Gap/smart/tyre insurance
Discussion
Got GAP insurance from www.ala.co.uk. Haven't had to use it fortunately, but they are highly rated and must say they responded promptly and efficiently to my enquiry; plus it only cost around £200 which is a substantial saving on the rip-off OPC price.
Also got alloy/tyre protection, but they supplied me with that for free after a few warranty repairs; but had been contacted a number of times after buying and before being given it with revised discounted rates, so would wait. Having said that, I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't for the fact I was given it...not had to use it though.
Also got alloy/tyre protection, but they supplied me with that for free after a few warranty repairs; but had been contacted a number of times after buying and before being given it with revised discounted rates, so would wait. Having said that, I wouldn't have bothered if it wasn't for the fact I was given it...not had to use it though.
It never ceases to amaze me the ridiculous prices some people are quoted for GAP (return to Invoice) insurance. How they can justify £1200 when the same cover can be purchased online for £200 is beyond me. My advice is say no thank you.
Tyre insurance is less of an outlay and each policy seems to differ on what you can claim for and when. Well worth a look at the smallprint to satisfy yourself. Alternatively get one of these for £12 and keep it in the front boot http:www.dynaplug.com
I also would not touch the Smart insurance for the pure reason that any "Smart" repair is a second rate , cheap and timesaving repair. I had my OPC do a smart repair to some peeling lacquer on one of my wheels. Fist time it lasted a couple of weeks then the second time it lasted less time. In the end I got it done at Lepsons and the OPC coughed up for that so in effect trying to save money they paid 3 times over. Doesnt install much confidence if it was a painted panel. As a comparison you can have the whole front bumper removed and repainted for £300 so you have to weigh up what they want as a premium.
Edited to add Lepsons will charge £75 to refurb a wheel and have it looking like new again
In short I`d be saying , " No , No & No "
Tyre insurance is less of an outlay and each policy seems to differ on what you can claim for and when. Well worth a look at the smallprint to satisfy yourself. Alternatively get one of these for £12 and keep it in the front boot http:www.dynaplug.com
I also would not touch the Smart insurance for the pure reason that any "Smart" repair is a second rate , cheap and timesaving repair. I had my OPC do a smart repair to some peeling lacquer on one of my wheels. Fist time it lasted a couple of weeks then the second time it lasted less time. In the end I got it done at Lepsons and the OPC coughed up for that so in effect trying to save money they paid 3 times over. Doesnt install much confidence if it was a painted panel. As a comparison you can have the whole front bumper removed and repainted for £300 so you have to weigh up what they want as a premium.
Edited to add Lepsons will charge £75 to refurb a wheel and have it looking like new again
In short I`d be saying , " No , No & No "
Depends on your situation, but not all gap insurances are gap insurances.
They are useful if you're financing a large portion of the car, where your insurance may only pay out the market value of the car leaving you in negative equity should you owe say £80k on a £95k car & the insurers decide that the "market value" is only say £75k after a few months.
If you're not doing the whole large finance thing I can't really see the point?
If its a RTI insurance (turn to invoice) then you get exactly the difference between what your insurers paid & what the invoice price of your car was in the event of a total loss. Again, maybe a nice thing but not exactly necessary.
As an aside, on a new car I just bought they threw the RTI insurance in as part of the deal, it only cost them £150 I know the sales & finance team there so they were pretty upfront about all their costs).
The wheel thing is a complete rip off IMHO
They are useful if you're financing a large portion of the car, where your insurance may only pay out the market value of the car leaving you in negative equity should you owe say £80k on a £95k car & the insurers decide that the "market value" is only say £75k after a few months.
If you're not doing the whole large finance thing I can't really see the point?
If its a RTI insurance (turn to invoice) then you get exactly the difference between what your insurers paid & what the invoice price of your car was in the event of a total loss. Again, maybe a nice thing but not exactly necessary.
As an aside, on a new car I just bought they threw the RTI insurance in as part of the deal, it only cost them £150 I know the sales & finance team there so they were pretty upfront about all their costs).
The wheel thing is a complete rip off IMHO
Thanks, I was pretty sure the whole thing was a rip off but thought it worth checking.
If I can get gap for £200 elsewhere I'll probably go for it, but not for £1200.
I was thinking about the scratch/dent one as I do pick quite a few of these up. However when I asked him about details it involved somebody coming around in a van to fix them and so I presume that means no respray if that is what is needed. So again pretty useless.
And of course he offered me paint protection for nearly £400! I said I'd think about it but I know I can get a full detail done by an expert for less than that!
