"Gap" insurance - yes/no?

[pammy]

I have been given the option to take out Gap insurance on the SLK when I pick it up tomorrow. Cost £675 for 3 years. Question is - am I wasting my money? Has anyone actually got anything out of this or is it just another opportunity for "them" to make money out of lil ol' me?

 

[Steve_Perry]

*Whooosh* Straight over my head.

Umm, excuse me for the silly question but what is 'GAP Insurance'?

S.

 

[sym]

insurance to cover the shortfall between what the insurance company would pay you for your car were you to write it off, and what it would actually cost to replace it !!

s.

 

[GrahamC230K]

I take it by Gap, you mean to cover the remaining HP in case of a insurance claim?

I know someone that had this and ended up needing it and was very fortunate he signed up.

Personally I think unless you are on a bad HP rate or are paying OTT for the car, a moderm Mercedes wont devalue quick enough to warrant it for a few years HP.

But then I don't sign up for repayment protection either - my payment protection is if I cant afford it I will sell it!

 

[Steve_Perry]

Thanks Sym!

Ah ha, I see! Many thanks for that Sym

Originally posted by GrahamC230K
...But then I don't sign up for repayment protection either - my payment protection is if I cant afford it I will sell it!

I took out mortgage protection and given my current circumstance I'm very glad I did. Sorry for going slightly off topic.

S.

 

[mapleleaf]

I'd go for it.

Like any insurance its peace of mind, and if a high value car is bought on some kind of finance deal , chances are that in a write off situation, money will still be owed with no guarantee that the insurance will pay out enough to cover that.

I have Gap Insurance on both mercs and am superstitious enough to think if I cancel , the worst would happen! so I keep it going.

 

[RichardM]

With a new car its more important as with the depreciation its very likely the car will be worth less than you paid and maybe less than you owe on HP.

With GAP insurance you could write off a 2 year old car, and they will pay up for the original purchase price, or the current list price for a new car.

Its worth getting a couple of quotes, I think the AA offer GAP insurance and may be much cheaper, even the price from different dealers seems to vary.

 

[adam1]

My MB dealer was charging around 500 quid but it pays to invoice value. Make sure u check if it pays differential or to invoice. The invoice is the better deal with a slightly higher initial outlay.

I decided to not take it since I'm planning on changing car within 12-18 months and besides a bought it at a significant discount so 1st year depreciation will not be much.

I also didn't take out protection on the car loan....since if I can't afford it i will sell or downgrade to a cheaper car to repay the loan, which is unlikely since I had the capital anyway but decided for loan due to the cheaper cost of borrowing.

 

[Big Ed]

I also know several people who have made use of this kind of insurance who would say it is worthwhile...

Probably worth checking if it is shortfall or GAP insurance - I believe one of them pays off the value of any outstanding finance (not necessarily worthwhile if you pay cash or put down a hefty deposit!) whereas the other pays out to invoice price of the car (some schemes have a maximum amount they will pay out, i.e. up to £20k difference between insurance valuation and cost price).

Also worth checking your insurance policy details, as some pay out for a brand new motor in the first year, so you might in fact only be paying for another 2 years.

Agree that the cost is a bit on the high side I was offered it for £600 on my M3 when I bought it........

Enjoy your car when you get it!! :bannana:

 

[RichardM]

Originally posted by Big Ed
Also worth checking your insurance policy details, as some pay out for a brand new motor in the first year, so you might in fact only be paying for another 2 years.

Some insurance companies such as saga will pay for a brand new car within 2 years.

 

[fuzzer]

Originally posted by RichardM
Some insurance companies such as saga will pay for a brand new car within 2 years.

I didn't think youre that old

 

[RichardM]

LOL, my mum bought a new car in October - honest!

 

[pammy]

Thanks for all that chaps. Having some PC prob's so have not been able to get back sooner

I'm paying cash for the car and as it's four months old it's taken its biggest hit on deprectiation. The one they've quoted is for invoice price - not HP shortfall -but I might just have a quick shop around to see what else I might be able to get - hadn't thought of that so thanks for the info'n.

Sadly - or not depending which way you look at it - I'm not quite old enough for SAGA but I'll store that for long term future reference


ooh - only 5 hours and 22 minutes to go:bannana: :bannana: :bannana:

 

[pammy]

Well - you lot are stars - I've found invoice gap insurance for 3 years for £295 yippee - you've just saved me £375 squids - ta muchly fellas - owe you one

If anyone else is interested - here's where it's at:_

http://www.gap-uk.co.uk/