JonSnow22

Are the Pre-Paid Maintenance and Tire & Wheel protection from a dealer worth the $4500 price for 50000 miles worth it? I am in NJ.

The T&W protection is from Ethos group and they do not offer it to individuals, you can only get it from a dealer. I haven't seen anyone else offering this.


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First time MB owner!
2021 GLE 350 4MATIC Polar White/Black

nextmilenium

I paid $2250 for PPM and $3250 for ELW. I believe my insurance's comprehensive coverage ($50 deductible) portion covers my wheels if they get stolen or damaged in accidents or by hitting a pothole. My insurance said the wheel damage from potholes is case by case but should be covered if it is deemed unavoidable.

Daso

I paid $2,500 for ELW here in NYC as I was concerned with 21" wheels and the potential for rim damage. Friend had a couple of blowouts on his 21's on his X5 in the city over a couple of years and had coverage which worked out well.

Treihing

I paid $975 for a full PPM wrap thru the dealer and passed on the pre-paid maintenance and tire and wheel protection.

hatata

For me tire and wheel protection is absolutely necessary. On my C43 I hit a very bad pothole that bent the rims and ripped the sidewall on 2 tires. Replaced no questions asked. The following year someone spread nails all over the road and had nails in all 4 tires .. replaced no hassle. Made my money back and more. For me the peace of mind is worth it knowing how awful the roads are. And how nice cars attract douche baggery of the first degree.

MRC50

I agree and have had the same experience, and every year the potholes and douchebaggery get worse. I will say I’m surprised you have those types of people in Canada. I thought it was the land of nice! I complain about our hot Texas summers every year and swear I’m moving to Canada, and now you tell me this. 🤪

hatata

lol .. there are *******s everywhere … I think you will find a lot of nice folks everywhere as well. It’s funny every time I’m in the US I’m like wow people are so nice .. doesn’t reflect the politics at all that you worry about. I was in Dallas and I found people to be super welcoming and open minded. They sure love to speed on the freeways though !

kvelez

Depends where you live. If you are in the south where the roads are nicely paved and you have never damaged a rim it might not be a good deal.

Bryce1023

Generally doesn’t pay, really depends on how you drive and how lucky you feel. In the past I’ve purchased the PPM however at a discounted cost and have always declined the tires and wheels coverage.

nmsu1999

The $4,500 certainly seems more expensive than one rim + tire, so you can ask yourself how often you blow the tire/rim on average, then apply it to 4-5 years (or whatever 50k miles comes down too) and see if it's worth it. Personally, I never bent the rim in 20+ years of driving, but then I never had crazy 22s or lived in NY, for example. If you pop them every few months and it's a constant overall threat due to poor roads in your area, then it may be worth a piece of mind.

hatata

4500?!! I’m in Canada where everything is more expensive and the first class tire and rim warranty is approx. $2000.

nmsu1999

The OP said "$4500 price for 50000 miles", which sounds like a lot.

mikapen

That $4500 was for BOTH prepaid maintenance and Tire/Wheel.
My cost on the Tire and Wheel would have been $2,290.

I DID get M-B's windshield, protection; we have Acoustic Package with IR glass. A major road we travel regularly is a two-lane thoroughfare for gravel trucks, and there is a higher chance for damage, plus the winter sanding of roads here in the Rockies.
I figured the $5k would give me the freedom to go more places, when windshield damage was likely, instead of staying home.
At 5,000 miles took a rock and our first windshield is on order. We'll see how much it eats into the $5,000 lifetime benefit.

Tire and Wheel, or my Windshield protection, are "insurance," and by definition, you are paying someone to assume a portion of risk.
All of the comments above are true - the amount of risk (big wheels and potholes, etc.) and your tolerance for that risk are the deciding points.

I bought PPM for my Wife's GLC, since I wanted her to have peace of mind for that duration. And she does.
It was more quantifiable and risk wasn't a factor.

nextmilenium

Wouldn't the comprehensive portion of your auto insurance cover the windshield?

mikapen

Yes, it would, subject to deductible.
And, yes, Laws allow me to select a vendor, glass, and installer of my choice. The insurance company cannot insist that I use their source, which is the same regarding wheels, body shops etc.
However, if there is a difference in overall cost from the Insurance Company's preferred vendor (Safelite in my case), it's out of pocket.

More input: After a new model is introduced, it's usually a year or two before the aftermarket glass suppliers develop and start manufacturing their substitutes. During that time, it's likely that the only glass available will be OE. Ask your insurance company.

Then there's the difference between OE, OEM, OEE (OEM Equivilant). Pilkington, PPG and Schott are examples, and they often have Good Better Best glass. https://info.glass.com/mercedes-glas...d-replacement/
Then there's the current supply chain interruptions - who knows how that will impact anything.

In my case, I have the Acoustic Package with IR windshield. It's special glass, and should be installed by a Dealer, or at least on the Dealer premises, because there is camera and software sync that needs to be done, or at least checked.

I choose not to deal with all those variables, and I insist on OE glass.
So in my case, those things coupled with having to pay the deductible (in Colorado - which is a State that eats windshields), my judgement was to buy the glass protection package for $1,695.

Ron.s

I think you can say the part about eating windshields in most of the West that gets snow. They no longer use sand but more “road mix with some 1/4-3/8” rock. If you do any Highway drives, in a year or two your windshield will be full of chips, not replaceable under Comp. until they crack more than an inch.

nextmilenium

I think it makes a lot of sense in your case since you have that special windshield. In my case, I don't so I'm OK with the comprehensive portion of my insurance covering it. My deductible is $50 and I added the OEM coverage (not just the windshield but everything repaired) for only $100 more per year.

mikapen

Boy, that's for sure.
One advantages of an SUV is that the windscreen is higher, more Out of Range for kicked up road missiles, than a sports car or sedan.
Even so, almost every Spring, after the sanding season and while the sun is low in the sky, a sandblasted windshield can be hard to see through.
I think you have more flexibility to choose to get it replaced without waiting for the "qualifying" star/chip/crack, if you have the M-B windshield coverage. At least that is what I was told at purchase, and verified by the Service Manager. We'll see.