If I can get gap for £200 elsewhere I'll probably go for it, but not for £1200.
I was thinking about the scratch/dent one as I do pick quite a few of these up. However when I asked him about details it involved somebody coming around in a van to fix them and so I presume that means no respray if that is what is needed. So again pretty useless.
And of course he offered me paint protection for nearly £400! I said I'd think about it but I know I can get a full detail done by an expert for less than that!
Deep said:
I was thinking about the scratch/dent one as I do pick quite a few of these up. However when I asked him about details it involved somebody coming around in a van to fix them and so I presume that means no respray if that is what is needed. So again pretty useless.
I didn't go for that one as I read the small print which basically said that each stone chip is classed as a single claim, with a limit of something like 5 claims, so if you had loads of minor ones just making the car look tatty, you would be better off with a respray. Again, it is all to line the pockets of the OPC's and can be purchased much cheaper elsewhere with better conditions.LaurasOtherHalf said:
They are useful if you're financing a large portion of the car, where your insurance may only pay out the market value of the car leaving you in negative equity should you owe say £80k on a £95k car & the insurers decide that the "market value" is only say £75k after a few months.
If you're not doing the whole large finance thing I can't really see the point?
Don't really agree with you there, I bought my car outright (almost new, so essentially a 'new' price) and calculated that if I had a smash or was stolen 12 months down the line, my purchase would be worth substantially less (maybe £10-£15k) less from the insurer, so I'd be instantly out of pocket more so than financing, so having GAP covers that difference. Ultimately having a smash or your car nicked is such a stressful thing that if you manage to get all your invoiced money back at the end, you'd be in a position of buying something newer and potentially better as a result.If you're not doing the whole large finance thing I can't really see the point?
For my 991 Cab (£84k) Gap cost me £576 I think from the OPC. I did find a place in Leeds that would have done it cheaper but I'd never heard of them so did it with Porsche. I have had Smart with my last Boxster and it was quite a good service but I've had my 991 detailled so didn't bother this time. I also had the tyre cover last time but didn't this time due to thinking I've not had a puncture for years so I'll chance it. Hope this helps, and enjoy the car!
MDian said:
LaurasOtherHalf said:
They are useful if you're financing a large portion of the car, where your insurance may only pay out the market value of the car leaving you in negative equity should you owe say £80k on a £95k car & the insurers decide that the "market value" is only say £75k after a few months.
If you're not doing the whole large finance thing I can't really see the point?
Don't really agree with you there, I bought my car outright (almost new, so essentially a 'new' price) and calculated that if I had a smash or was stolen 12 months down the line, my purchase would be worth substantially less (maybe £10-£15k) less from the insurer, so I'd be instantly out of pocket more so than financing, so having GAP covers that difference. Ultimately having a smash or your car nicked is such a stressful thing that if you manage to get all your invoiced money back at the end, you'd be in a position of buying something newer and potentially better as a result.If you're not doing the whole large finance thing I can't really see the point?
The situation you describe involves in you getting a better car than what you've written off though. If your car has a market value of less than what you paid for it after a certain period of time why do you expect to then get a more expensive & newer car back off the insurance company? You've used the car for that certain period, adding age & mileage to it but you expect to get something different (better) in return (another new car).
That's where you RTI comes into its own & why insurance companies sell you the policy.
LaurasOtherHalf said:
Just depends on the way you see it (don't confuse gap with RTI though), we all have opinions
The situation you describe involves in you getting a better car than what you've written off though. If your car has a market value of less than what you paid for it after a certain period of time why do you expect to then get a more expensive & newer car back off the insurance company? You've used the car for that certain period, adding age & mileage to it but you expect to get something different (better) in return (another new car).
That's where you RTI comes into its own & why insurance companies sell you the policy.
Yes, you are of course right, I have RTI which is what I was discussing, but was through a GAP insurance company where the confusion comes in. The point being that in say a year or two, should anything happen, I'd get a pay out for the original value (eventually) which would put me right back in a brand new (or almost) car for example. For just £200ish, covering 3 years, I think it is somewhat of an easy decision.The situation you describe involves in you getting a better car than what you've written off though. If your car has a market value of less than what you paid for it after a certain period of time why do you expect to then get a more expensive & newer car back off the insurance company? You've used the car for that certain period, adding age & mileage to it but you expect to get something different (better) in return (another new car).
That's where you RTI comes into its own & why insurance companies sell you the policy.
This was the option I went for (from memory), http://www.ala.co.uk/back-to-invoice-plus.html
(no association with them, found ala through this forum)
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