To GAP or not To GAP

To Gap or not to Gap ?

  • Purchase GAP - worth every penny

    Votes: 22 59.5%

  • Don't bother another money making tactic

    Votes: 15 40.5%
  • Total voters
    37
  • Poll closed .
Spin140

Spin140

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Not sure wether to opt for GAP insurance this time around, never taken the option before as don't usually have finance and would rely on normal full comp car insurance and my negotiating skills to replace car in the unfortunate event of a total loss.

I have shopped around so now know I can get it for @ £250 for 3yrs RTI with £20K worth of cover, just need to be sure it is a worthwhile expense, £250 buys a fair amount of V-max :)

So I would like your opinions on the following Poll

Take up GAP worth every penny ?
Dont bother another money making scam ?
 
by the looks of it you buy a new car every year anyway so seems a bit pointless to me since all car insurance is new for old in first year anyway
 
steve184 said:
by the looks of it you buy a new car every year anyway so seems a bit pointless to me since all car insurance is new for old in first year anyway
Click to expand...


I thought this only applies if the car is first registered in your name, mines a 'used' car with 1,768 miles on the clock, first reg Dec 2006.

I won't be changing this for at least 3 years as the first car in a while that I have had to finance, wife has threatened to leave me if I swap again !!

I think I'lll be happy with this one :)
 
One thing a lot of people seem to forget is that GAP insurance is just that. It covers the GAP between what your insurance company will pay out for a total loss in an accident or if the car is stolen and what the return to invoice amount would be.

Therefore if the full invoice price for your car was say £26,000 and when you car was nearly 3 years old it was stolen. The insurance company would pay out what the consider it was worth, something like 50% of it's original price. The GAP insurance would make up the difference of £13,000. Even if you take out cover with a limit of £25,000 the maximum they will pay out would still be only £13,000.

So even with an Audi worth £30,000, on a 3 year policy it's unlikely to loose more than 50% so the GAP would have to cover £15,000, £20,000 at the most.

Personally I think it's well worth while. The cost is not that much compared with the price you are paying for a new car. Most insurance policies will replace the car like for like in the first 12 months and the GAP insurance gives peace of mind for years 2 and 3.
 
Never bought a new car in my life - let somebody else take the big depreciation hit!:friends:
 
I wouldn't bother with GAP; insurance payouts on written off or stolen cars are negotiable which gets you close to the replacement value, and I know how much commission the dealers make on selling it as well!
 
I certainly would not pay the dealers normal £399 for it but when you can get them to reduce the price, as I did by providing internet quotes, down to £220 it's a much better proposition.

If they will not play ball just get the cover on the internet.
 
I work for a finance company that sells gap cover as an extra - its probably the only insurance cover that is actually worth the money -- Most commission is made from payment protection policies that are totally useless, they always have some scam to get out of paying.

Gap cover is one of the few insurances i would actually pay for myself, especially when buying new.
 
Eeef said:
Get a decent insurance company and you don't need gap insurance.
Click to expand...

That's fine in year 1 but if the car is written off in years 2 & 3 you'll get something close to market value which means you need to go out and find a used car. If your car was close to standard spec then probably not a problem but if like me you chose a lot of options to get the car you wanted it'll probably be hard to find one on the used market with all the options.

For me it's worth having although I'd have preferred if the start could be deferred until year 2 as year 1 is covered by normal insurance anyway.

Dave
 
Eeef said:
Get a decent insurance company and you don't need gap insurance.
Click to expand...

All well and good, but if my car gets nicked or written off after lets say two years, and I can have a brand new one with RTI/RTN for the sake of a couple of hundred up front, I'll take it.
 
£250 compared to £20k for a car is nothing therefore for the sake of £250 you might as well get it!

I got my gap for £250 and i got my car 2nd hand.
 
GAP insurance is worth every penny.

