2013 335xi Tire & Rim insurance - CNA vs BMW

Hi all,

Has anyone had experience with CNA tire insurance? This is what dealer quoted:

BMW insurance 3 years w/o cosmetic $1049 and $50 deductible
CNA insurance 3 years w/o cosmetic $849 and $0 deductible
CNA insurance 3 years w/ cosmetic $1149 and $0 deductilbe

Looks that CNA is a better deal. I'm wondering if there's a catch. Anyone can share your experience with CNA? Any information would be appreciated.

Originally Posted by Hotdeck

Hi all,

Has anyone had experience with CNA tire insurance? This is what dealer quoted:

BMW insurance 3 years w/o cosmetic $1049 and $50 deductible
CNA insurance 3 years w/o cosmetic $849 and $0 deductible
CNA insurance 3 years w/ cosmetic $1149 and $0 deductilbe

Looks that CNA is a better deal. I'm wondering if there's a catch. Anyone can share your experience with CNA? Any information would be appreciated.

What is with this obsession with tire / wheel insurance? If you enjoy flushing multiple hundred dollar bills down the toilet, then buying tire insurance may be a good new hobby for you. For everyone else, just stay away from it, FAR away.

See my semi-rant here for more details:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=74

Originally Posted by EnerJi

What is with this obsession with tire / wheel insurance? If you enjoy flushing multiple hundred dollar bills down the toilet, then buying tire insurance may be a good new hobby for you. For everyone else, just stay away from it, FAR away.

See my semi-rant here for more details:

http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/sho...7&postcount=74

Lighten up,where is the obsession? He just wants to know if anyone has any "experience with CNA tire and wheel insurance"..
cheers
vern

Originally Posted by vern

Lighten up,where is the obsession? He just wants to know if anyone has any "experience with CNA tire and wheel insurance"..
cheers
vern

He's not referring to this OP having an obsession. He's referring to tire insurance in general.

Originally Posted by vern

Lighten up,where is the obsession? He just wants to know if anyone has any "experience with CNA tire and wheel insurance"..
cheers
vern

It appears dealers have an obsession with pushing this "insurance" (and i use that term lightly), which makes sense for them as it makes them LOTS of money. If they make lots of money the poor consumer is losing lots of money.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

He's not referring to this OP having an obsession. He referring to tire insurance in general.

Exactly right. People can buy what they want of course, but not everyone is knowledgeable enough to see through the marketing claims and the dealer's sales tactics.

This "insurance" just rubs me the wrong way as in most cases it's a particularly galling money-grab, so I try to bring a bit of understanding to the topic, in the hopes that folks can then make a more educated decision.

Tire insurance has always paid for itself for me. ALWAYS

May I ask if you drive aggressively, or you live in an area with more bad roads? I live in Boston area, but I don't think I'm an aggressive driver. My last tires lasted >50K miles before I had to change them.

Originally Posted by justinnum1

Tire insurance has always paid for itself for me. ALWAYS

Appreciate your input, EnerJi. Now I want to evaluate my risk and benefit more carefully.

Originally Posted by EnerJi

It appears dealers have an obsession with pushing this "insurance" (and i use that term lightly), which makes sense for them as it makes them LOTS of money. If they make lots of money the poor consumer is losing lots of money.




Exactly right. People can buy what they want of course, but not everyone is knowledgeable enough to see through the marketing claims and the dealer's sales tactics.

This "insurance" just rubs me the wrong way as in most cases it's a particularly galling money-grab, so I try to bring a bit of understanding to the topic, in the hopes that folks can then make a more educated decision.

Originally Posted by Hotdeck

Appreciate your input, EnerJi. Now I want to evaluate my risk and benefit more carefully.

Wheel and tire size make a significant difference. Bigger wheels are more susceptible to damage. Tires with more narrow sidewalls are more susceptible to damage. Put the two together and....

A 255/35 19" tire and wheel combo is significantly more susceptible than a 225/45 17" tire and wheel combo.

Originally Posted by Hotdeck

Hi all,

Has anyone had experience with CNA tire insurance? This is what dealer quoted:

BMW insurance 3 years w/o cosmetic $1049 and $50 deductible
CNA insurance 3 years w/o cosmetic $849 and $0 deductible
CNA insurance 3 years w/ cosmetic $1149 and $0 deductilbe

Looks that CNA is a better deal. I'm wondering if there's a catch. Anyone can share your experience with CNA? Any information would be appreciated.

I have a 2013 335X DRIVE M SPORT 18" all season tires.
Discount Tires charged me $197 for tire insurance which covers all 4 tires, free (new tire) replacement with same tire, free TMPS, free balancing, free repair, free rotation up to 50,000 miles ==> no deductible, no questions ask.
The insurance is good at any discount tires location nation wide.

Originally Posted by Hotdeck

May I ask if you drive aggressively, or you live in an area with more bad roads? I live in Boston area, but I don't think I'm an aggressive driver. My last tires lasted >50K miles before I had to change them.

