GAP Insurance

[Jockman]

Jonsv8 said:

Jockman said:

Tbh for something that cheap and 5 years peace of mind.....having read all the small print....fill yer boots

Too right, its less than a bottle of Chateau Margaux 2007

Totally agree, Jon. Why I had some on my porridge just this morning

[michael gould]

don't get GAP insurance ......i suppose if your borrowing lots of money to buy the car it's useful........but I don't borrow money for depreciating assets......i'm a bit old school, i pay by debit card

[Big Ry]

michael gould said:

don't get GAP insurance ......i suppose if your borrowing lots of money to buy the car it's useful........but I don't borrow money for depreciating assets......i'm a bit old school, i pay by debit card

Which is nice if you can, however most people can't so it's either don't have one or buy a % of it on credit...and before everyone starts that old 'don't buy it if you can't pay cash', then remember that Aston Martin wouldn't exist today if people didn't buy on credit, as the cash buyers are never (and will never) be plentiful enough to sustain a company. Besides, many people who can pay cash also state that they can make their money work harder (and earn more) than the interest on the loan anyway.

I still don't see why GAP wouldn't apply though. Forget the fact that you don't owe anything on it, but given the opportunity put a 5 year safety net under what you paid from day one for such a small premium makes perfect sense to me. Worst case scenario someone suffers a total loss in say 4 years, if someone is more than happy to say you know what, the insurer is going to give me 50% of what I paid for the car (as that's all it's worth now), and I'm pleased I didn't spend that £400 for the GAP cover which would have paid out the other 50%....then fair enough

Basically for £400 i've got the full cost of replacement car for 5 years (even if that replacement cost 10-15k more than I paid for mine).

I'm not telling anyone else to get it, I just don't see why some seems so anti that's all. It's got nothing to do with paying in cash, credit or magic beans, it's just protecting the value of an asset.

[Cockey]

Big Ry said:

I think I'm looking at this from a different angle though to most posts on here.

I'm not too worried about my insurer not paying me market value, I have no doubt that they would (with possibly some haggling) pay me out market value which is fine. I'm taking it though from the angle that if I did stack it or it vanished in 3-4-5 years times, then on top of market value from my insurer (say 40-50k), I'd also be in line for a pay out which would top up the market value payout to the equivalent of buying a 9 month old car again.

Obviously I hope that the situation never arises, but if it did I'd be pissed that I didn't take that £400 policy which could end up paying out anywhere between 30-40k.

This sounds a little bit too good to be true. Surprised more people don't accidentally drive their 5 year old cars into a tree.

[Big Ry]

Cockey said:

This sounds a little bit too good to be true. Surprised more people don't accidentally drive their 5 year old cars into a tree.

Honestly, that's exactly what these policies cover (well not intentional smashing ). Total loss will pay out the difference between the insurance value and what it would cost to replace the car as it was the day I bought it (so in my case a 9 month old SP10), up to a maximum payout of £50k.

There are a few variants (return to invoice etc), but I've gone for Combined Vehicle Replacement.

[AMDBSNick]

Big Ry said:

Cockey said:

This sounds a little bit too good to be true. Surprised more people don't accidentally drive their 5 year old cars into a tree.

Honestly, that's exactly what these policies cover (well not intentional smashing ). Total loss will pay out the difference between the insurance value and what it would cost to replace the car as it was the day I bought it (so in my case a 9 month old SP10), up to a maximum payout of £50k.

There are a few variants (return to invoice etc), but I've gone for Combined Vehicle Replacement.

As I said earlier we have many clients who have used it and feel its the best money they have ever spent. One in particular used it twice, on both occasions his 3 yro car written off by someone hitting him. That said my guess is the FCA will soon look at this closely especially if garages are selling it on cars that are less than 12 month old where most "quality" insurance policies will put you back in a new car anyway

[Cockey]

Big Ry said:

Cockey said:

This sounds a little bit too good to be true. Surprised more people don't accidentally drive their 5 year old cars into a tree.

Honestly, that's exactly what these policies cover (well not intentional smashing ). Total loss will pay out the difference between the insurance value and what it would cost to replace the car as it was the day I bought it (so in my case a 9 month old SP10), up to a maximum payout of £50k.

