# GAP Insurance?



## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

Going to the get the fiance a new motor and are considering Replacement Vehicle Gap insurance.

Never looked at it before but the cars going to cost a fair bit and we plan to keep it 4/5yrs or so.

Anyone know of good companies?

The dealer quoted £399!! I've seen a couple of places

http://www.car2cover.co.uk/

http://www.ala.co.uk/


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## andy665 (Nov 1, 2005)

I'd highly recommend www.click4gap.co.uk


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Im covered with ala, not sure if they any good but seem to cover all bases


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

What kind of cover do you have? Return to Invoice? Vehicle replacement?


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## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

Depends on how much your spending to be honest. £400 is quite a chunk. Do you think the insurance would give you £400 less than you need to replace the car? If so then go for it, otherwise don't


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Return to invoice, the longer you have the car the more its worth having gap as you get more for your money if you like, but will allow you to get another car equivalent but newer rather than a car of the value of the one that needing to be replaced


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## lofty (Jun 19, 2007)

ala seem about the cheapest, use gap12 in the promo box to get an extra discount.


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## DMH-01 (Mar 29, 2011)

Show the dealer the other quotes and they should take money off. I told mine I could get it cheaper than £300 and they knocked it down quite a bit.


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

Mine said gap should be 300 but would do it me for 240 which is double what i paid, worth a try though


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

Thanks guys.:thumb:

The dealer one is return to invoice, and too expensive. I'll probably just sort my own out rather than give the dealer the cash even if they do it cheaper.

Even if we get return to invoice, its better than none at all. It seems to be a bit cheaper than replacement vehicle too.


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## Yowfailed (Mar 14, 2012)

I've been offered this option a number of times and just shrugged it off as yet another expense like extended warranty on a bosch washing machine 

That was until some idiot set fire to my sons 6 month old Vectra! He had GAP insurance who made the difference up between insurance payout and invoice price. All sorted within 5 weeks.

Needless to say, I now have GAP insurance  I was recently quoted £499 by Audi but when I began to show them 'comparable' quotes their price tumbled to less than £300. Personally I would use the dealership option if you can get it down to a reasonable level. If the unspeakable does happen and you have an issue with the GAP then at least you have a location where you can grab someone by the throat


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

Yowfailed said:


> Personally I would use the dealership option if you can get it down to a reasonable level. If the unspeakable does happen and you have an issue with the GAP then at least you have a location where you can grab someone by the throat


That did cross my mind. If I get problems I can say that they sold me it, so sort it out.


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## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

Yowfailed said:


> ! He had GAP insurance who made the difference up between insurance payout and invoice price. All sorted within 5 weeks.


How much was the difference? Did he take the first payment offer?


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## Yowfailed (Mar 14, 2012)

Bearing in mind this was over two years ago :speechless

If memory serves me correctly the difference between insurance claim and invoice was just over 3K. When the insurance made their offer my son just had to ring the GAP people who advised to accept. It all went very smoothly to be honest :thumb:


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## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

Yowfailed said:


> Bearing in mind this was over two years ago :speechless
> 
> If memory serves me correctly the difference between insurance claim and invoice was just over 3K. When the insurance made their offer my son just had to ring the GAP people who advised to accept. It all went very smoothly to be honest :thumb:


Ah yeah - You see this is where it comes into its own and why Insurance Companies love these policies as they get away with under-paying out for stuff.

Because people have GAP - they just say - yeah thats fine - GAP will sort it out (which it does).


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

Rob_Quads said:


> Ah yeah - You see this is where it comes into its own and why Insurance Companies love these policies as they get away with under-paying out for stuff.
> 
> Because people have GAP - they just say - yeah thats fine - GAP will sort it out (which it does).


Suppose it take some of the pain out of it too. That way you can get your money and settle quicker.......I would hope.


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## Yowfailed (Mar 14, 2012)

Not really the impression I got when my lad was telling me about the conversations he had with the GAP people. 
Had the insurance company's offer been a little off the mark then they were quite prepared to refuse the settlement?


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## james_19742000 (May 8, 2008)

Its also worth checking with your own insurance, as if your car is under 12 months old they include GAP insurance with return to invoice value, thats what the NFU do anyway, but on my new car last year I got a deal with the dealer of under £200 return to invoice and the fact that it was bought face to face and you have somewhere to go and ask for help/assistance etc is worth quite a bit in my mind.


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## Rob_Quads (Jul 17, 2006)

They obviously will have targets and if they think they have been massivly under-offered they will quibble it but they will have targets i.e. as long as its within £X / X% of the market value accept as they still make their usual profit considering only 1 in 10? 20? actually will claim


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## lofty (Jun 19, 2007)

I've heard of a case where the dealer gave the Gap for free to get the car sale but showed it at full price on the cars invoice at £699.The cars list price was reduced by £699 to balance the figures.The car was written off after a short while so the gap only paid out on the invoice price, the guy lost the £699.Not the fault of the gap company more the dealer for messing with the figures.


