Alloy wheel and tyre insurance

naefeart · 1 Dec 2021 at 14:38

What are people’s thoughts on this type of insurance?

My dealer has offered this cover, for 3 years at a cost of £449. I realise it depends on a number of factors. My front tyres cost around £240 each and my tears are around £340 ea. I’m generally very careful, but I have damaged 2 alloys in the past 6 years, costing approximately £1800 for new replacement wheels. My current alloys are 20” and will cost roughly £1000 ea. to replace and they are diamond cut, which reduces the chances of getting them refurbished to a 100% original finish.

I’ve had this cover in the past, but I’m on the fence just now. I only do around 3k a year, so statistically I’m low risk, but accidents do happen. Interested to hear some opinions.

b0rn2sk8 · 1 Dec 2021 at 14:55

If you want it, buy it from a third party, it will likely be cheaper.

naefeart · 1 Dec 2021 at 15:00

b0rn2sk8 said:
If you want it, buy it from a third party, it will likely be cheaper.

Possibly, but I like the idea of doing it via my BMW dealer; I feel this gives me some room for negotiation/pushback if I’m not happy with the quality of work.

Plus they handle everything and I get a courtesy car. I don’t like the idea of a third party chap with a van, jacking up my 2tonne car on my driveway.

200sols · 1 Dec 2021 at 15:03

It is like any other insurance, most wont ever make full value of the policy but it offers peace of mind. I had this bundled in but the cost was cheaper (£249 from Audi) they repaired one diamond cut alloy - the wheel was sent away for refurb they don't do it in house. Also had a screw in one tyre which was replaced no questions asked. Most seem to think of this type of insurance as a dealer scam but at the right price it can be decent.

nlel1975 · 1 Dec 2021 at 15:24

I was offered it when I bought my brand new car, didn’t take it up though but took the cosmetic repair solutions instead for £ 600 which covered me for three years of exterior damage to the car.

I’ve not made a claim on it yet as the only damage is to the left side wing mirror casing and a small scrape on the passenger side bumper which is practically impossible to see after treating it with Meguiars Ultimate Compound.

There’s a scratch on the interior drivers side door card which is not covered unfortunately. If I had to do it again I’d have spent the money on a better sound system but I was not to know.

My three years cover will be up in February 2022 and I don’t anticipate making a claim between now and then.

Mysterae_ · 1 Dec 2021 at 17:06

I had it when I first got my BMW and it paid for itself in the second year after 2 unlucky punctures. Claiming isn't that much of a faff - you just take some pictures and fill out a form, but they asked me to keep the damaged tyre should they wish to inspect it, which they never did.

I don't have the cover anymore and don't seek it out. If an alloy get damaged I'll wait until it's really bad then spend less than £100 to get them sorted.

[TW]Fox · 1 Dec 2021 at 17:21

naefeart said:
Possibly, but I like the idea of doing it via my BMW dealer; I feel this gives me some room for negotiation/pushback if I’m not happy with the quality of work.

Plus they handle everything and I get a courtesy car. I don’t like the idea of a third party chap with a van, jacking up my 2tonne car on my driveway.

You need to look into this VERY carefully as many of these policies - even those through main dealers - are exactly that. A third party chap with a van will attend and do smart repairs. If this policy really is your local BMW main dealer body centre doing all the work then it may be worth it, but double check that really is the case before you go for it.

nlel1975 · 1 Dec 2021 at 17:26

Yeah my main dealer gave me the details of the company who would do the cosmetic repairs if I claimed on any and it wasn’t them.

naefeart · 1 Dec 2021 at 18:12

[TW]Fox said:
You need to look into this VERY carefully as many of these policies - even those through main dealers - are exactly that. A third party chap with a van will attend and do smart repairs. If this policy really is your local BMW main dealer body centre doing all the work then it may be worth it, but double check that really is the case before you go for it.

Ok, so any refurbishment is carried out via the third party. Even their bodyshop don’t do this work in house. It will be the dealer themselves that remove the wheels and tyres etc. which I’m happier about.

Im going to assume this is just how it is, all refurbishment is simply outsourced by dealers. I’m still undecided tbh, £449 isn’t a huge amount in the scheme of things, but I’m very picky and I’m yet to find a business that can refurb diamond cut wheels where the end result isn’t noticeable. I vowed not to have such a finish again, but I do really like the bi-colour finish of my wheels. The full black treatment doesn’t suit at all.

Maybe I just put aside money for the inevitable new wheel purchase

teenwolf · 1 Dec 2021 at 18:14

3k a year why bother unless your a terrible driver

naefeart · 1 Dec 2021 at 18:28

Not terrible, but with the state of UK roads these days…

Reading all the t&cs again, if the wheel is damage badly and deemed unfixable, I only get a contribution of £150 towards a new wheel. I’m thinking I won’t bother and just take my chances.

Thanks all for the replies.

[TW]Fox · 1 Dec 2021 at 18:34

naefeart said:
Im going to assume this is just how it is, all refurbishment is simply outsourced by dealers

I agree, which is why I self-insure for this and get my wheels refurbished by a specialist I know will do a good job when I need to.

When I bought my car it had 5k on it and was 12 months old. The supplying dealer - who were the first keeper - helpfully announced they'd refurbished two of the wheels due to minor curbing when I collected it. Thanks guys.

Shame they didn't use the correct factory shade when doing it. Drove me mad for several years until I eventually got them refurbished myself.

naefeart · 1 Dec 2021 at 19:15

[TW]Fox said:
I agree, which is why I self-insure for this and get my wheels refurbished by a specialist I know will do a good job when I need to.

When I bought my car it had 5k on it and was 12 months old. The supplying dealer - who were the first keeper - helpfully announced they'd refurbished two of the wheels due to minor curbing when I collected it. Thanks guys.

Shame they didn't use the correct factory shade when doing it. Drove me mad for several years until I eventually got them refurbished myself.

I think this is the route I’ll take. Who did you use to do the refurbishment in the end?

Lepsons used the be the go to period. However I’ve seen mixed results over the years. My local Wheel Specialist did a superb job on a few sets of my wheels, but came unstuck with a diamond cut finish; you could clearly see the repair and it was more noticeable than the original damage.

Anyway, don’t want to get ahead of myself. I want to enjoy the car, so I’ll get these wheels ceramic coated (to help with cleaning) and just be super careful