There are a few variants (return to invoice etc), but I've gone for Combined Vehicle Replacement.

Sorry if I'm being a bit slow (and I really do feel like I'm missing something!), but say you spent £50k on a car 5 years ago (valued around £30k today) and it gets written off now, are you saying the insurance company will pay out £30k, and the gap insurance will top it up by a further £20k in order for you to purchase an equivalent vehicle of current standing? Like I say, it really does sound too good to be true. It's a no brainer if so!

[AMDBSNick]

Cockey said:

Sorry if I'm being a bit slow (and I really do feel like I'm missing something!), but say you spent £50k on a car 5 years ago (valued around £30k today) and it gets written off now, are you saying the insurance company will pay out £30k, and the gap insurance will top it up by a further £20k in order for you to purchase an equivalent vehicle of current standing? Like I say, it really does sound too good to be true. It's a no brainer if so!

[anonymous-user]

The idea of Gap is to put you in the exact same position you were in just as you purchased the car - i.e. having the funds to buy the exact same car.

I think they might cotton onto people fraudulently claiming, just as they wild the insurance.

On any high value cr purchase, even cash ones (no names mentioned) it's a worthy purchase IMO.

[jonby]

michael gould said:

don't get GAP insurance ......i suppose if your borrowing lots of money to buy the car it's useful........but I don't borrow money for depreciating assets......i'm a bit old school, i pay by debit card

To be fair I used to think like you but the more I read of this thread (and tried a couple of quotes using the links from the posters) the more I'm not sure

I agree with some who have the 'is it too good to be true' attitude but on the face of it, providing you take it out when you buy the car, it looks exceptional VFM peace of mind

Assuming you have a car which isn't part of the rarified group that go up in value, one imagines whether you buy new or used, at £60k or £150k, the car will depreciate a minimum of 10-20k per annum

So in a total loss scenario, you get paid out at market rate value of your car at the time of the claim but with this GAP insurance, you can buy a 3 year policy for c. £400 on a £150k (new when you bought it) car and if it's a total write off and is worth say £100k at the time, you get a top up of £50k to get a full £150k payout, allowing you to go out and buy a brand new car - sounds pretty good to me

[Jonsv8]

jonby said:

To be fair I used to think like you but the more I read of this thread (and tried a couple of quotes using the links from the posters) the more I'm not sure

I agree with some who have the 'is it too good to be true' attitude but on the face of it, providing you take it out when you buy the car, it looks exceptional VFM peace of mind

Assuming you have a car which isn't part of the rarified group that go up in value, one imagines whether you buy new or used, at £60k or £150k, the car will depreciate a minimum of 10-20k per annum

So in a total loss scenario, you get paid out at market rate value of your car at the time of the claim but with this GAP insurance, you can buy a 3 year policy for c. £400 on a £150k (new when you bought it) car and if it's a total write off and is worth say £100k at the time, you get a top up of £50k to get a full £150k payout, allowing you to go out and buy a brand new car - sounds pretty good to me

Firstly, what percentage of these cars end up in a big smash or get stolen? I suspect not that many.
Secondly, you can do a lot of buffing up the paintwork for even half the value of £100-150k car

Its insurance which as we know is generally just a form of betting. It would be nice compensation if you're involved in a bad enough accident to get a new car but I generally self insure as much as possible (ie max excess to bring down the premium). There's no right or wrong.

[AMDBSNick]

Jonsv8 said:

Firstly, what percentage of these cars end up in a big smash or get stolen? I suspect not that many.
Secondly, you can do a lot of buffing up the paintwork for even half the value of £100-150k car

Its insurance which as we know is generally just a form of betting. It would be nice compensation if you're involved in a bad enough accident to get a new car but I generally self insure as much as possible (ie max excess to bring down the premium). There's no right or wrong.

If you look at the premiums generally talked about on here for high value Astons you will get a pretty good idea how many get written off or stolen That's not to say it can't happen.

[Jockman]

Just priced up mine at £429 for £50k for 5 years from NEXT March (after my current RTI Insurance).

