garygnu

Hi all,
my 2016 S550 CPO was bought with the $3,997 60 month zero deductible Zurich Select Protection Plan. I told my salesman i was worried about the wheels - he said this was the plan.
car was shipped to me, and it came with the one page unsigned plan in my glove compartment.
I am picking up my almost 1 year old (to me) car which has had FOUR FLATS - 1 was a cracked rim, the other 3 were damaged tires - 2 sidewalls, one an object puncturing the tread (big object).
In full disclosure, i have the summer run flats in my garage, and am using 4 continental AWS or DWT or whatever they're called - they're all season non-run flat and on 20" AMG, very limited sidewalls - and i've been stranded 4 times. i actually use the same flatbed tow guy now, and i call mercedes, tell them i want him, and we coordinate - bad when your tow driver is on speed dial.
anyway, i just learned i'm reaching the cap of the wheel coverage - i paid $4k for $2,500 of wheel coverage - WTF? never knew this (and hell, i'm a lawyer!!!!) - anyway, the thing also covers windshield repair, paintless dent repair, yada - my windshield is covered through my normal insurance, etc. - i wanted wheel coverage.
so, i'm thinking about making a stink and saying "listen, i got $2,250 or so of benefit? deduct that, refund the difference" - something like that. then the question becomes, from the dealership cross country, my credit card, or zurich. i DID get that dealer to reimburse me to buy the first set of tires, as they told me all season and they were summer only tires (and car was delivered in february in the snow - and summer tires are no good below 45 degrees). i also toyed with the "replace twice/year with summer/winter tires" but would rather avoid that.
i really wanted coverage, but i don't know i was limited.
aside from that, between the repairs and now tire issues, i'm toying with the idea of getting rid of the car - whether towards a 2019 or towards another model or brand. i'll say this - when i'm out of the car i'm annoyed at the hassles, when i'm in the car i'm generally smiling. any thoughts greatly appreciated!

ygmn

change to smaller diameter wheels so tires have more sidewall and problems with flats is greatly reduced.

garygnu

thanks - just spoke to my dealership and confirmed (what i suspected) that if i get the smaller rims and the appropriate tires i'm good to go (as long as i have the appropriate TPMS sensors in the valves).
another option - go with summer and winter run flats (which i'd rather not do)
i'd be interested - can i get decent looking 19" rims, and then i'll just buy the appropriate all season run flat tires - any recommendations? whether mercedes or after market? i'm very happy with the look of my 20" AMG 10 spoke (i think 10 spoke) and i'm not really a rim/wheel guy - i frankly don't care - i just don't like getting stuck and waiting for flatbeds.
then i have to figure out what to do with my existing tires and rims....

superpop

Sell your 20" rims and tires and then buy a set of 19" reps for a grand and put a nice set of RFT tires on your car and call it good. I have 19" AMG wheels and one of them cracked once in the last year. If they crack again I will be going the rep route as well. They are great cars but folks that put 20" plus wheels on this big heavy car with rubber band thick tires are just asking for troubles.

garygnu

thanks - sorry to be dense - reps - reposessed?
i NEVER wanted 20" tires - i know many folks think they look better, MAYBE perform better - i'm of the view that i'd like more sidewall - softer ride, maybe less cornering, but i probably don't use more than 5 cylinders unless going from 0 to 20 at a light! i used to rarely get flats - now i'm really good at it. and the tech today agreed the sidewall is just too weak, and our roads are garbage around here.
i saw a nice (to me) set of 19" AMG with tires for about $2,700 shipped - i'm really tempted.
i still have 4 summer tires in my garage, and of course what's on my car.
i'm really disinclined to buy winter tires, and then switch 2x/year, but i considered that as well.
i just wish there were 20" runflats in my size and then problem solved.
any suggestions where to buy? i found a set on i think ebay - but i also heard watch out, some stuff may be counterfeit.
i also went on tirerack and got really confused - i don't know if we can get 4 of the same width front and back, or special features or benefits of rims (i think lighter is better performing) and i don't know quality from junk - i know appearance and even that isn't that important to me (you should see how i dress - ha!)
i MIGHT see what the oem 19" options are and then try to match that if i go non-oem (width, tires). i saw some have some offset and i'm not even sure what that is!
all i want to do is drive the thing and not worry about this stuff.

1bad540

U can get the standard 19" amg wheels that still come on the 560 and the 550 they usually come w all season runflats. Its a split spoke. Im sure u can get a set of takeoffs cheaper than what the tires will run you. I sold mine last year after putting the 20's on for around 2k and the tires were almost new. reps are replicas, plenty of those on ebay. The real concern is why are u getting so many flats? large objects will still damage a 19 just like a 20"

aypues

e55phil

garygnu