I think everyone who leases the BMW has been asked by the sales if they want to buy the lease protection. I want to post here based on my situation. And maybe it could help people who have same doubt.
My current car is BMW 330i and I bought the lease protection when I leased the car. The lease protection mainly involved the tires replacement(Dealer said they didn’t admit the tired replaced by the 3rd party) and other protection(lost key coverage).
Today I am going to lease the 2021 M340i and I think dealer will also recommend me to buy this protection. Can I know if it is worth to buy it again? When we return the car, will the penalty be larger than lease protection?
One case I think I get benefits from this protection is I lost a car key when I was traveling. I asked the dealer for penalty and they confirmed with me that the lease protection would cover it. So I am lucky this time. But I don’t expect this thing will happen normally. So I am hesitate if I should buy lease protection this time. So guys, do you have any ideas?
I think in my current lease, since I lost one key plus replace the tires. The total protection fee is around $1400. If I didn’t buy it, the penalty will be greater than $1400(Although I didn’t ask dealer how much the penalty of losing one key).
Four used RFTs at $50 each, if you can find your exact sizes (staggered wheels, then you need two and two) AND you can get them that cheap and the timing is right for end of lease, plus mounting/balancing, works out to at least $300. New RFTs out the door are closer to $1500.
You should be able to get the lease protection [which covers up to a few thousand in damages including bald tires, lost key up to $300, bent wheels/bad curb rash, quarter panels normally billed at $400 ea. etc] for $1200 “dealer cost”. I like the piece of mind of not worrying if my tires will need to be replaced or if I lose a key or hit the curb. But like insurance, you probably won’t get your money back unless you end up claiming a bunch of things. It’s mostly for piece of mind.
BMW dealers probably sell this ancillary, non-core insurance product, underwritten by some of sleaziest companies known to man, solely out of their concern for their customers well-being.
If it was me I’d buy two plans. Can never have too much peace of mind.
In all honesty it doesn’t sound like you can afford that cars you are leasing OR your risk tolerance is non-existent.
If it’s the first one, find something to lease that has reasonable amount of end of lease coverage, but if it’s the 2nd just get the effing coverage that the dealer is recommending and sleep better at night.
I just picked up an X3 and didn’t get any coverages with it. If I’ll need tires I’ll get tires, if I’ll scuff something I’ll fix it. Or I’ll just find out what BMW would charge for it and do whichever one is cheaper. You can always find good deals on tires on model specific forums when people buy new cars and immediately change rims / tires.
But again, if all of this is too much effort, headache, inconvenience and you can afford it, just get it. No one knows your situation better than you do.
What gets my goat about people in the northeast or midwest doing this: why would you pay for the privilege of driving on worn tires for your last winter with the car? Thus endangering yourself and everyone else around you?
Typically all-season tires have lost almost all their snow/ice traction by 4/32… so paying for the privilege of driving around on tires with almost no snow/ice traction seems beyond idiotic to me.
While I agree with you on this, it’s also seriously messed up that manufacturers put tires on cars that get worn out in 10-15k miles. Unless you are using sports tires they shouldn’t wear out that quickly. At the same time it’s not like it’s not discussed everywhere and decision can’t be made ahead of time, so meh.