With the added bonus that I could annoy Mr Gould....

Hmmmm......

[jonby]

Jonsv8 said:

jonby said:

To be fair I used to think like you but the more I read of this thread (and tried a couple of quotes using the links from the posters) the more I'm not sure

I agree with some who have the 'is it too good to be true' attitude but on the face of it, providing you take it out when you buy the car, it looks exceptional VFM peace of mind

Assuming you have a car which isn't part of the rarified group that go up in value, one imagines whether you buy new or used, at £60k or £150k, the car will depreciate a minimum of 10-20k per annum

So in a total loss scenario, you get paid out at market rate value of your car at the time of the claim but with this GAP insurance, you can buy a 3 year policy for c. £400 on a £150k (new when you bought it) car and if it's a total write off and is worth say £100k at the time, you get a top up of £50k to get a full £150k payout, allowing you to go out and buy a brand new car - sounds pretty good to me

Firstly, what percentage of these cars end up in a big smash or get stolen? I suspect not that many.
Secondly, you can do a lot of buffing up the paintwork for even half the value of £100-150k car

Its insurance which as we know is generally just a form of betting. It would be nice compensation if you're involved in a bad enough accident to get a new car but I generally self insure as much as possible (ie max excess to bring down the premium). There's no right or wrong.

I don't disagree with any of that

But I remember when someone went into my Audi A5 (I'd been stuck at the lights, stationary, when an out of control idiot went into me) and the car was written off

It cost me £43k brand new, I'd had the car 3.5 years, it was worth £18k (after haggling up from 15k) i.e. I got a £18k payout. I'd been planning on keeping the car for 5 years

I didn't want to buy a similar car in age & mileage to the one I'd had written off, as they wouldn't have been 'my' miles on the car and the spec would never have been exactly as I'd want it. So I went and spent £38k on a (nearly new) car, meaning I had to stump up £20k to cover the difference

Now of course, if I'd waited until the car had been 5 years old and changed as planned, it would have been worth more like £13k and I would have then had to find £25k to fund the difference for my new car, but the point is that it's a lovely bonus in the event the car is written off, for not a lot of money

[Big Ry]

I've started a revolution

To be fair my annual insurance on the SP10 is a smudge over £300, plus £80 for the GAP, say £400 per annum for total peace of mind.....works for me.

I'm sure that fella in the DBS in the petrol station who got t-boned by the pink Corsa wasn't expecting that to happen but it did. As I said I'm usually not risk-averse at all, and will self warranty etc when out of AM cover, but I just found that cover too cheap to pass up.

[RBT0]

Hi All,
My Cayman GTS will turn 2 years old shortly and my gap insurance will expire. Does it make sense to renew it?

[bogie]

Its all about your attitude to risk, like any other insurance. If you think the risk of you having a total loss in the next 12 months is worth the ££ insurance cost, then take it out.

...just like extended warranties, a lot is down to luck ....do you pay £1500 a year or not to insure against things going wrong ?

Insurance and warranty providers are not in business to lose money, so thankfully 99.9 percent wont have a total loss and its money in the bank for them. If you are the unlucky person that does, you are thankful of the insurance, and it reinforces the decision to take it out again.

[RBT0]

Well, I see your point and I agree, although I thought that the Gap insurance covers the gap between what I get with my standard insurance and the Price of the car as new....but now the car is no longer new....can I insure for a value that is the same as "as new"?

[bogie]

there are different types of policy - check the small print. Could offer to cover new replacement, or return to invoice (what you paid for the car)

Your standard insurance is going to pay out market value anyway, up to you if you want to insure for more than that. As the gap from current value to new value increases, so will the premium....

interesting viewpoint on insurance policies here

http://www.mrmoneymustache.com/2011/06/02/insuranc...

Edited by bogie on Monday 5th December 21:19

[michael gould]

Jonsv8 said:

Jockman said:

Tbh for something that cheap and 5 years peace of mind.....having read all the small print....fill yer boots

Too right, its less than a bottle of Chateau Margaux 2007

and would only buy you a sip of my 55 Lafite........the rest of the case is in hiding after my wife used half a bottle for the spag bol a few years ago !!