Hmm...

My dealer sold me a wheel and tire insurance policy from R.O.A.D InTire (Vehicle Tire and Wheel Guarantee) with the "Gold Option".

The policy states that the "Gold Option upgrades the Plan to include the repair of cosmetic damage only to alloy wheels." It then goes on to describe what it considers NOT to be a alloy wheel. It even claims to cover up to $35 day of loaner fees during repairs.

This is my first time in 5 decades of car ownership to have ANY wheel/tire insurance. And frankly, after reading this thread, I wonder whether I wasted the money on this type of insurance. So my question is... Has anyone actually had a BMW wheel with only cosmetic damage repaired under the R.O.A.D InTire (Vehicle Tire and Wheel Guarantee) plan with the Gold option? And if so, what did it cost you?

Funf Dreisig

A wheel has got to be really bent to not hold air. I've had a wheel with a flat bend almost a half inch bent out of round and it still held air. It couldn't be balanced any more and vibrated badly at highway speeds, but it held air.

I would think any policy that only covers the wheel if it can't hold air is rather worthless.

I do understand the limitation on curb rash, as curb rash is typically more of a driver error, than an "act of God" sort of thing, like a pothole in the road.

And by inference, any dealer that sells a policy that "only covers the wheel if it can't hold air" is rather worthless too :(

Funf Dreisg

I agree. This happened to me. The warranty would not cover a damaged wheel. It even had a very slow leak and they still would not honor the warranty (insurance). It wasn't until the dealer dismounted the tire to replace the wheel that I ordered that they discovered the rim was cracked. The warranty provider had no choice but to replace. They even sent out an adjuster to look at it.

Hartawan. Thanks for the reference.

Funf Dreisg. Uhm.. my contract/receipt titles states the IAS Insurance. But the confirmation letter and card that I got is from R.O.A.D InTire (Vehicle Tire and Wheel Guarantee) too. Mine isn't the Gold option. I wasn't even aware that was available. I thought that they were all the same and should have read the fine print when I was at the dealership.

It should definitely be covered under collision. BTDT. The good thing is that between the estimate and your deductible it should not be a chargeable accident. Maybe they are saying it is not covered b/c your deductible is more than the cost of the wheel? The replacement cost is usually not worth the claim unless it is two wheels but w/the cost of the BMW wheels one may be worth the claim.

One place here that repairs wheels is Wheel Collision Center, Wheel Collision Center

There are also places in DE and TX but I could not find the links.

Here found a list...

Wheel Repair Companies by State

^ E70 has that and it should definitely be used during parallel parking... except I forget that it can do that the few times that I am actually parallel parking. ;)

If you are a DIYer at all, the process is really easy. Did it on our 7 in an afternoon...

Thanks lennynchris.

If I were to keep my rims, I'd try to DIY. But I'm planning on selling them sometime soon to upgrade to the 128's. So I'll just hire a professional to do it. I wonder if it's the same process.

I wonder how they do it to match the color of the alloy wheels or is this pretty much standard stuff.