Tire/Wheel Warranty & Run Flat Questions

[dagolfpro]

Just put a deposit down on E90. I'm located in Nor Cal, car is in So Cal. Therefore, I haven't seen the car in person, only pictures.

I have a few questions.

-Dealer says the car has run flats, I've read M3 does not. They are the 19" 359 ZCP Package tires and wheels. Waiting to find out what the tires are exactly from the dealership. I asked them to take a picture of the tire make and model. As you can tell by the pictures below, you can't tell what tires are on them.

-Tire/Wheel Warranty=$1569, anyone get this when they bought their car? I'm curious of the guys who didn't get it, any regrets so far? PS2 and wheels aren't cheap so, worth it or not.

-If I get the tire/wheel warranty, Finance Mgr said I can powder coat the wheels and it will not void warranty. I read here it does. The dealership already did them white, I'm changing them to black. btw, anyone want to trade my white wheels/tires for your black wheels/tires?

-Excessive Wear and Tear for $779, anyone get this and/or use it yet?

-I tried to negotiate these prices, they wouldn't budge, is that normal?

Golffrr, any inputs?

[e1000]

- M3 does NOT come with runflats as any OEM tire choice. This could have been changed.

- The tire and wheel warranty costs more than a new set of tires. I'd say turn it down

[Erie Von Otto]

The tire/wheel warranties do not apply to us that buy through military sales in Europe so I can't talk about using it other than getting a new set of tires runs from about $900-$1600. (I was just on tirerack this morning after removing my summers @6K miles and rears look done) So for their $2348, you could potentially get two sets of tires and the powdercoating touched-up/repaired... I'm just saying...

AND, that's the first one I have seen with white on white and I think it looks great, like seriously nice. Slap on some tint and done!

[luis_m3]

1

Originally Posted by e1000

- M3 does NOT come with runflats as any OEM tire choice. This could have been changed.

- The tire and wheel warranty costs more than a new set of tires. I'd say turn it down

[persian54]

I like it.. keep them white


I think the cost of my tire/wheel ins was $1100

i ended up canceling it as I'm running 18in RS3s now

But it's great to have for piece of mind

Saved me twice on my previous 3er and twice on my previous Z4

[thai357sig]

I purchased the tire wheel for $1000. Waste of Eff'n money! I tried to use it once and they determined the treads were too low to replace so they patched it. The nail was worn down to the stems(multiple). I could of took it in earlier, but was too busy. So I measured it myself and waited until it had 5/32" left to take it in. Unfortunately I measured the first or second depth from the rim. The dealer looks for the lowest point and found a spot at 2.9/32" , and so it doesn't qualify. They just patched it until I replaced all four wheels a couple of thousand miles later. Second set there was a slow leak and I took it in to have the tire replaced under warranty. The dealer again claims to have found no leaks. So with monthly air pump visits after TPM warnings; I drive it until less 3/32" and at my final oil change and some other warranty issues they found a slow leak when the low tire pressure warning came on, due to a nail. Too late to for the warranty again. So I pissed with warranty and dealer. I could of complained more but after probably 15-20 visits to the dealer and having car stuck there for 1.5-2 months after 2.75 years of ownership I got worn down.

Sorry for long post. But if you live in an area whose roads are more Eff'd up than DC, get it. Otherwise don't waste your money. Also I figured If my rims were to sustain damage that requires replacement there would probably be other damages and my insurance would be initiated since I have only a $250 deductible. This could of paid for four incidents. I doubt I will need it at all after driving 50Kmiles.

[abehwang]

I'm planning to keep my car for a long time, so the wheel and tire insurance (5 Years)was a good bet for me

[Mr. ///M3 RD]

As far as I know the M3 is the only BMW that does NOT ship with RFT. If the car in question has indeed RFT then they have been changed or the individual providing the OP with the information does not know what he / she is talking about.

[dagolfpro]

I'm surprised you guys like the white wheels. Everyone I've shown the pictures didn't like them. I think the black wheels have a really nice contrast to the AW.

[mkoesel]

A few things:

- Clearly that car has been modified (powder coated wheels), so who knows what tires are on it.

- If I were you, I'd try to find a forum member in SoCal to go look at the car in person, maybe even take a drive, and make sure there's no issues with it.

- Skip the tire warranty. For backup, you can buy a set of tires on the forum for real cheap.

By the way, I agree with the guy above who says the car looks great.

[dagolfpro]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

A few things:

- Clearly that car has been modified (powder coated wheels), so who knows what tires are on it.

- If I were you, I'd try to find a forum member in SoCal to go look at the car in person, maybe even take a drive, and make sure there's no issues with it.

- Skip the tire warranty. For backup, you can buy a set of tires on the forum for real cheap.

By the way, I agree with the guy above who says the car looks great.

Please excuse my ignorance, RFT can't be remounted once they are taken off the wheel?

I guess I really need to see the car in person to judge the wheels.

