gap insurance for motor vehicles

MarkyMarkD

The cover varies and hence the price. It depends whether they are covering the gap back to invoice price, or replacement cost, or various other things.

Bear in mind that when they say "3 years" it's actually only 2, as the first year is covered on your car insurance anyway as all insurers will replace new for old within the first year (IF you buy new).

Shimrod

I took gap insurance out on my car I currently have purely for peace of mind - at £18,000 it was twice what I'd ever paid before! It was around £400 for 3 years as well, and in the event of the car being stolen, written off etc. would top up the insurance payout to the original £18,000 at any point in the three years. As the end of the 3rd year approached, it's the first time I'd ever hoped my car might be stolen!!

Have you checked that the £130 insurance offers the same sort of cover? I paid mine at the dealer, so with hindsight I am sure I could have got it cheaper with a little shopping around.

Shim

creekybones

Hi all,
We are buying a car from a vauxhall dealer, The salesman has included a 'Gap Insurance' into the price at £299 for 3 years, I have a company car so this 'Gap' stuff is new to me, Does anyone have experience of this & is it worth taking out? Or is the man Fleecing us?

He is insisting that its worth it, which annoys me because I hate being pushed into things.

Can anyone help please, we are picking the car up on thurday.

Thanks in advance

jennifernil

Try Googling it, there are quite a few providers, you may find something cheaper. We are going to take it out on our new car.

Poppy9

You should be able to get cheaper by shopping around. You can also do it annually as what's the point in paying 3 years premiums up front if you suffer a loss in the first year?

FlameCloud

Its also really not worth it on a brand new car, most insurers now have a old for new policy on cars up to a year old, which negates the need for gap insurance.

In a nutshell, if you write your car off, then the insurers give you the trade in price. To get you back on the road, the garage will charge you a higher price.

Gap insurance covers the difference in this, but from what I've been told about sections that deal in this expect a variety of arguments if you need to claim.

creekybones

Thanks for your replies, I will do the Gap but with someone else as it looks alot cheaper elsewhere. I have had a brief look online, does anyone recommend a company?

Thanks for your help

rachyroo_2

Hi,

I recently insured my new car with click4gap.co.uk, I called them to talk it through and they were really helpful. I also got a 10% reduction by going through Autotrader so the cover which ford were going to charge me £349 for cost me about £220 on a 'replace for new' policy.

Hopefully i won't have to make a claim so can't vouch for them there but I was v impressed with the level of service and someone on this site recommended them to me.

Hope this helps!!!

Sooty0404

My aunt and uncle had their 13 month old Saab Convertable stolen this time last year. As the car was over 1 year old the regular insurance company would only pay out the current retail price of about £24k. Their GAP insurance covered the difference between that and the new price of circa £33,000.
Like most insurances no-one wants it until they need it.
If you are buying on HP it can be a valuable addition particularly in the early days when the car will owe more than it is worth as it covers the replacement value + the HP costs.

Anon

Looking online this evening, www.surfandprotect.com seemed to come out cheaper than click4gap on some options (though click4gap you can get cashback on Quidco). This is on return to invoice (as I understand that you cannot get retail value cover unless a brand new car).

Personally, I am still considering this - I was sold it (AA Warranty) when I recently bought a used car at a dealer and as it was included in the "agreed price" I did not feel I could back out (without the trade in and price of the car unravelling) as I had signed the contract. I felt bounced into buying GAP as I went in with an idea of the price they advertised the car at (and what the competition were charging) and what Glass Guide said my car was worth as a trade in - salesman then introduced this and other additional items into the mix and I ended up falling into the bamboozle trap of negiotiating the price including items I would have had to pay for anyway (including tax etc!) or had not even thought of (including GAP).

I can still cancel as within the 14 cancellation period for Gap insurance (and can get for nearly 1/2 price online) but need to make my mind up quick if it is worth it and if it is, whether I want to cancel this policy and take out a new one.

In terms of the limit, do you do it for the maximum value of the car or estimate at the difference between what it is likely to be worth in 3 years and how much your insurers are likely to pay out (perhaps using What Car Depreciation index)?

One year is, pro rata, more expensive per year than 3 and it seems that you have to buy it within 90 days of buying the car (therefore I assume you would want to decide now how many years you want, as otherwise it will be one year only!).

Anon