GAP insurance?

[Minipops]

Has anyone else taken out BMW's GAP insurance on their minis? Sytners have just told me about it and I'm not sure what to do....!

thanks
MP

[Paul]

Moved to the finance and insurance forum, where you'll probably find your answer.

[Hat]

the shortfall insurance pays out the difference between the write off value of your car & the original purchase price so that in the event of your car being totalled you're not out of pocket.

it depends on how your financing you car to a degree. last time i took it out as my car was being financed entirely on a personal loan & i knew that if the car was written off there was no way i could repay the loan other than to continue the monthly payments - without a car.

this time around my loan is much smaller & if push came to shove i could pay it back therefore paying the £300-£400 insurance premium didn't really make sense

[Minipops]

i see. i have added 15k to my mortgage to pay for the car so i guess i am in a similar situation to yourself the first time around. living near dagenham (sorry if any daggers on here!) i am paranoid about my lil baby getting pinched so i think it could be a good move to get the GAP insurance - do you know if the cost is negotiable with BMW?

[sprite]

Quote: Originally Posted by Minipops

i see. i have added 15k to my mortgage to pay for the car so i guess i am in a similar situation to yourself the first time around. living near dagenham (sorry if any daggers on here!) i am paranoid about my lil baby getting pinched so i think it could be a good move to get the GAP insurance - do you know if the cost is negotiable with BMW?

Personally I would shop around. I got gap insurance for my Cooper (£14k) for about £170 from 'car care plan' (although it was a special deal for CSMA members). There are other companies which will do it - have a look on the web. I found the BMW price was ridiculous - when I picked my car up and said no thanks to GAP insurance (and told them I'd got it for £170) they then said they could do it for £250, Erm - no thanks!

[Rich C]

Also beware, there are two types

1 gives you cover between what you get from the insurance claim and the purchase price
the other give you the difference between the insurance payout and the outstanding finance.

Personally I've never gone for it. My reasoning has been you're always going to get something back from the insurance and with a car like the mini that depreciates so slowly the payout would still be plenty close to what you paid or will cover the finance.

[vagt6]

Good advice from RichC.

The problem I have with Gap is the cost, it's relatively expensive. How do you make an educated decision about whether or not to buy Gap? First, are you a safe driver? Or, do you have a history of accidents and traffic violations/tickets? If so, you're statistically more likely to wreck your car. That would make gap insurance more attractive.

Second is your financial condition. Consider how much coverage the Gap insurance would provide. You'd have to experience a pretty substantial loss in order to reap significant money from a Gap insurance settlement. If your loss is small, the Gap coverage provides little help.

Third, consider where you live and/or drive the car. City driving is more hazardous, you're exposed to more theft, vandalism and potential wrecks in City driving conditions. That may make Gap a better deal for you. But if you drive mostly on major roads and don't live in the City, your exposure to loss is significantly less and you're far less likely to suffer an insured loss.

If you're a careful driver, forget about the Gap coverage, purchase high deductibles, and put the money you save into an investment of some kind.

And, of course, continue to drive safely!

Good luck, let us know how it goes.

[scooperman_uk]

i took gap insurance even tho i bought the car outright from the dealer. its worth it IMHO as it covers for a total loss against vehicle depreciation (your MINI will never be replaced for the exact price u bought on an insurance payout). if u take the BMW check the small print, i found it covers only the car as supplied as "factory fit" not included are are dealer accessories that may have been added later. so works kits, spotlights etc wont be included even if u take it out when u buy the car.

its really a piece of mind protection. for me i needed it as i was going thru a difficult time having recently had one of cars written of due to petty vandalism.

[maria69]

Hmm i'm unsure on gap insurance too pick up my 18month old mini tomorrow so need to decide paid cash..whatdo i do.BTW pased my test 2weeks ago and just turned 39. WHAT SHALL I DO?

[deanquartermaine]

GAP Insurance is best money I ever spent, granted never pay the first price dealer give you always get some knocked off. I had full return to invoice insurance on my Park Lane

Very useful if this happens

[Keano]

I have it and think its defo worth it (IMO) as I got a settlement figure recently which, although slightly low, would give me an idea of the market value and hence what insurance would be paying in the event of a writeoff. When I compared this with the price I paid for the car (a year ago) the difference would mean that I would be getting £6K from the GAP insurance. So that means that after my finance is settled I would get £6k as a deposit for my next car... without GAP I would come out with nothing after finance settlement.

I will be getting it again for my next car.

It does depend on the cost of the car in the first place though and believe there is a maximum payout of about £10K (i think?)

[Mejy Poo]

I think this is a difficult one!

I paid £12,000 for my car and I never bought GAP insurance. Which i'm glad I never because when i wrote it off 9 months later I got £11,500 back for it.

However now I've ordered a brand new car in excess of £18,000 i'm tempted to get it. Although like somebody else said there are cheaper deals out there. Try moneysupermarket.com there is loads of info and advice on there.

[+++MadMatt+++]

Well I managed to knock my local dealership down to £250 for 4 years cover, which I think is a good price. And gives peace of mind, caus you will never get back what you paid for it, if you just go with just a standard insurance policy. Haggle and Buy, thats what I say!

[Streeters]

Quote: Originally Posted by Mejy Poo (original)

I think this is a difficult one!

I paid £12,000 for my car and I never bought GAP insurance. Which i'm glad I never because when i wrote it off 9 months later I got £11,500 back for it.

However now I've ordered a brand new car in excess of £18,000 i'm tempted to get it. Although like somebody else said there are cheaper deals out there. Try moneysupermarket.com there is loads of info and advice on there.

See you point, but if you bought GAP you'd have got 12k back, so even if you paid £400 you'd still have been better off even in that situation.

We've had it on our last 3 cars and never used it thankfully, but i'd reccommend it to anyone. have a haggle with the stealer by all means but make sure you're covered, you never know what could happen , Deano is living proof of that and his shiny new car is testament to the fact that GAP is a dealer sold add on that actually works

[deanquartermaine]

Quote: Originally Posted by Streeters (original)

Deano is living proof of that and his shiny new car is testament to the fact that GAP is a dealer sold add on that actually works

So true!!