood this insurance. I understand where you insure against catastrophic loss, but this seems like the classic case where self insurance is better and cheaper. I imagine that BMW has a bunch of actuaries who know the risk of loss and have set the price accordingly.

I really want to understand this. I confess that I tend to discount the information from a sales person, as s/he has a clear financial motive in getting me to buy it.

[Luca42]

Thanks for the information.

[AwesomeM3]

Get the wheel and tire insurance, it's worth it. The prices you were quoted are a bargain!

[2-cb]

I got it...

[DaveChapin]

Originally Posted by journeyguy

Let me know what you guys think about wheel & tire insurance for X5M and if its worth it....thx ! Dealer quoted $1670 for 3 years and $1900 for 5 years ( $50 deductible)+ $200 additional cosmetic coverage for wheels.

Ask yourself: do you think Bmw makes money on this insurance? They probably do or why would they be offering it.
Next ask: can you afford to pay for wheel repair should it be needed?

If your answer to each of those questions is yes, then don't buy it. You will (on average) lose money in the transaction.

[UrbanExtant]

Originally Posted by DaveChapin

Ask yourself: do you think Bmw makes money on this insurance? They probably do or why would they be offering it.
Next ask: can you afford to pay for wheel repair should it be needed?

If your answer to each of those questions is yes, then don't buy it. You will (on average) lose money in the transaction.

Other things to ask yourself are:

1) Do I have a spouse that is going to curb multiple rims?

2) Do I have tons of potholes near me, because the area I live in doesn't fix the roads properly, and/or I have winter ice snow damage to the roads that takes forever to be repaired in the springtime?

If you answered yes to one or both of those, the tire and wheel insurance, with cosmetic coverage would be helpful.

[Luca42]

Originally Posted by DaveChapin

Ask yourself: do you think Bmw makes money on this insurance? They probably do or why would they be offering it.
Next ask: can you afford to pay for wheel repair should it be needed?

If your answer to each of those questions is yes, then don't buy it. You will (on average) lose money in the transaction.

BMW making money should not obscure the real question: is the probability of a loss (or losses) to YOU times the amount of the loss(es) greater than the premium for the insurance? If yes, then you should get it; if not, keep your money.

Some people buy it and get many times the value of the premium. Others never make a claim. The former group wins; the latter has paid dearly for peace of mind.

I'm with you, Dave. I tend to self-insure on things like this. Optimistically, I always envision avoiding any incident. That fallacy always reduces the probability in the first equation to zero.

[wdimagineer]

As I said earlier, I highly recommend it. I'm not worried about BMW making money off of me. They have ample opportunity to do it elsewhere throughout the initial purchase and long term ownership of the vehicle.

What I can say is that I've had it on several vehicles now and it has paid for itself on a number of occasions.

550: 2 wheels replaced, 2 tires replaced. When I switched to HREs, I still had the tires covered and had 2 further replaced. When one of the wheels was damaged, I successfully claimed it against the insurance. (This was back in DC - pothole central).
M5: 4 tires replaced. Never curbed a wheel on this car (same HREs).
X5: 2 wheels replaced (one curbed/my fault; the other curbed by the Parking Assistant). Both were the 21" 599M and not cheap to replace. Tires also replaced.
X5 M: 2 tires already replaced within 3 months of ownership. I live in an active construction area, so I'm always picking up nails/screws.

I had the plan rolled up into my leases, so it's a minimal added expense monthly for long term piece of mind.

I think I paid $1500 for the coverage (plus cosmetic) on the X5 M. Tire and labor costs on the 2 replacements is probably $1500 or more, and I'm only out of pocket $100. Seems completely worth it to me.

[DaveChapin]

Originally Posted by UrbanExtant

Other things to ask yourself are:

1) Do I have a spouse that is going to curb multiple rims?

2) Do I have tons of potholes near me, because the area I live in doesn't fix the roads properly, and/or I have winter ice snow damage to the roads that takes forever to be repaired in the springtime?

If you answered yes to one or both of those, the tire and wheel insurance, with cosmetic coverage would be helpful.

Urban, I think your questions boil down to a 'no' to the first one of mine, at least in your case. You are saying you have superior information to the insurance company. And maybe you do, but on average most of us don't.

[UrbanExtant]

Originally Posted by DaveChapin

Urban, I think your questions boil down to a 'no' to the first one of mine, at least in your case. You are saying you have superior information to the insurance company. And maybe you do, but on average most of us don't.

I base my information on real world experience, which, oftentimes, can be superior to "insider" knowledge.

Curbed rims are expensive to repair, especially the two tone design on the current X5/X6 M. If they crack, they are over $1000k each. Potholes crack rims, I know, I've had some crack in the past. Tires for these vehicles aren't cheap, close to $500 each, potholes ruin tires, curbing a rim can also damage the tire. If either of the two questions I put forth to ask oneself in weighing pros/cons of the wheel and tire insurance could affect you, it's worth considering. Each case is different.

My spouse, who I rarely let drive my vehicle, curbs rims like it's his job. He grew up in Oklahoma. He didn't ever have to learn to parallel park to get his driver's license. His car's wheel and tire insurance has paid for itself many times over by now, and I suspect the insurance I purchased for my X5 M will, given enough time, pay for itself. I live on Cape Cod, in New England, potholes are everywhere, especially after a long hard winter with many freeze/thaw cycles. Potholes in 20" and 21" rims cause damage, and try as one might, one cannot avoid hitting all potholes.

My point wasn't to tell people what to do, my point was to convey two really good questions to ask oneself if this insurance COULD be helpful to them, and save them money. Wdimagineer makes a lot of valid points, similar to mine, that are also effective in helping one decide if the insurance is worth it. It is insurance, they make money, no argument there, so not everyone gets their mileage out of it. Those of us who do, like myself and wdimagineer, are simply passing on helpful information to help others decide if it is for them, or not.

[UrbanExtant]

Journeyguy, you sent me a PM, to which I am unable to respond, until you clear out your mailbox. It's full, and will not accept new messages. PM me again, when you've fixed the issue.

[david0310]

Guys , I bought this coverage for my current 2010 X5m and it paid for itself many times over being in Manhattan and driving all over New York . Now I'm about to take delivery of a 2016 X5M but they are saying the coverage is now $3700!!
I would pay it without an issue if I hadn't paid 1000 for my last coverage . The dealer is stating that because that for one reason or another the particular company offering the cheaper coverage is no longer being used . I feel like I'm getting ripped off . Any thoughts what to do?
My dealer is also saying they are "courting" new companies that may be cheaper but that this is what it is right now ...

[JonoSS]

I bought it for my X5 E70 back in the day, used it once during the insurance period and then after the insurance expired I got 3 nails (over maybe the next 1 or 2 years) so I just had bad timing. Probably won't get it for my new order this time round as the insurance price in Toronto is significantly higher this time around!

[ky_soldier]

That's a lot of margin. I got the 3 years with cosmetic for about $1200. Definitely worth it!

[wdimagineer]

Just picked up nail #3. I'm glad I bought the protection.

[david0310]

Ended up buying it also. 1st month of ownership got 3 nails and 3 new tires .. Guess it makes sense

[SuddenDebt]

Any idea what are the prices being quoted these days with cosmetic coverage?