How often have you guys had damage to the tires and rims? We are trying to figure out if the $600 tire protection on a lease is worth it.....

 

im used to driving a truck, so driving a small car like an audi is easy as pie...but apparently not for the guy i bought it from bc whhhhoooooeeeee where those rims scratched when i got the car

 

It depends where you drive. I hit a small pot-hole in Detroit with my 17" rims and Pirellis and it put in hole in the tire that was not repairable. Fortunately the rim was undamaged.

I also had an 18" Cooper tire go mysteriously flat - it just started melting. Rim undamaged. Later took it on a 2500 mile vacation and when I returned they were so badly worn on the inside (some cord showing) I had to replace them. I talked Discount Tire into replacing them with Conti's and have had only on flat since then - the only time my wife was driving and again in Detroit. No damage to the rim and I had coverage on the tire.

If you're running 16" rims I would not be concerned. If you are running 17-18" in a city where there is a lot of construction or rough pavement, it's a consideration. However, how many flats before it costs more than $600. My history spans from 5/2005 and 81k miles.

 

There are places that straighten bent rims, generally in the $60-70.00 range
BENG

 

There are also hairline cracks that can appear in rims which are a nightmare to fix.

It really depends on where you drive and how bad the roads are, as everyone has already mentioned.

If it 600 for 3 years, that's 200 a year. Which is one new performance tire a year. Problem is, you have a quattro so you will probably have to change more than one so that the rolling diameter is close enough. It's a close call on value for money, but then there is piece of mind too...