Jason Seib

Just bought a 2018 C43 and dealer is offering wheel & tire, windshield and paint protection plans for $3300 for 3 yrs (canadian)

Normally I just disregard anything suggested by the dealership but reading these forums makes me think I should.

Are blown out tires and broken windshields common across the board or should I just pass and self insure?

Also, worth getting a radar detector?

SirJmon

I got the tire and wheel. Glad I did as I already blew one rear tire and I only had the car one month when it happened.

waisoserious

Tires are a consumable. How does the warranty even work?

They give you free tires?

If yes then hell yea 3300 for 3 years is worth it. Change tires every 4 months!

Lazz83

I paid $1600 for my rim package, tires are not included. It was a total rip off. In 2yrs I had one rim that was cracked and leaking air, it took the stealership 10 days to get it repaired, which is excessive. My dealer does not have rim repair on site, they contract a shop 25mi away to do it and the car has to be driven down to the shop by a shop worker, I am not cool with a stranger driving my AMG, so I haven't had the curb rash marks on the front tires repaired yet.

I wish I fully understood the wheel insurance before being talked into it and the coverage it provided. MB would not even give me a new rim when the old one cracked, they had it welded which is bull crap. A new rim would probably be $150 at MB's Cost.

Even if you do bend or damage a rim, which is very possible with these cars, there hundreds of rim repair places that would fix it for around $100.

Just my opinion though and I wish I had that $1600 back

Fwiw dealer add on services are a huge way for them to make money, recently read an article that stated car dealers are making less & less profit on cars, so they are turning to add on service to recoup the cost. I never paid for a dealership add on service that was a good value or was what they said it would be.

I also purchased the prepaid maintenance service for 4yrs @ $1595- $200 for an oil change and wipers please.... I can do that myself for $80

Chrisk03

Skip all of it and put that $3300 in a savings account to self insure, if you are worried. "House" (warranty companies) almost ALWAYS win. Just my 2 cents...

RichardCranium3

This. The only package I sprung for was the windshield protection for a measly $500. I put on quite a few miles and the city uses a lot of sand mixtures during the winter months, so after a few years it really takes a toll on the front end and glass. Rock chips and up to three full replacements are covered under the plan I got. It'll be worth it for me for even one. Plus, if you have distronic or HUD, windshields get very expensive.

Re: wheels/tires, you're better off ditching the factory run flat tires for a set of Michelin PS4 or AS3+ and carrying an inexpensive AC air pump and slime bottle in your trunk.

PFEAMG

I’m sorta in the same boat as you, or I will be when my car is delivered in July.

Based on the complaints about these tires and rims reflected in the forum I was inclined to get the tire/rim protection (others have said the were glad they did). But the more I think about it, I’m leaning towards just getting new wheels and tires. I still may look into the protection, but right now I’m not convinced it would be worth it.

AhEmGee

I have the wheel and tyre insurance on my E and ordered it with my new C43 .
The E had 19s with RFs , Michelins forgot the model. We have really **** roads in the UK too, worse than some developing countries, but touchwood never an issue with the rims or tyres bending / puncturing ( 14 K miles some terrible urban roads).
RFs are expensive so its definitely worth it especially as the cover covers wheel repair as well.
The E220d had oversized tyres - 245 45 and 275 45 on the back, which also give good tim protection and soften the ride a bit ( obviously a Run Flat weak point).
The C43 Wagon I've bought , on 19s runs only 225 40 / 255 /40 so there's a lot less sidewall to protect the rim, so even more reason to get it on that.
RFs may be harsher on the ride, but get a flat in the middle of no where, which would you rather have?

Standingoten

Skip the windshield and paint.

Get the tire/wheel package. I had 3 bubbles on tires over 2 years. The dealer replaced tires. Also ran into curb when avoiding a dog and my rims got scrapped. They had it repaired.

I paid $1500. Each tire is already $300-400. The wheel repair quote was $250. I am coming out ahead and I don’t need new tires for lease turn in.

Dieseldan9

iTrader: (1)

Damn I wish I got that package

Lazz83

I see the point but that's only if you stick with the awful run flat tires, I swapped mine out straight away, the ride is so much better as is the handling. This voided my tire warranty but having non run flats is so much better. I paid $15 each tire for road hazard protection from my tire dealer and my tires are covered 100%, its a lot less than $1500 up front, but to each his own.

You can easily repair or replace tires in other ways without getting that rim/ tire insurance, I very much regret mine, especially since I will be upgrading to Zito wheels next month and am only 2yrs into my wheel protection.

I have never had any add on crap from the dealer that made a difference in the end, it only cost me money up front and at a much higher premium.

BTW it cost $200 to $230 for Continental Run Flats in my area and my rim cost $180 to weld and refinish paid by MB- so your quotes seem excessively high.

PFEAMG

Welp, y’all make good points lol.

At $1500 that makes a little more sense, at least for me, for the tire/rim protection. And it would suck to shell out money on additional tires on a brand new car.

Still, I’ve never had run flats before and NEVER in 35 yrs of driving had a blow out, bubbles or really needed “tire protection”. Also always had good luck with Michelin’s.

Ahh decisions.,..

JasonGinWV

Never had a blow out in 23 years of driving here until this car! lol

Luck of the draw I think.

Jason

Chrisk03

If I did the math correctly, you still have overpaid by having the insurance...granted, it's only ~$50 bucks based on your numbers. And not sure how long your package lasts...3 or 5 years, so you could obviously eclipse that with 1 more incident. You've seemed to have some real bad luck with wheels/tires. I had RFTs on a prior BMW and not 1 bubble or other issue for 5 years. That said, RFTs SUCK and I will probably never buy another vehicle with them. If I do, the vehicle will go directly to a tire shop to swap out.

If the numbers are extremely cheap, like Richard, I might bite on the wheel/tire, but again, you're better off self insuring 9.5/10 times.

jerhu

Until this happens with the runflats and it instantly dies. I would shelve the tires and get some conventional tires any day. Tire went dead going 50km/h over a train track. Luckily my rim wasnt damaged. This was on my 2017 C43, took delivery of my 2019 C43 and swapped the tires, the RFTs are shelved until I sell the car. At the end of the day I'd gladly take a spare tire over any runflat is what I'm saying, RFT wont save you all the time.

PFEAMG

Looks like you swapped just the tires. Did you swap out your rims as well? I ask only as other folks on another thread have complaints about the 19” twin five rims as well as the RF tires (which is what I ordered).

merlin3008

IMHO, paint and windshield protection are both not worth it. You can get glass coverage with your comprehensive insurance for pennies with no deductible and it is definitely worth it. When I turned in my BMW after the lease, the dealership dinged my for $800 for a new windshield. I took the car to the local glass shop and they replaced the glass with nothing out of pocket. They billed my insurance and it was done. I'm not exactly sure what paint insurance includes. However, I did buy the wheel and tire insurance with my new AMG. In Chicago, it is fairly common to bend rims and lose air in tires. That being said, I really wanted the 19" wheels. For around $1,500 over three years, I got a little more peace of mind. With tires going for $300+ and rims in the four digit range, this made sense for my situation.

Clint Westwood

Mobility kit and non-RFT's. RFT's are only good for 50 miles. Especially when you consider the difference in ride quality.

jerhu

Just tires. I dont keep the car long enough to justify buying new rims.