For example, let’s say you buy a £30K S3 and choose not to take it:

Imagine you're two months away from having your car for three years and you write it off by crashing into my S3. Your insurance company (after lengthy negotiating) pays you £15K for your car, the indicative market value at that time. You're left with £15K and NO CAR. I walk away with £30K for a new S3! :icon_thumright:

Seems like a no brainer to me!
 
GAP insurance is worth every penny.

For example, let’s say you buy a £30K S3 and choose not to take it:

Imagine you're two months away from having your car for three years and you write it off by crashing into my S3. Your insurance company (after lengthy negotiating) pays you £15K for your car, the indicative market value at that time. You're left with £15K and NO CAR. I walk away with £30K for a new S3! :icon_thumright:

Seems like a no brainer to me!
 
GAP insurance is worth every penny.

For example, let’s say you buy a £30K S3 and choose not to take it:

Imagine you're two months away from having your car for three years and you write it off by crashing into my S3. Your insurance company (after lengthy negotiating) pays you £15K for your car, the indicative market value at that time. You're left with £15K and NO CAR. I walk away with £30K for a new S3! :icon_thumright:

Seems like a no brainer to me!
 
worth the money for sure! The thing with insurance is that you can only buy it when you don't need it!!!

Imagine you are in a situation where you could use GAP insurance... saving £200 now might make you £10000-£15000 short if you need it... for me worth it!

Pedro
 
In common with all insurance, be it GAP or a 5 year warranty on a washing machine the amount it costs can give some idea of the odds of it having to pay out. Personally I have been driving 20 years, having 17 new cars in that time, and have never had a total loss -"touch wood". With my 17 cars, if I had paid £250 each, it would have meant a total bill so far of £4250, and assuming a £15000 pay out, then for me this means 60 years of motoring or 51 new cars before the insurance company breaks even, compair this with the 5 year warranty on a washing machine where the warranty can cost more than the machine itself. Personally its not worth it for me, but I understand if you take up the option.

Chris.
 
audi upgrades
One last point, if you are driving a 3 year old car, and you have a total loss you are paid out for the replacement cost, not the trade-in value, this is the cost to replace your car, and this is a negotiation with the insurance company at the time. You should face the fact that you are no longer driving a £30K car, but a £15K car. I have had friends in this situation, and the best negotiation point is to tell the insurance company to find the same spec car (or better) including age and mileage for the money they are offering, which normally see the offer upped.

Chris.
 
I have new for old gap insurance for my new S3. Seems crazy not to bother for the equivalent of just over £80 per year!!

prt57
 
prt57 said:
I have new for old gap insurance for my new S3. Seems crazy not to bother for the equivalent of just over £80 per year!!

prt57
Click to expand...

Who did you get it from at that price?
 
well i'd read the small print if i were you, it clearly states in any GAP policy that any vehicles with modifications are not covered so if you have paid out for this and have modified your car in any way - bad luck you have wasted your money. And before you shoot the messenger it is irrelevant if you have declared mods to your insurance company - GAP insurance excludes modded cars full stop irrelevent of whether they declared or not
 
I got the dealer to match the best internet quote on sat am so at £230 it seemed a good buy for the extra peace of mind offered - I opted for RTI with £20K/3 years cover - Audi's initial quote was £399 !!

Hopefully I will get my moneys worth form the cover offered as after owning the car for just 3 days I can see how it would be easy to keep it for 3 years, Fun with a captal F :)
 
Audi's Gap insurance is quite reasonabley priced. I was quoted £883 on my bimmer.

Persaonlly I never bother taking it out as I don't tend to keep my cars for very long.

J.
 
Does anyone know if I can get GAP insurance after owning my car for a year? My Tracker is due for renewal and I reckon GAP would've been a better idea.....

Cheers,

Ian.
 
ianwane1 said:
Does anyone know if I can get GAP insurance after owning my car for a year? My Tracker is due for renewal and I reckon GAP would've been a better idea.....

Cheers,

Ian.
Click to expand...

Hitachi Gap will only inssure you if you've had the car less than 180 days(not sure if its return to invoice). Click4gap will only give you gap insurance for return to value so its not really worth it.
 
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