Gap insurance - guide discussion

MarkCBristol

I am now confined to a wheelchair and can’t drive. I have a 67 plate car with 3.5 years of payments left to make. If I return the car the finance company they want an additional 2k as well as the vehicle to cover the difference in value of the car v sum need to close finance. Similar figure required by finance company if I take it to we buy any car. I have gap insurance. Is my policy likely to pay out the difference I.e. the extra £2,000 to finance company if I return it as unable to drive?

woodsidermum

We are buying an ex demonstrator, electric vehicle with battery being leased. This has thrown some insurers who just don't seem to be set up for E vehicles and means that we don't have a lot of faith that should the car be written off/stolen, we would get back what we paid/will owe on a 3 year, recurring battery lease, etc..

So, gap seemed sensible-- £395 from the dealer for 3 years, return to invoice.

Went through the two with MSE discount codes and the best price for return to invoice was Click for Gap, with the 25% discount code, this would have been £150 for 4 years (less than half the dealer price, for a year longer).

For combined return to invoice OR vehicle replacement, best price was actually one without a discount code: shortfall.co.uk was £183.00 also for 4 years, but allowing for a "new for old" as well as "what you paid" option. For both of these quotes, I had to choose an amount to cap their payment.

Best for peace of mind and value all round though seems to be: totallossgap.co.uk which is also a combined policy (like its sister site shortfall.co.uk). I.e. in the event of write off and/or total loss, you would get whichever is higher of outstanding finance, invoice price or price to replace a car with similar to what it was when you originally bought it. If the model has been updated, then you get an amount for current version. With E vehicles, new models are a given, particularly over a longer term. Quote was 248.76 for FIVE years, with no arbitrary limit on value. It's simple, and although a hundred quid more than click for gap, it offers more, both in terms of length of policy and that it would allow for like for like replacement value. It's still saving nearly 150 quid cf the dealer price, is for 2 years longer and will be better all round. Thanks MSE.
Sorry this is such a long post, hope though that the detail helps someone else out!

Jenits

Just purchased gap insurances (back to invoice) using Click for Gap and the discount code provided. Very quick and easy to use! Thanks

SallyAnn61

Have just purchased a 10 month old car and took out GAP insurance with the dealership. Is there a 14 day cooling off period as it's a financial agreement? There are 5 days before the 14 days are up and I will cancel if I can as it was very expensive (having read this thread and seen other options!)

Dandytf

I decided against cancelling Arnold Clark Vehicle short fall insurance.
36*£8.99 per month.
Thought it could be safe cover as I have purchased 2015 car with 7k miles and thought if anything were to happen in 1st 3 yrs then it could possibly make up finance balance.

biscuit1_2

Hi had a call from the company i used to finance my car purchase giving me the spiel on gap insurance and dropping into the conversation if my car is totalled i would only get the market value for the car and they COULD DEMAND the balance as a lump sum payment, could you afford to do that Mr Smith ( my back is up now ) now tbh this gap thing was new to me, not bought anything over £800 in the last 10 or so years, now i am in the process of looking into this, my car is 4 years old so the bulk of the depreciation is done, now what i don't get is, if i total my car and insurance pays out ok and i paid that to my finance company accordind to something i saw relating to the consumer credit act the most i can expect to pay if paying a loan of early is the lowest of 3 amounts

1% of the amount repaid early
0.5 % of the amount repaid early if there are less than 12 months remaining
The remaining interest

So although i owe £x interest at the start of the loan they can't charge me the full interest if i settle early, and i assume settle also includes insurance claim payment

So why do i need Gap or am i missing something ( probably )

Cheers all

cinders59

I need help my brain is now fried.
2 weeks ago we bought a brand new car, A Seat Ateca value £28k on PCP.
We were asked about GAP but they wanted a lot and saw on a programme about getting cheaper elsewhere.

There is so much to read on here but very confusing, even with 25% discount code the price is still £262 for 3 years,
We are not sure how much we should enter as cover? £10k £15k etc

any advice would really help
Thanks

Quentin

See the MSE guide to gap insurance on the main site


https://www.moneysavingexpert.com/car-insurance/gap-insurance/

Trace8576

Having just purchased a new car I was umm'ing and ahh'ing about whether I need to think about GAP insurance again (last time I purchased it at the same time as getting my car - £349).

Having read through this page outlining the pro's & con's, different options and following the suggested links (I wasn't even sure where to start looking for quotes for GAP insurance) I went with ALA Insurance which is one of the ones that you recommended. I was happy with the price having got my 25% discount too, bringing down the total cost to £146! A massive saving.

I pray that I won't ever need it (a bit like most insurance really) but as it's a brand new car I decided to cover myself and am trust the advice from the Money Saving Expert!

mutley74

Mazda64 wrote: »

Just purchased a brand new car on PCP finance early this month. I'm with Direct Line insurance and they offer New Car Replacement for the first 12 months so I know I don't need gap in this instance, however once the 12 months have passed can I then purchase Back to Invoice Gap policy to cover the 3 remaining years of the finance term or do I have to do this earlier? Any advice welcome please.

On PCP you are not the registered owner so the new car feature with direct line does not apply. I had same issue.