[BookemDano]

Good morning. Sometime between tomorrow and Saturday, I'm taking delivery of my new X3 (silver, 2.8 XLine, lots of options). When I meet with the dealership finance manager, I expect that he'll promote after-sale service options like extended service contract, tire warranty, etc. Which of these do you think is worthwhile and cost-effective?

Thanks,

Dan.

[E90SLAM]

When I leased mine a week or so ago, the only two options he promoted was the "lease insurance thing", and tire warranty.
Which I got none, although lease protection, at the end of the lease, like car rental insurance, any dings and scratches, are forgiven. Otherwise you'll be charged with bill. But of course normally we'd fix it before returning lease. That insurance cost just under 3k!!! Outrageous!!
Also tire insurance, cost like 2k, which each of my 20" RFT cost 300-400 a piece at tirerack. I'd would need to bust 5 tires to break even.

[double_j]

None of the finance office offerings are really worth it financially. They tend to get people because the cost can be rolled into the monthly payment and thus isn't 'real money'.

Extended warranty can be bought at any time on the car. Yes, it will get a little more expensive as you get closer to warranty-end but you can sometimes work a deal when you're ready to buy since all dealers offer the same thing. Also, if you really want an extended warranty, it's better to compare providers yourself so you understand their terms.

Tire and wheel insurance - Not really worth it unless the car you're getting has outrageously expensive tires/wheels since most common tire issues can be repaired on the cheap, despite what the RFT manufacturers might say. That said, maybe not the worst purchase in the world if you want to avoid the whole 'patch vs. replace RFT' debate. Still, I'd just self-insure and pay the couple hundred bucks out of pocket for a new tire when needed.

Lojack - LoJoke. If my car ever gets stolen, I prefer that it not be found. That's what real insurance is for.

Paintless dent repair, no need to pay for this one upfront - it's cheap enough to find someone to have it done yourself. Wait until you get a couple of dings and then have them all taken care of in one visit.

[BookemDano]

Gentlemen,

Thanks for the feedback. I'll look into getting a refund.

Regards,

Dan.

[DrWatt]

Don't know about other people. I bought the tire warranty. That was two years ago. Haven't had to use it, but I live in a new home high construction area. I had flats and wheel damage on my previous auto. I just had a neighbor report two new flats on his auto. Nails, screws, bolts, other sharp objects are frequently found on the streets.

I have 15,000 miles on the tires. If I get a flat, I need two new tires. I never replace just one on an axel when there is that much difference in tread. You can repair run flat tires, provided you did very little driving after the flat. The more you drive on a flat, the weaker the sidewalls become. And the less safe that repaired tire will be.

[Polo08816]

Originally Posted by DrWatt

Don't know about other people. I bought the tire warranty. That was two years ago. Haven't had to use it, but I live in a new home high construction area. I had flats and wheel damage on my previous auto. I just had a neighbor report two new flats on his auto. Nails, screws, bolts, other sharp objects are frequently found on the streets.

I have 15,000 miles on the tires. If I get a flat, I need two new tires. I never replace just one on an axel when there is that much difference in tread. You can repair run flat tires, provided you did very little driving after the flat. The more you drive on a flat, the weaker the sidewalls become. And the less safe that repaired tire will be.

You would need 4 new tires since it's AWD.