GAP Insurance

[dutchduke]

Hi all ,
just bought a new car and the dealer offered me GAP insurance , where they pay out the difference between the value the insurance company offers and the purchase value in case of an accident or theft.
I remember from a couple of posts here that some guys have used gap insurance.
The question is now do you have to get this from the dealer or can you shop around for something like this?

[harriebird]

i think you can get this from all sorts of people, i'm pretty sure my insurance company's recorded hold message said something about it

apparently there are 2 kinds though (helpful advice c/o another forum!), one which pays out the difference between the full invoice value (i.e. what you paid) and what the insurance company offer, and one that pays out the difference between what the insurance company offer and what the outstanding finance is.

never even realised!

[David.Hicks]

Yep - Harrie's right on all counts.

[mpk1967]

Buy a new Ducati and use their insurance and they will replace your stolen bike with a brand new one in the first six months of the policy.

After that you take the hit with the depreciation....

[Kiwi]

insurance companies are in business to make money

what is the maximum potential loss ?

what is the cost of the premium ?

what are the odds of writing a car off ?

work out the odds, but chances are that you are better putting the insurance premium into a savings account and drawing on it when and if you need to

alternatively, if there is a potential loss and you can't really afford this loss, ask yourself can you really afford this vehicle?

bottom line is the insurance company is in business to make money

[khushy]

brand new Maserati (£65K) - a year and a day after buying it - he was punted off the road by an oncoming car on the wrong side of the road - his Mazzer was a write off.

The Insurance company valued the car @ £42k - needless to say that the GAP Insurance he took out proved worthwhile in that case - he was delighted.

We also have it on our Merc - its a little pricey - but with lethal depreciation in the car market, the mileage we do, the nutters on the road (cars and bikes) the fact that there are 20,000,000 of them out there too etc etc - means that really its a no brainer!

khushy

[joff]

I did not take out GAP on my new bike...iirc it was £300 and covered you for 3 years. Not a bad idea if you have the extra few quid spare...i would say that if they did it for £100 p/a and you could renew the policy every year for up to 3 years more people would probably take it out. £300 on top of the price of a new bike, alarm and a few mods seems a lot extra dosh to pay out at the time.

[dutchduke]

its only £10 a month so no loss there but I have to look into what they're offering , the difference between the outstanding finace or the difference between the new price

[Frenchy]

I think gap insurance is on the whole pretty good value.

My only concern and I use the example of the Maserati above...I bought a used Maserati Gransport in June for £48k and put simply, it is proving more expensive to run than I imagined so I am selling it, the best price I have been offered is 30k...thats £18k lost in 9 months for 3.5k miles!

If I had taken gap insurance (I did on my last 2 cars) but wasn't the upstanding citizen I am, it would be very tempting to...ahem, 'lose the car' and get all my money back.

But to answer your question, yes you can shop around for it.

[Frenchy]

Just called my insurance company and they don't offer gap ins.

[Johnny]

Like everything don't buy it off the dealer, go to the insurance company direct.

Example -extended warranty on Wife's car £300 from the dealer. He dropped to 200 without a nudge. Online - £120

[deano.b]

Hi Guys,

I'm a car sales exec for Vw, and we always offer gap. Plus the fact due to the FSA we have too. Depending on what way the customer purchases the car depends on what gap insurance is offered, or explained i.e if you buy the car on finance, should anything happen to the car you would want the finance to be cleared, alternatively if you buy the car outright you would your invoice price covered. Most insurers will cover new for old in the 1st anyway, but from then on it's down to you, if anything happens.

I know i would say it, but i genuinely think it's a very good product. I sold merecedes before and asked a customer if they wanted it at point of sale, but they declined. When she came in to pick the car up i asked her again and she decided to take it. 2 months later her £23500 merc was written off, she came in and thanked me for offering it and was able to buy exactly the same vehicle from me, again with gap insurance.

Like Khushy said there are a lot of vehicles out on the road today, so we're more likely to have an accident. It also only takes 30% of the value of your bike or car to write it off, and these days with cars having so many airbags, which cost approx £750 each it soon mounts up. I just say to people that if your insurance company said that on a £20,000 car, you paid £10 a month and should the car get written off or stolen and unrecovered in the first 3 years we will guarantee to give you your full invoice price back, i think most people would take it.

If you break it down, it costs about a tenner a month, and that tenner over 3 years covers a bike or car worth thosands of pounds. So again i agree with Khushy, it's a no brainer really....... God you can tell i'm a car salesman can't you.

There are companies out there that will offer it, but as said in the post most motor insurers won't because they don't make anything from it, and all there in it for is making money.

Dean

[johnrose]

I took out gap insurance from Audi and was cheaper than activating my TRACKEr and paying annual fee.
Plus if stolen how much do I want it recovered if it has been abused?

Well worth it.