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[CraZee M3]

The 19s on the m3 are forged.. which means stronger than cast wheels like most. Has anyone bent or damaged the wheel by hitting potholes?

I bought the wheel/tire coverage for 600... anyone else get that? Please share your experience if you've dealt with them for coverage.

[Manny212]

i hit a big pothole yesterday but was only going about 10-15 mph so hopefully i didn't bend the rim. They seem pretty strong

[NugeMobile]

Got the coverage too on my 19's. No damage to report yet but I cringe every time I hit a bump hard....

[DevJ]

You guys don't even know about potholes! I live in a small town in Oklahoma and it's an everyday occurrence to avoid potholes..I think of it as playing a game lol

[positiveions]

I used to have AC Schnitzer Type III. While driving, I hit a pot hole way by the curve (I don't know how that shit happens but call it luck) at 45 mph. My friend was swearing at me to pull the F _ _ _ k over. When I did, he came out of the car, looked at looked, and his statement was: that is why you pay big money for forged ACs'. nothing, not even a dent.

[ideliver]

$600 for tire insurance is well worth it...tires are about $300 each...

[spectrumphoto]

My Rim and Tire plan cost $1K... and has been a great investment since I've had 2 tires replaced already from nails since August. The final bill for each tire $435.00. I still have another 3.5 years of plan left too!

[gr8000]

Probably there is no worst place to drive other than Greek roads... (well mybe there is but anyway). I was also sceptical at the time of purchase of the OEM 19" (I ordered the car in 18" and swaped afterwards), but so far they've been trouble free. I am of course carefull in the way I drive over bumpy roads / potholes (I pay attention, I drive slow and try to avoid them) but there have been instances where unavoidably I have fallen into some of them. No severe instances, but a few "near severe".

My conclusion: The OEM 19" are pretty solid and I don't seem to have any problems.

[footie]

No rim is 100% safe from damage due to pot holes, most chance of damage and the amount is down to speed, depth of hole and the height of side wall. 18" will clearly be better than 19" and 19" will be better than 20".

[Neil McRae]

In the UK you can charge the local councils if you do damage you car by a pothole. I had a E46 alloy replaced after this happened to me.

[GS997S]

Yes, the 19s, or any wheel, can be damaged by potholes. You also might want to read the fine print on your tire and wheel warranty to make sure you know what is covered. Many of those tire and wheel warranties only cover wheel damage if the wheel is damaged to the extent that the tire will not hold air. Just bending it will not cover wheel replacement on many of those warranties. Of course, the slick sales guy that sold it to you probably didn't tell you that.

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by ideliver

$600 for tire insurance is well worth it...tires are about $300 each...

Doh! It's well worth it to the dealer.

That's why they offer it. It costs them less than they pay out by a large margin. They wouldn't sell it if they lost money on it, now would they?

So my argument is that it is not worth it. There are a few people who get their money's worth out of it, but the majority of people don't. It's like any other insurance.

If you are one of those people who regularly bend wheels and damage tires, it probably makes sense to get the insurance.

[darkalley]

i bent two rims and tried to file a claim. even though the rims were undrivable because they were bent that bad the warranty company denied the claim since they still held air. READ THE FINE PRINT! The majority of wheel warranties do not cover 99% of the pothole damages.

[ideliver]

Originally Posted by Radiation Joe

Doh! It's well worth it to the dealer.

That's why they offer it. It costs them less than they pay out by a large margin. They wouldn't sell it if they lost money on it, now would they?

So my argument is that it is not worth it. There are a few people who get their money's worth out of it, but the majority of people don't. It's like any other insurance.

If you are one of those people who regularly bend wheels and damage tires, it probably makes sense to get the insurance.

depends on where you live...in northeastern ohio where we have multiple freeze thaw cycles per winter...you cannot find a stealer that even offers this insurance...let alone at $600...this is a very good price for this coverage...especially given where the OP lives

so I take it that you are going to pass on the extended warranty (assuming that you bought and not leased)...

...tell you what...I have a set of 20" RAC for my M5...since it is such a suckers bet for me...I'll let you sell me insurance for $1000 for 4 years...

[nusevad]

if you live and drive in a area with alot of shitty roads/potholes like NYC/NJ then the insurance could be worth it. On my previous car i got 2 bent wheels, 1 bubble and 1 flat in 3 years of driving. So $600 for 5 years is a great deal.

