Anybody get talked into buying the tire warranty when you bought your Mini? I bought the Sonsio warranty. Anybody have this warranty and had to use it?

 

I got talked into buying the AutoNation tire and wheel policy. In fact it had already been added to my contract when i sat down with the finance guy. it was $750 for 5 years. I was really reluctant about buying it but they talked me into it saying that one tire replacement would be over $300 for runflats. I went home and researched tire prices and they were quoting me the dealership price which is very over inflated. You can buy them from TireRack for half that price. There are also significant loop holes as far as replacing wheels are concerned.

I read the fine print and found out I had 30 days to cancel the policy. After some run around from the dealership, I called MINI USA and they contacted the dealer and had it canceled. The tire/wheel policy is a money maker for the dealership, 99% of the people who buy it will never come out ahead. You're better off taking the money and setting it aside for the unlikely tire replacement.

 

those of us who have Discount Tire stores can buy full road hazard warranties as long as we do so in the first 300 miles of ownership. At $22/tire, it was well worth it and much more reasonable than what the mothership charges.

 

I regret purchasing the tire warranty/road hazard protection plan for my MINI.

I passed on the same plan when I purchased my BMW and lived to regret it - in a single month I had to replace 2 runflats for around $900 total. In that case for that particular car, the plan would have saved me a lot of money. (Those are some larger/expensive tires on the BMW.)

The MINI runflats aren't as expensive to replace as one would think.

As it turns out, I got rid of my MINIs runflats soon after purchasing the car. Apparently the plan only covers bent rims if the tire won't hold air, so what good is it then?

Doing the math, the money spent on the plan would be equivalent to the cost of at least a few MINI tires. I don't think it's worth the cost.

 

Agreed, but Discount Tire only covers the tire. The MINI warranty also covers the rim.

That being said, I purchased the warranty and regretted it. Add me to the list of people who say save your money.

 

Yea, I got screwed once again. Thanks

 

You made the right choice...we're on our second MINI...my wife had the first...she had bought the tire warranty.

I think she would have divorced me if I had bought it with my MINI purchase.

 

Less than 3 years in, I had 4 tires replaced. Paid $600 for the warranty for 5 years.

 

I think as with any warranty or insurance(technically this is insurance and not a warranty really) that its worth depends on many factors. You are betting either rightly or not that something will happen. If it does then you make out like a bandit and if it does not then someone else it happens to gets your money to fix their issue. Personally I bought the plan and well it will probably be wasted money but every and I do mean EVERY other time I have passed on a warranty or maintenance plan I have ended up wishing I had not and the resulting repair has cost me more than the plans cost. Unfortunately for me the converse is not always the case I have about a 30% usage rate on the plans I do purchase but in the end I think I come out ahead(sure save myself a lot of stress and worry).

 

If you get the 18 inch wheels, and live in an area where there are a lot of potholes it might be worth it.

 

If it gives you peace of mind... it's worth it. The dealer is banking on you never having to make good on the warranty, which is why they push it. I had it for my first MINI. The second time around... I said no thanks, ditched my run flats, bought some Toyos, bought a slime kit with compressor, and have been laughing ever since.

Don't feel bad-- don't feel like you got suckered into something. Interestingly enough, even after buying the tire "warranty" or "insurance" (whatever you like to call it) I am pretty sure you have at least 30 days to get a refund on it... you might want to look into that. I noticed at the end of my bill of sale/contract it said that even if I opted FOR it, I could get a refund if I decided later I didn't want it-- but there was either a time or distance restriction. Might be worth checking into...

 

Replaced 2 runflats before the car was a year old, bought the warranty and no problems for the last 18 months.......go figure

 

I purchased it and have had to replace 1 tire since October when I got the car. My main concern was the wheel. I used to live in TX where there are Discount Tire stores.. I miss their warranty.

$30 a month for my 42 month lease.

 

I got the tire warranty, don't remember the price but it's on a 39month lease.

A few weeks ago my tire pressure light went on, and when I checked the pressures, one of the rear ones was low. So I'd just been refilling it for a couple of weeks until I took the time to get it to the dealer.

Dealer checked it over and told me they couldn't find anything wrong with the tire. I didn't have the time at that point to argue with them.

2 weeks later, after having to fill up the tire again, and told them to either replace the tire or refund my tire warranty. This time they 'found' a nail in the tire and replaced it.

Twits.

Don't beat yourself up for getting it. It's like any other 'insurance' - there's a chance it will really come in handy, and there's also a chance it will be completely useless. For me, it was the peace of mind. Living in the city its not uncommon to get a tire puncture that cannot be sealed. I didn't expect having to make 2 trips to the dealer, but there you go.