Welcome to Tesla Motors Club
Discuss Tesla's Model S, Model 3, Model X, Model Y, Cybertruck, Roadster and More.
Register

Tire And Rim Insurance

This site may earn commission on affiliate links.
Hi All,
Im due to receive my car here in NYC in the next week or so. Im very worried about my 21" tires and rims on the bumpy roads of NYC. Ive been looking into rim and tire insurance and i cant find many companies that cover the Model S. Has anyone looked into rim and tire insurance and if so do you recommend any companies.
Thank you
 
Hi All,
Im due to receive my car here in NYC in the next week or so. Im very worried about my 21" tires and rims on the bumpy roads of NYC. Ive been looking into rim and tire insurance and i cant find many companies that cover the Model S. Has anyone looked into rim and tire insurance and if so do you recommend any companies.
Thank you

I too would be interested in this!

i had tire insurance on my 335i (which had run flats) and the Insurance paid for itself in less than a year! (I paid for 5 year insurance). Lucky purchase on my part since the run flats on the 335i were later notoriously known to be bubble prone (sidewall)! I must have gone through 8 tires in 3 years time only 1 of which I purchased and rest was via the insurance!

Usually these are offered by the dealer during the financing talk. I appreciate they are breaking the car buying paradigm, but they should still offer all these options/extras on the website....
 
I was alway under the impression that tire/rim "insurance" was a money-making add on from a dealer...

It was when I bought it for my GTI. I asked about what sort of tires would they put on as replacements. They said something 'equivalent' to what I had on the other wheels at the time, and it was in writing also. Considering I was going to put quality summer sport tires on my car after the first set wore out I decided for the coverage. As one tire would just about cover the 5 years worth of insurance at $270. And considering I go on construction sites for work, a flat is probably something I would experience.

Well I flatted about 2 years later. I had some ContiSports on my GTI (about $200 a pop) with only about 1,500 miles on them. I got a crappy Continental econo-tire that was worse than the OEM tires. And had a speed rating much lower than my car's top speed. I fought with the dealer for about 2 months about getting a better tire, but they said 'equivalent' meant same make. A BBB complaint later, all I got them to do was move the crappy tire to the back where it really didn't matter. I flatted again about 2 months later, and just bought a set of ContiSports out of pocket. Because they will replace the tire, but it took a full day, and they wouldn't give me a loaner for 'Tire Insurance' work, also in writing in the literature.

I hated that VW dealer's service department. For that fiasco and many others. I always go to a dealer until the warranty is up.

In the 6.5 years I had the car, I only flatted those 2 times. Both flats came from a visibly identical model screw/bolt from the same construction lot. I stopped parking there after the 2nd flat.

So yes a money maker, and generally a scam!
 
I was alway under the impression that tire/rim "insurance" was a money-making add on from a dealer...

You know I could see how that it could be. They are only going to replace the exact brand/make/type of tire that had the problem.

So if you are starting out with nice factory tires....then it makes sense. Otherwise....it may not!

I know for my 335i with run flats it def paid for itself (many times over).

I actually got really lucky. Usually tire insurance is sold at the time of purchase as an add-on. (Hence your fear that its likely the shady car man trying to scam you). For me I was not given the option to buy the insurance b/c the state of California was going through a lawsuit with the tire insurance company at that time. As such, when I went to the dealer for a flat (and 1 tire with a sidewall bubble) I was told my total bill was going to be about $750 (for the 2 tires). OR....b/c I wasn't offered the insurance initially (b/c if the lawsuit) I could pay for the insurance at this time ($900 for 3 years). So for $150 more I got the tires for free and 3 years of protection! (I actually opted for the 5 year plan which was something like $1300).

I NEVER would have bought the insurance (as with most optional insurances) if it wasn't for that fortunate situation....I guess I was always of the same opinion that you expressed ;)
 
ON AVERAGE, tire & rim insurance has to be a losing bet for consumers -- the premium should be set high enough to cover payouts plus administrative and other operating costs, or the insurer will soon be bankrupt. You may know, though, that you're at higher risk than average, e.g. you visit construction sites or drive on worse-than-average roads more than the norm; in that case, you have better information than the insurance company about the risk of tire/rim damage and can beat the odds. (But note that the odds are set knowing that there is this information asymmetry, so you have to be not only higher-risk than the average driver's tire/rim experience, but higher than the average person who buys tire/rim insurance. And, yes, this issue is recursive and should indicate that no one offers tire/rim insurance, but there are enough suckers willing to buy a bad bet to keep the market operating.)
 
Now being offered by Tesla. . .$900 for the 21's for 4 years or 50k miles. Worth it?
Tesla Service | Tesla Motors

I had some questions:

1. Z rated tires are supposed to not be repairable. Much of the contract deals with repairing tires.

I called service and said " if I have to get in an argument about the tire being repairable or not then I'm likely not to participate in this offer of insurance" I believe that some clarification about the tire being repairable is in order.

They said they would escalate the request for clarification and get back to me.
 
The problem with the tire insurance (and the rest of the service agreements) is that they had them written by lawyers to allow for the minimum outlay by Tesla rather than in plain English. Basically you purchase them and hope whatever problems you have are not disallowed.
 
They're a nylon ring that mounts between the tire and the rim that sticks out a bit to protect the rim from curbs and whatnot. I got mine from the manufacturer, Alloy Wheel Repairs, Protection, Refurbishment, Cleaning & Polishing. I had them installed at the Tesla service center for $100.

On the Gator Alloy web site FAQ it recommended inquiring about club discounts, so I took the liberty of asking what discount might be offered to this club. I'll post their reply.
 
The problem with the tire insurance (and the rest of the service agreements) is that they had them written by lawyers to allow for the minimum outlay by Tesla rather than in plain English. Basically you purchase them and hope whatever problems you have are not disallowed.

You are correct in that there are 26 "exclusions" in the contract. With the exception of #23, which indicates that we have to be careful how we buy our next set of tires, they are generally benign. The big "out" is the requirement of at least 2/32" of tread depth--which last I checked is the same as 1/16". I'd love an opinion on whether that depth is a reasonable place to draw the line or not. Also to be considered is this unclear statement: "the tire will be replaced, including mounting and balancing, and applicable taxes, in amounts not to exceed selected Tire Component coverage." Since the agreement is defined by term, not cost of repair ("Aggregate Limit of the Contract" is never defined), I'm not sure what this means. Perhaps it is a separate document that comes during the payment process. I don't know, but it's not defined in the terms & conditions.
https://www.teslamotors.com/sites/default/files/blog_attachments/na_tesla_tirewheel_plan_agreement_ot.pdf
 
The big "out" is the requirement of at least 2/32" of tread depth--which last I checked is the same as 1/16". I'd love an opinion on whether that depth is a reasonable place to draw the line or not.

2/32" is where the wear bars show and the tire is considered illegal to drive on. As far as I'm aware, all tire warranties, regardless of type, end at that point. However, safety in the wet happens earlier. Many tires, particularly ones that originate in Europe or Japan, have a rain indicator and a snow indicator (when applicable).