That's why most folks get a second set of rims for their winter tires.

Great protection program. What dealer sold it to you. My dealer never mentioned it at the purchase.

Yes, seems to be the general consensus, which is why I was querying to see if glaive was using originals, or second set. I haven't researched the summer tire performance in winter temps (I have OEM Michelins, not the Dunlops that most people seem to have) to see how much performance would be down-graded even without snow.

I suspect I'll find that performance will be hampered below freezing, which means my car will be garaged for most of Dec-Feb. Since it's mostly a weekend car for me, it's probably not worth the investment of winter tires and rims since I only put about 500 miles a month on it.

3rd party through Audi Willow Grove. It was about the same cost as my 6-month auto insurance premium. Pay once, lasts 5 years, no deductibles.

Does that tire insurance give you full replacement value or do they prorate the tires based on wear? I thought they pro-rated the tires. I may be wrong.

Since I don't know what you pay for insurance, I don't know if you paid $300 or $1,000 for your insurance.

I am guessing $500 is close?

BTW If I understand correctly, you have someone pull off your tires and put on the winters and then do the reverse in summer........and you plan to do this to the same set of Rims for the next 5 years?

And you have to do this because of the insurance, correct? In order to comply otherwise, you would have to buy your winter wheels from/through Audi, correct?

I am trying to see if the plan you were offered was any different from what I was offered 5 months ago.

I have similar questions...I purchased at WG too and was not offered the option, strangely. Maybe it was because I took delivery on a vehicle at closing time on a Friday and they couldn't be bothered with the hassle of the paperwork for whatever small commission they get on this.

Good questions. I think I paid about $800 for the plan. I found the contract and it is replacement/refinish/repair for structural or cosmetic damage to the wheels and replacement of damaged tires that have at least 3/32 tread left - which is around the legal limit for road use anyway. There is specific language covering claims from cosmetic damage due to curbing, which I thought is pretty liberal. There are no pro-rated claims. The cost of mounting/balancing the new rubber is included, up to $40/wheel. Also, it includes an allowance for roadside assistance - $50.

Now. I don't believe there was anything in the contract about aftermarket parts, and when I asked the dealer, they said I should stick with OEM to avoid complications. This doesn't mean I have to necessarily purchase my tires through Audi. So, this year I paid $400 for this set of barely used dunlop winters, which would satisfy any requirement (implied or otherwise) that I use OEM (or OEM recommended) tires/wheels. And I love the OEM 19" wheels so I don't mind keeping them on year-round.

I haven't had to make a claim yet, but the dealer said they've been working with the company for a while and their customers haven't had any hassles making claims.

Since I use the car as a daily driver and drive it in the city a lot, I think it's worth it... if for no other reason than peace of mind.

Oh, one more thing. I like to think of this as insurance because in plain terms it is, but the title of my plan is "Wheel and Tire Road Hazard Protection". A hazard apparently includes the curb when parallel parking, haha.

He glaive, I also got the same tire and wheel warranty on my S5 from WG Audi. In the first two months I had two blowouts. Each time I drove the car to them on the spare, pick it up at the end of the next day with a new tire mounted and sign the $0 invoice and away I go.

I have been struggling with getting snow wheels and tires for this car (something I always do) this year and think that with the warranty I may do like you and switch just the tires.

Have you asked them specifically if the wheel and tire warranty will cover aftermarket wheels and snow tires?

Thanks.

EJ

I asked about aftermarket wheels when I first got the insurance and they said something like "if we put them on, they should be okay" but it seems to be a gray area of the contract. I chose to stick with the OEM wheels and OEM winter rubber (though purchased 3rd party) so there would be no question if I ever have any problems in the future.

I have the same tire protection warranty and it cost me $479 for 6 years/72k miles, I already used it 2 times in the past year of having it. One was a nail in my stock wheels and tires and 1 was in my aftermarket wheels and tires. They covered both without any issues. The service guy told me that if its an aftermarket wheel/tire they will cover up to the the amount of the factory tire, if it is more then you have to cover the cost.