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## ianFRST (Sep 19, 2006)

get it from the dealer imo. i think i got mine down to £299 RTI from ford. always worth buying on a brand new car. as you know it will lose money driving it off the forecourt

didnt get one on the RS as i totally forgot about it 

do they still only last 3 years? could i get one for my RS now? or is it for new purchases only


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

ianFRST said:


> get it from the dealer imo. i think i got mine down to £299 RTI from ford. always worth buying on a brand new car. as you know it will lose money driving it off the forecourt
> 
> didnt get one on the RS as i totally forgot about it
> 
> do they still only last 3 years? could i get one for my RS now? or is it for new purchases only


Think you can purchase whenever tbh


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## JackieV (Apr 5, 2012)

*Gap Insurance*



rob_vrs said:


> Think you can purchase whenever tbh


Hi Ok Honestly is the best policy I work for an insurance broker who specialises in gap insurance. ( no I am not going to turn this into an advert.) I just saw all the questions and thought I could help.

Ok gap insurance.

There are three main types and in 99% of cases you have to have bought your vehicle from a vat registered dealership/ garage within 180 to qualify.

Finance gap insurance poss the most basic level of cover.Pays the difference between your vehicles valuation and the amount outstanding on finance. That's it. You walk away with no liability to your old vehicle but equally you walk away with no equity.

Return to invoice pays the difference between your vehicles valuation and the invoice price you paid. basically you get the invoice price back, clear any finance and what ever is left is yours. Good points are that it protects the deposit and any equity you may have.

Vehicle replacement pays the difference between your vehicles valuation and the replacement cost of a like for like vehicle which is the same age, mileage and condition as yours was on the day you bought it. ( almost like new for old). Good level of cover but be careful some big dealer groups call their level of return to invoice vehicle replacement.

Before you buy an gap insurance check that it includes non transferable warranties, and what level of dealer fitted options.

If you have bought your vehicle over 180 ago you can not buy the same level of cover and instead you can only protect the value of your vehicle on the day you buy the policy.

Bottom line you can buy on line the same if not better levels of cover offered by your dealership for a fraction of the cost sometimes up to 85 % less. Just Google gap insurance.

P.s Hope this does not sound like a lecture was just trying to help.:newbie:


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## donnyboy (Oct 27, 2005)

JackieV,

Would you recommend any of the companies mention? I'm looking at Ala and Click4Gap for RTI Gap.


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## rob_vrs (Jan 4, 2012)

JackieV said:


> Hi Ok Honestly is the best policy I work for an insurance broker who specialises in gap insurance. ( no I am not going to turn this into an advert.) I just saw all the questions and thought I could help.
> 
> Ok gap insurance.
> 
> ...


Not sure why you've quoted me on this, but yes thats how i understood the gap insurance and would be best for me as i had a large deposit on my car so in the event of an accident i would have my deposit back plus any capital i had paid, don't think you are lecturing just explaining gap insurance for everyone :thumb:


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## JackieV (Apr 5, 2012)

rob_vrs said:


> Not sure why you've quoted me on this, but yes thats how i understood the gap insurance and would be best for me as i had a large deposit on my car so in the event of an accident i would have my deposit back plus any capital i had paid, don't think you are lecturing just explaining gap insurance for everyone :thumb:


Thanks
Both the companies you mentioned are as far as I know good choices but so are www.gapinsurance123.co.uk and www.retailvalueprotector.co.uk/.

Best thing is just to Google gap insurance and get some quotes.

You may want to look at vehicle replacement insurance. It is similar to return to invoice in that you are protecting the deposit and capital but it has the added advantage of also including an inflationary amount.

E.g buy you car today and pay £10,000. 
Three years later car is stolen and you had gap so you get all money back£10,000. Problem is as we all know costs rise so £10,000 now will not buy you the same level of car as it now cost £12,000. In this case VRI would take you past the invoice price to the replacement cost.

Its normally just a couple more £ and it is worth looking at.

Which ever type of gap insurance you buy just check a couple of things first.
Is there an excess?
Who gets paid in the event you make a claim is it you or the dealer?
Also make sure that you get a realistic claim limit. Is not nice to think about how much your car will lose but it can be alot more than you think.

What car have a depreciation calculator where it shows you an estimated valuation. Its not for the faint hearted but it is also worth a look. http://www.whatcar.com/car-depreciation-calculator/ even if your model is not listed it will give you a good idea.

Which money did a review / comparison of gap insurance companies recently it is worth having a look at this http://www.which.co.uk/money/insura...nce/vehicle-replacement-gap-insurance-review/

hope this helps

Cheers

Jackie:wave:


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