[Radiation Joe]

Originally Posted by ideliver

depends on where you live...in northeastern ohio where we have multiple freeze thaw cycles per winter...you cannot find a stealer that even offers this insurance...let alone at $600...this is a very good price for this coverage...especially given where the OP lives

so I take it that you are going to pass on the extended warranty (assuming that you bought and not leased)...

...tell you what...I have a set of 20" RAC for my M5...since it is such a suckers bet for me...I'll let you sell me insurance for $1000 for 4 years...

I'm glad you're so much smarter than the folks offering insurance. Let's see you get ANY insurance at any price for those wheels.

And yes, I'll pass on an extended warranty. Since I'm on the end of the insurance spectrum that pays for the dolts that don't take care of their cars, I won't be contributing. Do you understand concept of insurance?

I leased. I'll use up the entire factory warranty in less than two years. I'll buy out the car at the end of the lease, if I still want to keep it. And no, I won't purchase an extended warranty.

However, your point about it being a good idea for the OP to purchase the insurance should hold true, considering he lives in NYC. A couple of damaged tires, and he's paid for it.

[lucid]

I got low-cost aftermarket 18" wheels for the winter. There is no way I am commuting in stock 19s around Boston in the winter. The roads are pathetic. I already caught a couple of major holes, and the 18" wheels are holding out stong. I am not so sure that the 19s would have survived with the lower profile tires. I probably would have lost the tires if not the rims to say the least.

[kbk_75]

Originally Posted by DevJ

You guys don't even know about potholes! I live in a small town in Oklahoma and it's an everyday occurrence to avoid potholes..I think of it as playing a game lol

Come visit Bombay, we don't know about roads! Here it's an every day occurrence trying to find a smooth patch of road! That's the game we play!

Originally Posted by gr8000

Probably there is no worst place to drive other than Greek roads... (well mybe there is but anyway). I was also sceptical at the time of purchase of the OEM 19" (I ordered the car in 18" and swaped afterwards), but so far they've been trouble free. I am of course carefull in the way I drive over bumpy roads / potholes (I pay attention, I drive slow and try to avoid them) but there have been instances where unavoidably I have fallen into some of them. No severe instances, but a few "near severe".

My conclusion: The OEM 19" are pretty solid and I don't seem to have any problems.

I can't think of any major metropolitan area in the world that has shittier roads than the ones we have in India. Sure there are stretches in the outback and other wilderness places that have more rutted roads, but for city streets ours have got to be the worst!

Originally Posted by Neil McRae

In the UK you can charge the local councils if you do damage you car by a pothole. I had a E46 alloy replaced after this happened to me.

Hahahahah! That's a laugh...that's the stuff dreams are made of for people like me!

Originally Posted by FifthStreetz

if you live and drive in a area with alot of shitty roads/potholes like NYC/NJ then the insurance could be worth it. On my previous car i got 2 bent wheels, 1 bubble and 1 flat in 3 years of driving. So $600 for 5 years is a great deal.

I bubbled both my fronts within 6 months of buying the car and a friend kerbed a rear and took a chunk outta the sidewall. The fronts cost $400 each and the bloody rears cost $780 a piece in Bombay!

I haven't bent a rim, but I've shot my alignment more often than I care to remember because of our crap roads too!

[positiveions]

by the way, I've never bought any such warranty, but does it say anywhere that they will reimburse you 100% of the value of the wheels, or certain percentage? Some warranties will automatically consider wear and tear.I am curious.

[DevJ]

Kbk75,
I'm actually Indian lol I've been to India a few times! I can't imagine driving my m3 there!

[CraZee M3]

Originally Posted by footie

No rim is 100% safe from damage due to pot holes, most chance of damage and the amount is down to speed, depth of hole and the height of side wall. 18" will clearly be better than 19" and 19" will be better than 20".

that is not true as the 18s on the m3 are NOT FORGED. They are cast alum.
The 19s are FORGED which are stronger.
so for this case the optional 19s are stronger than the standard 18s.

[CraZee M3]

well to us it was worth it. each tire is 300.. the warranty is 1000 retail but we got it for 600

A cracked or bent wheel once and the warranty pays for itself. Replacing a wheel.