new CLA45 - what options? & GAP insurance - should i bother?

[spurswasps]

Hi all,

First post on this forum, and looking for a bit of advice...!

Moving away from a 2y.o. C250 AMG sport plus, and just ordered a new CLA45 - very excited and waiting (not so patiently) until Sept for delivery.
Gone with fairly simple spec; white, performance exhaust, black alloys, red callipers. Tempted by panoramic roof, but didn't go for it - any other options I'll regret not going for - feedback appreciated!

Also, MB dealer was pushing GAP insurance - i took it off the quote, but now wondering if i still need to consider it. What's your experience here?

Cheers!

 

[JBD]

Have you gone for any navigation at all? You can get the bigger screen for only £300 now. I think you've gone for most things that I normally recommend. I think the AMG Exclusive package looks nice, but it's a lot of money. I also think the pan roof is nice, but £960 is a lot too!

GAP i'm not going to comment on, as I'm a salesman too

 

[Robby122]

I always take GAP insurance seems to be no brainer just incase something happens down the line, i think you should go for pan roof i know its almost 1k but its defo worth it, I have mine open all the time (expect when it rains ha)

 

[boxbrownie]

Do not buy the GAP insurance from the dealer, buy it from an independent broker, I personally think it is a good idea and know a close friend who has had the benefit of a GAP payout on a new car which was written off in a motorway rear ender, thankfully after a few days she was fine also.

GAP for three years on my new Q3 (£35K) cost roughly £160 (return to invoice price).

 

[JBD]

I always take GAP insurance seems to be no brainer just incase something happens down the line, i think you should go for pan roof i know its almost 1k but its defo worth it, I have mine open all the time (expect when it rains ha)

I've always had it open in 45AMG cars because of the sound!

 

[Meldrew2]

You can always buy Gap insurance independently if you feel you need it. Shop around and you should find it far cheaper than the price bought through the dealer.

 

[spurswasps]

ok - thanks for the feedback all - GAP insurance sounds like it might be worth having, for reassurance, if nothing else.

I might need to phone the dealer about the panoramic roof!

I've always had it open in 45AMG cars because of the sound!

Of course! Anything to get more of that sound back in the car ha!

 

[Giantvanman]

GAP insurance is an essential I would say for no other reason than peace of mind should that horrible event occur. Plenty of good independent (from the dealer) policies out there as there is for wheels, tyres, paint work/slight damage…have a look around and you will be surprised at how much less you would pay by not going with the dealer.

Just be prepared for the dealer to try and make it a condition of the deal that you buy their products; simply make it clear that you are prepared to walk away. I don't know if it is just my local dealer but their hard sell is VERY hard sell (and a bit underhanded too but that is for another thread).

 

[Bonecho]

I bought gap insurance on my sons cheap £9950 Kia Rio as it would not take too much damage for it to be written off but what are the chances of a car that cost over £40,000 being written off?

 

[spurswasps]

Already amazed at the differences in quotes! I agree, the push from my MB dealer for GAP and Supagard was a very hard sell, but i guess the add-ons are where they make the extra commission. They we're happy to drop it in the end.

 

[boxbrownie]

I bought gap insurance on my sons cheap £9950 Kia Rio as it would not take too much damage for it to be written off but what are the chances of a car that cost over £40,000 being written off?

Doesn't have to be a deadly/dramatic/crushing crash, as I stated above a friend of mine had her (roughly) 4 month old Audi TT cab written off in a motorway rear end impact, it was a enough to deform the main safety shell such that both doors would no longer close once opened by the emergency services, they didn't even need to cut the roof off (which is the usual reason for newer cars being written off after impacts) to extract her, as I said after a few days rest she was fine but the car was most definitely not!

She was happy though as she had enough to go out and buy a brand new BMW 135 cab as a replacement.

 

[spurswasps]

GAP insurance is an essential I would say for no other reason than peace of mind should that horrible event occur. Plenty of good independent (from the dealer) policies out there as there is for wheels, tyres, paint work/slight damage…have a look around and you will be surprised at how much less you would pay by not going with the dealer.

Also, thanks for the heads-up on the additional insurance quote items - something i had not seen before. Getting quotes on tyres/alloys/slight damage, seems quite reasonable, and still keep everything (including my fully comp insurance) below the dealer quoted GAP insurance!

Just amended my order to include the panoramic roof - needed to be done!

 

[S205-FTW]

Back in March I took out 3 years of Replacement GAP for a S205 C200.

£30k list price. The policy cost me £152.

Dealer wanted over £500 for an identical policy