GAP insurance sales nonsense
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The other thing to consider about GAP insurance is the gap it is actually covering is a rare event, and covering nothing for the first year (assuming you have a typical new car replacement insurance policy). It does not cover loss of value of having a repaired car when it is not written off. It's a long time since I've had an accident, and when I've had accidents, the repair has been fairly low value, bumpers, lights and and trim. So in 40 years of driving, GAP insurance wouldn't have paid out a penny to me.
Also, something I just picked up - they are not now allowed to sell GAP insurance at the same time they sell the car, there has to be a 2 day gap (according to MSE!).
Really, GAP insurance is part of the PCP scam about getting people to buy cars they can't afford and then scaring them into paying even more money because the buyer is stuffed if they do have an accident because of the finance payment timing doesn't reflect the value of the vehicle. If you weren't financed, the normal insurance should allow you to continue driving a car of the same quality as at the time of the accident and be no worse off.0 -
They should not be stating it's a legal requirement, they are creating a paper trail to cover themselves against a customer who does not take the cover coming back after a qualify motor claim who sues them for not offering it.
The chances of a successful court case are relatively low.
Anyone who works in the Insurance industry will have numerous stories of customers where they have given them specific advise to take out a certain product or level of cover. The same customers then comes back blaming the salesman.
The FCA do require that Insurance products are sold in a certain way and the sales process is documented. But they would not insist you sign a waiver.
The two day rule for the sale of GAP only applies to the motortrader selling you the vehicle. You are free to buy the cover from any other source without the two day rule0 -
When we purchased a car in March the GAP stuff was done as cover for us meeting the Head of Sales at handover.
Still didn't buy it.0 -
Dealer GAP seems to be another way to screw money out of the customer.
If it was priced sensibly I would have bought it from them but the GAP insurance offered by the dealer I've recently bought a new car from was £499 on a £32k purchase and I can get a policy for £150 ish so pretty expensive.
Not overly surprising though considering they wanted £600 for paint and upholstery protection.0 -
IanMSpencer wrote: »The other thing to consider about GAP insurance is the gap it is actually covering is a rare event, and covering nothing for the first year (assuming you have a typical new car replacement insurance policy). It does not cover loss of value of having a repaired car when it is not written off. It's a long time since I've had an accident, and when I've had accidents, the repair has been fairly low value, bumpers, lights and and trim. So in 40 years of driving, GAP insurance wouldn't have paid out a penny to me.
Also, something I just picked up - they are not now allowed to sell GAP insurance at the same time they sell the car, there has to be a 2 day gap (according to MSE!).
Really, GAP insurance is part of the PCP scam about getting people to buy cars they can't afford and then scaring them into paying even more money because the buyer is stuffed if they do have an accident because of the finance payment timing doesn't reflect the value of the vehicle. If you weren't financed, the normal insurance should allow you to continue driving a car of the same quality as at the time of the accident and be no worse off.
Presumably the same applies to the fire insurance you buy for your house?
The fact you haven't had to claim on it says nothing about its value.0 -
The difference in fire insurance for your house is that the house will probably not be worth less than you paid for it.
I think GAP insurance shows up all the flaws of car ownership.
In my opinion, if you have bought a new car you know it is going to be worth less and less each year. That loss is the cost of ownership and is the amount of money you are prepared to pay to drive that particular car.
If you can't afford to face that loss in the event of the car being written off, then you probably should look at buying a cheaper or older car.
If you are buying on finance, particularly PCP, then a £150 GAP policy probably is a good idea as you may end up owing more money to the finance company if your car is written off during the finance period.When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on
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AnotherJoe wrote: »Presumably the same applies to the fire insurance you buy for your house?
The fact you haven't had to claim on it says nothing about its value.
That's not a fair comparison. The insurance you buy for your house covers so in the event of a fire you get the house rebuilt to how it was before. Just like car insurance in the event of a car fire you get the money to buy a replacement car of the same condition/specification/age as the one you had before the car was destroyed in a fire.
GAP insurance is extra insurance on top to allow you to get a better and newer car than the one you had before. So the equivalent in your example would be buying extra insurance on top of your home insurance that would payout to give you a better house in the event of destruction... which certainly does not exist!.0 -
No, the equivalent would be taking extra "new for old" cover on your house insurance - something that most definitely does exist.That's not a fair comparison. The insurance you buy for your house covers so in the event of a fire you get the house rebuilt to how it was before. Just like car insurance in the event of a car fire you get the money to buy a replacement car of the same condition/specification/age as the one you had before the car was destroyed in a fire.
GAP insurance is extra insurance on top to allow you to get a better and newer car than the one you had before. So the equivalent in your example would be buying extra insurance on top of your home insurance that would payout to give you a better house in the event of destruction... which certainly does not exist!.
The fact is all insurance, including things like extended warranties, are a type of gamble which for the most part the odds are they're unlikely ever need to pay out but for some that's a risk worth paying for.0 -
The point with GAP insurance is that the salesperson has described to the buyer how much money they are going to lose buying the car even if it survives in perfect condition. Despite that knowledge the buyer decides to continue with the purchase. The GAP salesperson then tells the buyer the car is going to be worth even less than that, if it is written off in the first three years. But for a mere fraction of what the buyer has already committed to they can cover that difference - phew, what a relief, they could have lost money !When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on0
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That is completely asinine but it comes as no surprise that someone who has been in the industry is saying that what they did was a good thing. If you take that to its logical extent for any purchase it becomes ridiculous given the vast range of things and events you can get insurance to cover.
I am not sure I said it was a good thing did I? If someone does not want the insurance what would be the big deal in signing to say so? I agree the dealers should be more upfront about why they need a signature, no excuse for not telling the truth.
Sadly we live in a society where some individuals are quite happy to sue anybody at the drop of a hat. I know for a fact that dealers have been pursued by customers when they have not been offered Gap Insurance (and the dealer was able to sell it to them) and then suffered financially when the vehicle was subseqently written off.
Not every customer is as honest and trustworthy as you are.0
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