I live in an area with a lot of nails

Originally Posted by kqf30

I have a 2013 335X DRIVE M SPORT 18" all season tires.
Discount Tires charged me $197 for tire insurance which covers all 4 tires, free (new tire) replacement with same tire, free TMPS, free balancing, free repair, free rotation up to 50,000 miles ==> no deductible, no questions ask.
The insurance is good at any discount tires location nation wide.

And they sell this coverage separately from a set of tires purchased from them, right? Available for any set of tires, to anyone, right?

This is something I've just learned about. A really exceptional deal.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

And they sell this coverage separately from a set of tires purchased from them, right? Available for any set of tires, to anyone, right?

This is something I've just learned about. A really exceptional deal.

Yes for any set of " new tires", as the guy told me.

I was in there for a free 10-minute tire pressure check in my girfriend's car and she already had 8000 miles on her new (Japanese) car. We ended up paying $69 insurance for hers and $197 for mine. I have been a customer there for years and never had any service problems with them.

Any Discount Tires location offers free rotation / repair but if you dont have this insurance, they will charge for rebalancing and/or TMPS but all is covered with this insurance.

Apparently that's the only reason your insurance always paid for itself!

On a serious note, do you drive aggressively? Which metropolitan area do you drive in if you don't mind sharing?

Originally Posted by justinnum1

I live in an area with a lot of nails

This sounds like a fantastic deal. But there's no discount tires location close to me.

Do you happen to know such places in MA?

Originally Posted by kqf30

I have a 2013 335X DRIVE M SPORT 18" all season tires.
Discount Tires charged me $197 for tire insurance which covers all 4 tires, free (new tire) replacement with same tire, free TMPS, free balancing, free repair, free rotation up to 50,000 miles ==> no deductible, no questions ask.
The insurance is good at any discount tires location nation wide.

Originally Posted by tturedraider

Wheel and tire size make a significant difference. Bigger wheels are more susceptible to damage. Tires with more narrow sidewalls are more susceptible to damage. Put the two together and....

A 255/35 19" tire and wheel combo is significantly more susceptible than a 225/45 17" tire and wheel combo.

True, but keep in mind those factors should be priced into the cost of the coverage itself.


By the way, I didn't directly address it in my posts, but for folks who are willing to "accidentally" drive over some nails they may feel like they get their money's worth from this type of coverage. A few points on this situation specifically:

1) Not trying to pass judgement, but technically this is insurance fraud. State laws vary, but could be considered a felony, despite the relatively small amounts in question. It's not likely to be prosecuted, but as a BMW owner you're probably doing fairly well in life and have a lot to lose - do you want to take that risk? Do you want to be known as a fraud and a liar?

2) It's going to be particularly suspicious if you suddenly have all four tires get nails in them at once. Are you willing to lie so boldly? If requested, are you willing to sign an affidavit (equivalent to taking an oath in a court room) swearing that those nails were an accident?

3) Your time is valuable. Claiming insurance can be a hassle. If you try to mitigate #2 by having only two wheels get punctured at a time, then double that time and hassle factor. Dealer-sold tire insurance is (usually) very expensive. Is the extra time and hassle really worth it to you just to save a few $? (The $ you "might save is simply the difference between the cost of a replacement tire on a discount site like Tirerack.com and the cost of the insurance. In many cases, there is a negligible $ savings.)


TL;DR:
Only folks willing to lie / commit fraud are likely to get value out of dealer-sold tire insurance. If that doesn't describe you, then consider other options, such as self-insuring.

^^ I'm sure thats a major factor in the price of the insurance.

Originally Posted by EnerJi

True, but keep in mind those factors should be priced into the cost of the coverage itself.


By the way, I didn't directly address it in my posts, but for folks who are willing to "accidentally" drive over some nails they may feel like they get their money's worth from this type of coverage. A few points on this situation specifically:

1) Not trying to pass judgement, but technically this is insurance fraud. State laws vary, but could be considered a felony, despite the relatively small amounts in question. It's not likely to be prosecuted, but as a BMW owner you're probably doing fairly well in life and have a lot to lose - do you want to take that risk? Do you want to be known as a fraud and a liar?

2) It's going to be particularly suspicious if you suddenly have all four tires get nails in them at once. Are you willing to lie so boldly? If requested, are you willing to sign an affidavit (equivalent to taking an oath in a court room) swearing that those nails were an accident?

3) Your time is valuable. Claiming insurance can be a hassle. If you try to mitigate #2 by having only two wheels get punctured at a time, then double that time and hassle factor. Dealer-sold tire insurance is (usually) very expensive. Is the extra time and hassle really worth it to you just to save a few $? (The $ you "might save is simply the difference between the cost of a replacement tire on a discount site like Tirerack.com and the cost of the insurance. In many cases, there is a negligible $ savings.)


TL;DR:
Only folks willing to lie / commit fraud are likely to get value out of dealer-sold tire insurance. If that doesn't describe you, then consider other options, such as self-insuring.

Get off your soap box. We're all big boys here.
cheers
vern

Unless you have a friendly service rep that will look the other way when your tires are worn and you happen to have a nail in all 4, tire insurance is the biggest waste of money.

If you don't have someone who will help you cheat the system, its not worth it, stay away.