I haven't thought about having someone to check out the car. I guess I'm being naive thinking it'sa new car and the dealership says nothing is wrong with it.

Anyone in the Encinitas area want to check out the car for me?

[mkoesel]

Originally Posted by dagolfpro

Please excuse my ignorance, RFT can't be remounted once they are taken off the wheel?

No, RFT can be remounted (as long as the proper equipment/procedure is used). But the M3 doesn't come with RFT from the factory anyway, so that's not an issue here. My point is that they could have put any tires on there. For example, maybe someone else was going to buy the car and asked to have run flats installed. You never know.

I guess I'm being naive thinking it'sa new car and the dealership says nothing is wrong with it.

Maybe not. As long as it hasn't been registered before, and doesn't have over 200 miles (or whatever the law is in California), then it can be sold as new. I am just saying that clearly they had the wheels coated so who knows what other modifications may have been made. You just want to make sure the car hasn't been butchered.

[dagolfpro]

Originally Posted by mkoesel

No, RFT can be remounted (as long as the proper equipment/procedure is used). But the M3 doesn't come with RFT from the factory anyway, so that's not an issue here. My point is that they could have put any tires on there. For example, maybe someone else was going to buy the car and asked to have run flats installed. You never know.

Maybe not. As long as it hasn't been registered before, and doesn't have over 200 miles (or whatever the law is in California), then it can be sold as new. I am just saying that clearly they had the wheels coated so who knows what other modifications may have been made. You just want to make sure the car hasn't been butchered.

Gotcha. Car has 61 miles as it's gone out on various test drives. I just posted a thread asking if someone can check out the car for me.

Thank you for the input.

[dagolfpro]

Poll is split 50/50 after 6 votes... I think I'm going to pass as it has been confirmed by the CA they are not run flats. Thanks for voting.

[dirtyfreebooter]

Tire and wheel insurance is a rip off. I just got finished with getting a refund for my remaining warranty (only 8 months into it). They denied my claim twice because they said it was cosmetic only. I found no exclusion on the contract that said cosmetic only damage is not covered, so I said f'em and got my money back.

[dagolfpro]

Originally Posted by robackja

Tire and wheel insurance is a rip off. I just got finished with getting a refund for my remaining warranty (only 8 months into it). They denied my claim twice because they said it was cosmetic only. I found no exclusion on the contract that said cosmetic only damage is not covered, so I said f'em and got my money back.

It figures. It all sounds great from the Finance Manager but I spoke with a buddy who works at BMW as a SA, says to pass on all upgrades. Since I'm buying the car back and since M3 does not have run flats.

[dagolfpro]

Just found out, the tires are Continental ContiSport Contact 3.

[Erie Von Otto]

Out of curiosity, is the tire warranty run through BMW or a third party? Seems to me a shady business when everyone is getting denied or having a hard time getting warranty replacements. If it is a third party, shouldnt BMW switch because it would seem they are crap and screwing with BMWs name. If it is BMW... wtf?!?

[dagolfpro]

Was told by the Finance Manager at BMW it's BMW and not third party.

[Erie Von Otto]

Wow. That really surprises me. I mean, the stories on this thread alone are enough, imagine how many there actually are that had no luck or hassles... for shame BMW, tsk tsk...

sidenote, I showed the wife your white/white and she loved it also. She did bring up the cleaning pains though...

[dagolfpro]

Originally Posted by ottoblotto

Wow. That really surprises me. I mean, the stories on this thread alone are enough, imagine how many there actually are that had no luck or hassles... for shame BMW, tsk tsk...

sidenote, I showed the wife your white/white and she loved it also. She did bring up the cleaning pains though...

I guess 3rd party tire/wheel warranty is also available. It sounded too good to be true and like all insurance companies, they really don't want to pay for anything if they can avoid it.

Everyone who I showed the pictures thought they looked nice but it,was too "ricey"/tuner like. I didn't want them due to the high maintenance factor. So i agree with your wife on it as well. But guys on this board actually liked them. Maybe I should do a poll on the wheels.

It turns out another member on this board almost bought my exact car and he ordered a coupe and didn't like the white wheels and made the switch for the ones on the sedan. That's how this car has them now.

[dirtyfreebooter]

Originally Posted by ottoblotto

Out of curiosity, is the tire warranty run through BMW or a third party? Seems to me a shady business when everyone is getting denied or having a hard time getting warranty replacements. If it is a third party, shouldnt BMW switch because it would seem they are crap and screwing with BMWs name. If it is BMW... wtf?!?

Mine was definitely BMW tire and wheel insurance. BMW letter heads over all papers, and when I called them, the automated voice said BMW, and I asked the person, so unless the insurance company was committing name fraud, or maybe BMW has contracted out and allows the use of BMW in the name.. either way it doesn't matter.. the insurance itself is a rip off. Unless you are really, really unlucky, save the $1500 in the bank.