Last night when we picked up our new MCS with S-lites and performance run flats, the dealer was *really* pushing an insurance policy for 5 or 6 hundred bux for 3 or 4 years that covered road hazard.
He said he'd guarantee that we'd break a wheel, probably in a year. Hit a chuckhole, lose a tire and a wheel.
True? False? pure BS??
What do you folks that know, say?
Chuck in Indiana

 

He's trying to get all of the commission on that rediculously high "insurance" policy...they're trying to pull one over on you. Of all the folks I've seen with S-lites, I can only think of a few that have bent a rim which can happen with any rim running a relatively low profile tire. As to buying road hazard coverage for the tires...once something happens to them, you'll probably want to get a different tire for the ride quality anyway

 

Save your money.

I wouldn't spend $500-$600 on road hazard. That's more than the cost of one wheel and one runflat (assuming BOTH were destroyed) from the dealer, and about what a MINT set of FOUR stock wheels and run-flat tires run in the NAM marketplace.

just my $0.02, but I would do nothing, then wait for your tires to wear down and take that $500-$600 and spend it on four new non run-flat (i.e. regular) tires to improve the ride comfort and handling.

EDIT: four new run-flat tires just sold for around $250 in the marketplace.

 

Just say NO

What he said ^ Most people happily ditch the heavy wheels & worthless runflats long before they wear out. If & when you do, (not having a spare) many places sell inexpensive air pumps & tire plug kits. Also you will want to carry a pair of side cutters to remove screw/nail/?

 

Not true. I ran a survey of that exact subject a few months ago and the consenus was that MOST people KEPT the OEM tires until they wore out and THEN replaced with whatever ... Who can afford to just throw away $900 worth of tires?

 

The insurance policy is good only for that one set of wheels and tires. If you autox or track the MINI (as you should for those high strung motors love to be set loose every once in a while), that policy may not be good for as long as you think. If you get a set of snows and wheels, then they will not cover your luck from Thanksgiving through St. Pat's day.

 

Here’s how hazard coverage or any extended warrantee works. An expert, who knows more about the failure rate than you or I want to know, estimates the expected cost (the average cost over all the cars that will experience failure and not experience failure) of the replacement/repair. The expert then pads this estimate and adds a nice fat profit on the top.

Thus, if you can afford to be unlucky (the cost of the tire wont keep you kids from going to college), then you should always refuse to buy the insurance. Remember, an expert has already done the math and determined that the insurance is a bad deal for you.

 

Thanks, folks. That's pretty much what i thought...just wanted to make sure he was trying to sell me a bill of goods..
You gotta love this online community.
Chuck in Indiana CROC#82