Mondo1

I'm picking up my new E43 this week and would like to get an idea what folks are paying for the tire and wheel insurance. I'm looking for 3 years of coverage.
I'll write a short review next week once I put some miles on her.
Thanks!

mjsbenz

Wheel and Tire insurance can be purchased from any MB dealership but needs to be done on or around the same day you take delivery of your car.

I purchased the Mercedes Benz branded First Class Wheel and Tire Plus policy for 3 years in January 2017 for $1037. I was a repeat customer so not sure if you might have to pay a hundred more. I price shopped it from other dealers. My dealer did drop their price when I told them I was going to buy it elsewhere but still their adjusted price was more than $500 than what I ultimately paid. My guess is that a E43 might be higher than the E300 (with 19s). It is the AMG tax that you might be paying.

People I called:

Erin Mahre 707 521-3996

Jeffery Santo
MB of elmbrook (IL) 262 821-5000

Dan Boone
MB of Austin 512 220-0940

Marc Rose
WI Simonson MB 818 266-4305 (cell)

Ryan Herbig
Knauz Mercedes 414 870-8494

Mondo1

Thanks for your response, I really appreciate it.

Flash Gordon

Wouldn't it be cheaper to go through your auto insurance company?

mjsbenz

IMHO, I would not use my auto insurance. With auto insurance, it goes against collision (vs comprehensive) and the deductible and recording of a claim can bite you when renewing or shopping for new policies.

For many of us who live in areas with potholed roads, the risk of a bent wheel, a bubble in a runflat, a big hole in the sidewall, or just a nail in the tire is higher than those who live in nice smooth road communities. For me, there is a need for a wheel and tire policy. My 535 BMW with the same Goodyear tires that are on my new E300 has had 4 repaired wheels and 5 tire replacements in 24 months. You really do not want to use your auto policy for these issues.

c4004matic

Wheel insurance? Doesnt anyone think that this is the biggest rip off in history? I have driven over a million miles, I have yet to damage a wheel in a manner that requires replacement. Dumbest thing I have ever heard.

petee1997

I agree. For 1K I would take my chances.

mjsbenz

If you live in the Northeast, you would have a different view of the risk of wheel and tire damage. Lets not forget that each tire on our E300 costs close to $500 and that is from Tirerack.

When I had 16 inch wheels and tires, and profiles of 50-55, much lower risk of damage. Once I moved up to 18 and 19s, and runflats which do not absorb (cushion) the potholes, I have been replacing damaged tires at a rate of 2 a year, if not more. And the wheels bend and requires a $150-200 straightening.

Risk varies based on where you live. Consider yourselves fortunate.

petee1997

Maybe your roads are worse than we have here. This has not been an issue for me, but you know your own situation better.

dukester34

yes Washington and Alaska for sure pot holes and such... its terrible.

Sunrose305

Really depends on how large your rims are. The larger your rims the lower the tire and therefore the greater the likelihood the rims will hit a curb. It also depends on if you have had nice rims before. Over time you learn (the hard way) to avoid curbs that can damage your rims. If you can find a good independent rim repair shop they can usually fix any scratches for a fraction of the cost of replacement. Of course none of this helps if the tire part is damaged. I have 18" rims and declined the $1,200 rim/tire protection from the dealer. Only time will tell if that was a wise decision.

dukester34

Florida is pretty smooth roads no freeze thaw potholes ..I am not hitting curbs and try to avoid potholes but sometimes there is no avoiding and they are big and knock fillings out of the teeth. I drive a pickup with 10 ply tires so have never lost a tire or rim. have replaced lower and upper joints and shocks. I agree that up here in the northwest that it my be a good investment

dieseldoc

I have trashed wheels in Dallas. Worth the money.

superangrypenguin

I wasted my money on this.

I have never curbed a rim in my life, and I drive on pretty poopy roads. I wasted this for my car. If I could do it again, I would not bother, but hey, that's me.

I'm not even sure if my car insurance would cover this damage either...never thought to ask as I've never had to claim.

dadesidon

Did the same. Bought coverage for my e43.

mjsbenz

Same could be said about life insurance when you are not 6 feet under.

