Picking up my 25 IS500 tomorrow. After seeing the wheels I had an immediate fear of damage to the wheels. The plan, for $2,000 includes:
- wheel replacement or repair for any damage including curb damage, etc
- tire replacement due to road damage or non repairable puncture
- key fob replacement


- ding repairs
- windshield chip repair (not full large cracks)
- this is for 5 years and unlimited miles with no deductible

Honestly, I think this is a good deal. A single wheel replacement would cost more than this.

Thoughts?

 

I think the deal isn't bad. It's about twice as much as I paid for my wheel protection back in the day on my 2016 IS 300, but... these wheels are much more expensive, and, something something inflation.

I would definitely read the fine print and make sure there aren't any sneaky exclusions in there. For example, if you change to a new set of tires (which is recommended, by the way!), does wheel damage still get covered?

 

Do you mean if the installer damages the wheel? Or do you mean if the brand is just different from OEM?

 

I would be very cautious buying the wheel and tire replacement plan. My wheel got bent and they refused to fix it because it wasn't leaking air. The dealership and the finance department told me that it would fix the wheel if anything happened when I bought it. But when something did happen, they just said "NOPE" and offered me a refund for my tire and wheel plan. If you do buy the plan, if anything happens to your wheel... just beat the crap out of it before bringing it in to get it fixed.

 

The second one. I just mean - if you happen to have non-OEM tires on your car when it gets damaged, does that disqualify those damages from coverage? Probably not, but worth asking.

 

How many wheels have you damaged, I mean really damaged in your life? If you are talking about rock chips to a nice glossy black wheel are they going to cover anything? I know there are mobile services, often parked at dealerships, that do a good job on curb rash repair(because my wife's car has had that fix twice) for far less than the insurance cost. As for tire replacement...I always wondered what someone, especially with a performance car, is going to do about replacing one tire when the others have significant mileage on them? Is the insurance going to pay for a set of 4 or even 2 ? It is your money to spend but I hate insurance because it makes you feel like you can be protected from anything for only XXXX dollars. Ha! They are in business to make money from your payments.

 

I lost one wheel on my 2016 IS 300 AWD back in KCMO. I hit a pothole so badly that it bent the wheel. My protection plan paid for the replacement. I also lost two tires to potholes and had curb rash touched-up on one wheel.

I think it just depends on where you live as to whether something like this is worth it. For me, it was a drop in the bucket at $900 at the time - I definitely got my money's worth.

 

As Ganyu pointed out, you need to be very clear about what is actually covered - I almost guarantee "curb" damage is not covered. From what I was told by my dealership, the wheel warranty Lexus sells only kicks in if the tire won't hold air due to wheel damage.

 

Nothing will be covered if the wheel and tire are still usable.


What I don't understand, is how unubtanium our 19in BBS wheels are, yet they are sold on every DHP IS500 and IS350. Lexus Boutique sells them for 7k a pop and dealers can't just order you a wheel like every other wheel. Honestly for 2k I would just self-insure. Worse case scenario you can buy some real legit wheels for that price.

 

been driving all kinds of "hot" cars for 60+ years and have never had to replace a wheel.

 

The dealership said they could get one wheel for me. It would cost $2,200 + tax. From the replies i got from my forum thread, people said they had no problems with the wheel and tire plan when it came to other models or wheels. I think that since the IS500 has expensive BBS wheels they just ignore the problem and won't fix it. I just asked for a refund on tire plan (got it for $1,500) and went and got a whole set of wheels for $1,400 from black Friday sales. Now that winters over, I'm going to bring my BBS wheel to a shop and see if they can do some magic.

 

If you're curious, here's what the wheel and tire I had replaced looked like.



And yeah I could see how the BBS wheels may be prohibitively expensive for a basic wheel and tire protection plan. I don't have such a plan with my car now, but also, I live in the ATL area, where the roads are much better.

 

@InveredMP how much did you pay for your other set of bbs wheels? i may start looking around and get another set just incase something happens

 

I got the actual contract and it specifically cover cosmetic damage with no exclusion whatsoever about a wheel/tire holding air. Any tires are covered, not just oem. Also got them down to $1,600. No deductible.

Listen, one flat tire where the rim touches the pavement or a careless valet would cost me way more than the warranty and I’m good for 5 years.

 

I paid 1,000 for them. Happy I did as I really love the wheels so now I have summer tires and AS tiers.