New Car Additional Insurance - is it worth?

aj_lon

Dear members,

I am planning to buy a new car from Jaguar. The sales team is very keen to sell me the following insurance:
RAC Gap Insurance 649 for 3 years
Tyre and Allow Wheel Insurance 449 for 3 years
Cosmetic Warrant Insurance 479 for 3 years
GARDX Vehicle Protection System 499 for lifetime.

I need advise on if these are worth the money paid for them and have anyone used it in the past and suggest how easy is to avail claims through these covers.

Regards,
AJ

AdrianC

Gap insurance can be bought separately, much more cheaply, from a variety of sources. That's probably the most useful of the lot, since it'll pay out the difference between what you owe on the finance and what the insurance pays out in the event of a write-off. If you find RTI gap, then it'll cover the difference between the depreciated insurance payout and the cost of a new equivalent.

Wheel and tyre insurance - how many wheels and tyres do you intend to damage in three years?
Cosmetic warranty - what does it cover, and what would it cost to have any damage rectified separately?
Paint protection - polish with a marketing department. Isn't it duplicating what the cosmetic warranty covers...?

straighttalker

For what they're asking for the extras, you could buy a perfectly good car.

foxy-stoat

Buy GAP insurance elsewhere.

Tyre and alloy cover - Find out the cost of 1 tyre and if it covers wear and tear. You will probably go through 2 tyres in 3 years - 36,000 miles - add a puncture or two and your ahead. If your one of these folk who curbs their alloys then buy it.

Cosmetic Warrant Insurance - find out what it covers and what it doesnt and make up your own mind - if your careless and have bashed your car in the past, its probably worth it.

GARDX - just buy a bucket and sponge or pay the folk at Tesco/Sainsbury to clean your car for you every couple of weeks.

neilmcl

I wouldn't bother with any and would sort the GAP out yourself, and then only if you buying via a finance deal.

Nasqueron

I got Replacement GAP for my new one, 5 years (first year deferred as car insurance would replace with new in the first year)

I paid £233.46

So for a little more than a third of what you are being offered I got 2 more years coverage (and the RAC one probably isn't replacement).

Chances are they will include the GAP in the finance too so you would pay interest on it as well (unless it's 0%).

Don't buy from the dealer, they're on commission and policies are not good value.

I was offered all the other policies too and turned them all down. If you are intending trading in rather than balloon payment at the end it might be worth looking at the paintwork/alloy one but again not through the dealer

Nobbie1967

They're keen to sell as these products have a huge markup and generate big commissions for the salesmen. Buy GAP elsewhere if needed, but do you really need the others? Keep the money in the bank and pay for the occasional wheel refurb/puncture/dent repair. Most of these are not that expensive and saves the hassle of claiming on the policies and then finding out the excesses/exclusions.

The protection the car comes with is perfectly adequate, you're better off just getting the car properly detailed after the initial shine has worn off.

aj_lon

That is an amazing cover. Can you please let me know the insurance provider such that I can request for a quote? Many thanks in advance. Regards, AJ

aj_lon

Thanks all for your advice. It has been really helpful.

neilmcl

aj_lon wrote: »

That is an amazing cover. Can you please let me know the insurance provider such that I can request for a quote? Many thanks in advance. Regards, AJ

The usual suspects are ALA - https://www.ala.co.uk and Car2Cover - https://car2cover.co.uk

billn

For GAP get a quote off the internet and then see if the dealer will mach it, mine started at £499 and I ended up paying £195, they winced a bit but they had a sale for their figures and that seemed to be all they were bothered about.