It is all about knowing your risks. It is not about curbing wheels but more about having your wheel and tire swallowed by potholes that some call mini swimming pools in the rain. Consider yourself very fortunate to have avoided the perils.

c4004matic

Mathematically incorrect statement. Its all about the cost benefit ratio. You don't insure something that has an incidence of once every 10-30 years when the cost of replacement is the same as the cost of the insurance, that's just dumb! Its like insuring a new TV, another item that seldom, if ever, needs replacement because of a malfunction. If a wheel cost 3000 bucks maybe then a 150 dollar policy might make sense. I cant believe the amount of sucker buying all sorts of idiotic "insurance" such as home repair, life insurance after 65, baby life insurance, protection plans, etc. If you simply put 20 dollars aside in a savings account every paycheck you get the better "protection" and get to keep your money!


Its the same reason that republicans cant get health insurance to work! Insurance works by the sharing of risk. To keep prices low you require an ever larger "pool". Its basic mathematics.
There is no "pool" in such BS schemes as rim insurance they simply give you a BS quote which they know they will almost never have to pay and rake the money in, its an almost mafia like extortion scheme.

ua549

I did the same thing with my health insurance. I invested $100 per month instead of spending it on health insurance. Other than immunizations and FAA physicals I didn't spend a penny on my health until I retired at 55. My health fund is now well into 7 figures even though I've paid for 2 joint replacements and a few other procedures.

The bottom line is to assess your risk versus the cost of insuring against that risk. Tires and rims are expendables. They are not worth insuring.

Streamliner

Well, I'm pretty confident that like myself, most of those million miles you have driven, were on tires that had a bit more than a bikini strap sidewall depth. On so many newer cars--especially AMG & other "performance" lines, the manufacturers have literally lost their minds, equipping their cars almost exclusively with overly large diameter wheels and tires with ridiculously shallow sidewalls. Hit much more than a cigarette butt at the right angle and the asinine run flat tire breaks out in bubbles, while the insanely expensive alloy wheel dies and goes to the recycling bin, and all while the dealers get rich selling replacements.

Sunrose305

Here's the bottom line: 17" or 18" wheels in areas with good roads you don't need this insurance. 19" rims - maybe. 20" or higher, or an area ridden with potholes, probably a good idea -- especially if you are new to low-profile tires.

cetialpha5

Were those low profile tires? I did pretty well on 60/70/80 series tires. I did have a blowout once on a 60 series tire, hit a really bad pothole and it blew the tire right there. While changing the tire, the same thing happened to another guy and he pulled up behind me to change his. At the time I didn't like the tires anyway so I just got a junkyard tire til a year later when there was a good sale on a better set of tires.

Anyway, on my 40 series, so far I've had one bent rim and bubble and 3 other tires that had nails in them. Not sure what's with all the nails, lots of construction going on around here. That's in the last 2 years. Tires were almost $200 each and the bent rim cost me $130 to bend back. Two of the tires were low on tread though so it wasn't a total waste. Say around $500 now after 2 years. I think I'm still slightly ahead, but tire insurance probably would have bought a new rim instead of me getting it bent back.

ua549

I buy 40 series tires from a national chain. They provide free road hazard coverage. I pick up a nail a couple of times a year. They fix it and re-balance the tire. No charge. I've never damaged a wheel. The first thing I'll do when my '18 E300 arrives is replace the RFT's with Continental's.

cetialpha5

I've also gotten a nail that was fixable but the other 3 were too close to the sidewall so they couldn't fix it. Also I bought the car used so there's no tire warranty. The used car dealer wanted $2k for a tire/wheel insurance package. That was way too much, might have been more tempted if it were $1k but it's still a lot.

thefisch

I agree with you on the rims. Like most products, risk versus cost is the right way to go. But after having 2 kids, the health insurance has come in pretty handy. Not sure $100 a month would have cut it for me even without any major illnesses.

However, if you can share more about turning $100 a month into seven figures, I am listening.

ua549

It is all about research and picking stocks for the long term. I bought 50 shares of MSFT in 1986 which is now 14,400 shares. You do the math. Opportunities in technology abound today, but there are risks involved.