Does anyone have any experience or opinions on these protection plans? Or keeping your car beautiful in general?

After picking up my 2012 MCS from the dealer last week, I opted to purchase the plans with the option to cancel within 30 days. The most compelling reasons were that I'd heard that the tires, windshield, etc. are very expensive to replace and I had fallen head over heels in love (!!) with the perfection of my new car. The plan cost nearly $2K for 5 years of protection, so the financial reality of that is setting in!!

I found the accompanying paperwork pretty scant though something that was clear was that curb rash is NOT covered. I'd also read that some folks with BMWs were having issues having their claims honored for the tire protection.

Are there any experienced owners out there that can comment on cosmetic repair costs for keeping their baby beautiful? It it ever worth going to the dealer for those things?

Thanks in advance!

 

I don't have experience with using these plans, I did not choose to purchase them with my new MINI.

Tire coverage, I assumed I'd be swapping out sets of tires/wheels (snows for winter on the original 16's, then a nice set of summer wheels and tires in 17's) and figured a dealer-sold policy would have many exceptions, clauses, etc. about OEM tires/wheels so I didn't actually review it very closely. Tires have their own warranty anyhow to cover the basics (tread separation, manufacturing fault).

Windshield...I don't know that I saw that one offered. I have windshield coverage through my auto insurance, with deductible if it's replaced or no deductible if they "fill" a chip instead of replace.

They spent a few minutes on "gap protection" insurance to pay off your loan if your car gets totaled, but my auto policy had that included already.

So...I guess I'm always skeptical of such, would read each carefully if I had interest.

"Keeping baby beautiful" I *do* have some experience with...but I'm a fairly adept DIYer so I've learned how to do cosmetic upkeep actions over the years. I *am* amazed at the abundance of detailing products and accessible knowledge these days, with blogs, websites, and YouTube videos for almost any car care subject. My assumption is that no one will care more about my car than I do...and I can give it the best TLC, as long as I know how / am capable.

 

Cant tell you anything about the Blemish Buster Plus plan, but i would suspect that it has so many exemptions that it would be worth less than a bottle of touch up paint at the dealer.

As for wheel/tire insurance that all depends on the plan. The plan I purchase in 2008 was $825 and covered "ANY" road hazard damage. The list of exceptions was 2 items first was if the car was in an accident with another vehicle then the wheels and tires were not covered and two if the vehicle was in an accident of any sort that the "car insurance company" covered then the wheels and tires were not covered by this insurance.

This is did use. I hit a highway bridge edge (one that runs all the way across all lanes of traffic) in NY one day and bent both front rims. The tires felt okay but when inspected the inside had bubbles where the tire had hit the edge of the bridge.

The total that was paid out by the insurance was $1411.00 Well worth the cost of the $825 i paid for the plan. I did have to pay out of my pocket to get my car fixed while on vacation as I needed it immediately. But the insurance company paid me in less than two weeks for the total bill.

Now can I say you would use it. Hopefully not. but it is up to you if you think it is worth the money or not. And that all depends on what type of exceptions are listed.

 

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, guys! It's my gut feeling also that if it were a great deal, they wouldn't be offering it.