New car purchase, I've heard about it before but until now not had to think about it really. As I understand it, if I write the car off or it's nicked the GAP policy will pay out the difference between what my road policy will pay me and the invoice price for the car (assuming I took a return to invoice policy). 

 

Part of me thinks if it's written off after a couple of years, I'd not expect a brand new car to replace it at that age anyway and even if I did, the model I'm getting wouldn't be being made anymore. The plus side is that I'd obviously be pretty much able to get a new model or certainly have the pick of the used ones to find one as close to my spec as possible. 

 

Dealer is quoting £650 but from a rough check online I'm looking at nearer £350. 

 

Thoughts? 

Check out the insurance section as there's some deals to be had there. 

Standard advice is never to get GAP cover from the dealer. You'll find reputable providers for a hell of a lot less.

Whether it's worth buying at all is very much a personal choice. *If* your car meets an untimely end in the first three years you'll end up in quite a good financial position but the odds of that can be pretty low.

If you are the type of driver that writes cars off a lot, or you are buying a thief magnet in a dodgy area then it makes more sense.

Agree with never buying from the dealer - a specialist will usually charge around half to 60% of dealer quote. And as with any insurance it's worth reading the small print to see exactly what you will get  over what period of time.

 

You've probably already seen this, but others who are interested may not have https://www.which.co.uk/money/insurance/car-insurance/guides/gap-insurance/gap-insurance-explained

 

Are you buying brand new? If not (eg ex-demo or management car) someone else has already taken the big first depreciation hit so the relative value of gap insurance reduces. FWIW I didn't bother (bought a management car for £13k less than list), but it does provide some peace of mind I guess - especially if you are financing it and would be facing big payments for an inferior car.

I paid less than a hundred quid for my GAP insurance on my Octavia. 

Is your brother going to be driving your new car ? 

It’s not a zero sum game.   The insurance company expects to profit from the policy having factored in the risks.

19 hours ago, punyXpress said:

Is your brother going to be driving your new car ? 

 

 

https://www.gapinsurance.co.uk/Default.asp

 

Mention that you're a Briskoda member

I have used a company called 123 GAP 3 times now. Never had to claim but they have good recommendations and you can even speak to real person on the phone with no increase in policy cost.

 

When I the Superb the dealer wanted over £400, when I said I would go elsewhere he said £350, I said no. He then got all assertive telling me their policy was better but could not tell me how, eventually he gave up. I called 123 GAP again and bought a 3 year policy (which can be delayed for the year you get on a new vehicle with most comp policies as standard) thus it lasts a year longer than the dealers 3 year policy which cannot be delayed. Its a back to invoice or replacement cost whichever is higher and if your car is no longer on sale at the time its written off they use the nearest current model as the price for replacement. For a car with an invoice price of £19500 the premium was £146 for the 3 years (4 in total like I said above), a 2 year policy (3 years in total) was just over £100.

 

It just shows how much the dealer is making, they can probably buy the policies for less than I did and simply pocket the rest.

Hi,

Just to let you know we offer a product called Total Loss Protection. Whilst it's not exactly the same as your traditional GAP insurance we feel for some customers it can make a cost effective alternative.

Please feel free to take a look if you wish.

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/extras/total-loss/

Regards,

Dan.