njcarlover

I am buying an RX 350 and have a question regarding Lexus Tire and Wheel protection. The dealer said the list price for this coverage is $795, but will sell to me for $599. It covers the wheels and rims for 5 years, no deductible. I called another Lexus dealer, and this protection was roughly the same amount. I have read on the forums about people paying $29 / tire for road hazard protection. Can that just cover the tires and not the rims? I can't imagine it would be the same coverage offered for $599. I am not inclined to take this coverage at that price.
For $29 / tire, I would definitely take it.

Any advice on the pricing would be greatly appreciated.

salimshah

With RX, I have not had a curb damage on the rims [GS with low profile has curb rash]. So I think it is unlikely that you will get the rims damaged. [If you drive on streets with missing man-holes etc, then the rim insurance may be worth it.

You can purchase the tire hazard insurance from GoodYear, Discount tires etc. [you need not purchase the tires from them]

If you drive around in neighborhood where there is new construction, the chances that you will get a flat tire will be high.

Salim

moolman

DON'T BUY IT!

If you want tire road hazard protection, you can get it for about $80 at discount tire or american's tire co, same company different name depending on location. The good thing about them is that you also get free balancing at every rotation. Rotation is already free but balancing costs $30 usually, so $80 to get them balanced every 5k is a good deal.

The chances of you damaging a rim is pretty low, but it did happened to me. My wife was driving late at night without her glasses, she hit the center divider curb and dented the rim. The tire was fine. Lexus dealers charge about $450 for the rim. I found a tire shop that had a brand new OEM rim for $250 for the RX350. So bottomline, unless you are a really crappy driver and expect to damage 3 rims on the car, don't pay $600. Also remember that the spare is a full size with the rim, so worst case you do have a back up rim.

ecount00

agree it could be dependent on the driving habits of you and yours but rim damage is unlikely. count me as another vote of tire coverage from one of the tire companies.

njcarlover

Thank you so much for your responses.

I didn't realize I can buy tire hazard protection from a store I didn't buy the tires from. I will call GoodYear or Discount Tire and buy this protection from them. I am not as much concerned about the rims.

Thanks again for your great advice, it is really appreciated.

LexusPia

Are you sure Discount Tires will sell you road hazard coverage on your own tires? I find it hard to believe they'll cover some OEM tires that come with the car and not from them. Also, if I remember correctly with Discount Tire's road hazard coverage, it's only good for 36 months and you can only use it once, i.e. if you file a claim, the road hazard warranty you purchased originally cannot be applied to your new replacement tire. If you want your replacement tire covered, you'll need to purchase a new coverage.

Depending on your insurance company and the circumstance, sometimes the road hazard may be covered under the comprehensive with your car insurance. My wife drove her ES during a major thunderstorm and heavy downpour, she couldn't see and hit the curb damaging the tire and cracked the rim. The damage was covered under the comprehensive since it was considered an act of God. Another time she had a flat and she didn't know that. By the time she noticed, the tire was shredded to pieces and was almost driving on bare rim. This was not covered. A friend of mine while driving his GS one day in broad daylight hit a steel angle iron in the middle of the road which tore the tire but the rim was OK. His insurance company wouldn't cover that tire damage and replacement. He was told if the angle iron fell off a pickup in front of him, the damage would then be covered.

I should mention Sams Club has free lifetime road hazard coverage on any tires you buy from them.

salimshah

I bought tires through TireRack and local GoodYear mounted them for me. The GoodYear shop offered the hazard warranty [that was my learning that the tie shop need not sell tires to offer the road hazard]. Will Disount tires do the same? Best is to check with them.

Salim

cdnewton

Yes, you can purchase certificates (road hazard) for tires that you did not purchase at Discount Tire. I did it with our OEM Michelin's for our RX. But, if you use the certificate(s), you will to re-purchase certificates for the replacement set.

moolman

Yes, Discount Tire/American's Tire Co and many other tire places will sell you road hazard without you buying the tires there. I bought them on my wife's RX350 for the OEM Michelins because I wanted balancing. Balancing usually costs $30 at most places. Rotations are already free even for any car even if you didn't buy the tires there. With the road hazard, you get balancing every 5k if you want and I've been getting it done, but it's probably a waste of time since balancing every 5k is not necessary.

While insurance companies claim that comp insurance claims don't hurt you or won't raise your rates, they do show up in your CLUE report and too many is not good. When my wifes rims were bent, the rims costs $250 for the RX and my deductible is $300, so I didn't claim it. But in my clue report I have some other comp claims show up, like the time my side view mirror was torn off. That's why you don't get towing with your insurance company, every tow shows up in the CLUE.

mandyfig

Good advise given. It is just a surprise that Lexus dealers are trying to get into these types of income generation...I guess times are tough.

The G Man

I was offered $299 for tire and rim insurance 2 months ago from my Lexus dealer. I turn it down and I have run flats too, those tires are expensive.

njcarlover

If I was offered $299, I would take the tire and rim coverage. But, for $599, I don't think its worth it. I called a local Goodyear dealer (there are no discount tire centers anywhere in NJ), and they said they will offer a tire only warranty for me. It will cost me 15% of the cost of the tires. The warranty will be good for the life of the tires. I will probably go this route.

I really appreciate all your advice.

JasDmw

For all us Cannucks, tire road hazard protection is included with the car. Had 2 tires replaced due to 1 screw and 1 nail penetration right at the edge of the tire face.

mandyfig

Must be nice up there, how come you get the break? Just kidding. How is the Canadian Dollar now vs. the US $? Is that helping or not?

JasDmw

There is another thread running now on how Toyota Canada lowered prices just about 2 weeks ago. Not nice for those of us who bought recently. I bought mine last June. Last fall they were throwing in scheduled maintenance and now they dropped the prices up to $9k. Right now $CDN is about $1.01 USD. Had been as high as $1.10 US last November, was amost $1.03 last week. It's up about 60% in 3 or 4 years; starting to hurt the economy up here. Hope the subprime mess down there goes away soon!