Dealer and their mats obsession - who can explain?
Discussion
GAP, wheel insurance, paintwork etc 
In volume markets there is a damned sight more profit in the add ons than in the car. Payment protection and extended warranty were the first to be offered, then Gap arrived, then 5 other Gap products, Supagard, wheel insurance, key care, future value protection.. the list is endless.
In the modern trade more time is devoted to selling all of this than is the car in many cases.
Mats make sense, rubber OEM mats will last for donkeys years and do the job. Most dealers now offer £3 branded cack that is near guaranteed to ball up under your pedals at the most inopportune moment.
Paint protection selling for £400 will cost the dealer £50-£70 fitted.
GAP at £300 will be bought for circa £30
Cashback was always a favourite too, more money on the finance balance = more Volume bonus.
That said paint protection does work (the decent ones) and GAP is like any insurance, it's great when you need it.
In the modern trade more time is devoted to selling all of this than is the car in many cases.
Mats make sense, rubber OEM mats will last for donkeys years and do the job. Most dealers now offer £3 branded cack that is near guaranteed to ball up under your pedals at the most inopportune moment.
Paint protection selling for £400 will cost the dealer £50-£70 fitted.
GAP at £300 will be bought for circa £30
Cashback was always a favourite too, more money on the finance balance = more Volume bonus.
That said paint protection does work (the decent ones) and GAP is like any insurance, it's great when you need it.
markcjd said:
In the modern trade more time is devoted to selling all of this than is the car in many cases.
Yep - bought a new Golf for my daughter and spent 20mins on the car. Then 2hrs of the salesman (and the sales manger and the finance guy) trying to sell finance and all the add-ons. Genuinely wanted to punch him in the face but the deal was good and the car was in stock (unusual for Golf's at the time). Even my daughter wanted to leave.I did buy a "protection pack" of mats, flaps and a boot liner which they wanted £220 for and I paid £100, which seemed OK.
PlayersNo6 said:
I always try and get mats and flaps included in the deal - usually as the final bargaining point that closes the deal.
Not interested in any other extra usually.
Mats and Flaps? Hahahaha - is this you?Not interested in any other extra usually.
Who actually puts Flaps on their car anymore?! Why not ask for a magic tree or a Garfield to stick to the window?
markcjd said:
GAP at £300 will be bought for circa £30
That said paint protection does work (the decent ones) and GAP is like any insurance, it's great when you need it.
But is there any difference at all between £30 and £300 insurance? Either you don't need to claim and its neither here or there, or you do need to claim and they'll either pay out by choice, or be forced to pay out by whoever currently regulates insurance? That said paint protection does work (the decent ones) and GAP is like any insurance, it's great when you need it.
Pommygranite said:
Who actually puts Flaps on their car anymore?! Why not ask for a magic tree or a Garfield to stick to the window?
I did, and I bought the car new. I was told the flaps help to keep it clean by owners of the same car and they were very small and unobtrusive. I hardly notice them even though I know they are on there.Seem to keep it cleaner too.
Oh and buying an approved used Toyota we got a whole list of ad ons even though we had not even driven the car! 3 different guys trying to sell us GAP and I too was getting annoyed.
Bought the Skoda a year later and there was no hard sell.
icetea said:
But is there any difference at all between £30 and £300 insurance? Either you don't need to claim and its neither here or there, or you do need to claim and they'll either pay out by choice, or be forced to pay out by whoever currently regulates insurance?
Badly worded, the product which is sold for £300 will have cost the dealer £30. We used Abraxas who were very good when it came to payout.
If you look at the sale price of GAP or VRIP vs car insurance it's actually very well priced for what it does.
We do a 3 year VRIP for £395 and a 4 year for £495, a years insurance is probably around £400, the cost of insurance generally goes up every year regardless of if you claim or not however every year it pays out less in the event of a total loss, as cars depreciate, VRIP is a fixed amount for the duration of cover and as the years go on it actually pays out more in the event of a total loss.
The GAP/VRIP we offer also covers the first £250 of any insurance excess.
We do a 3 year VRIP for £395 and a 4 year for £495, a years insurance is probably around £400, the cost of insurance generally goes up every year regardless of if you claim or not however every year it pays out less in the event of a total loss, as cars depreciate, VRIP is a fixed amount for the duration of cover and as the years go on it actually pays out more in the event of a total loss.
The GAP/VRIP we offer also covers the first £250 of any insurance excess.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff