Motoring Discussion > Gap Insurance Tax / Insurance / Warranties
Thread Author: Bromptonaut Replies: 19
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 09:23 
 Gap Insurance - Bromptonaut
Went in yesterday to sign the paper work for my Roomster. Was going to be cash but I've been persuaded to take £1500 worth of HP over 12 months to access the bundled two years free servicing - one major one minor. I also of course got the sales pitch for Gap insurance and paintwork treatment.

Had no trouble in rejecting the latter. We had it on the caravan and even if there's any gain at all, and the jury is still out, it's not worth the cost. Neither am I tempted by Gap insurance at the £299 quoted for return to invoice cover.

However, a bit of Googling suggests I can get 3yrs return to invoice cover for less than £70 and vehicle replacement (ie cost of a 4yo/75k Roomie equivalent) for well under £100. Bit of me thinks that might be worthwhile.

Views?



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 Sun 29 Nov 15 11:08 
 Gap Insurance - Manatee
Assuming the contract terms are fair, it's just a question of what it's worth to you for the reassurance.

Look at terms you must comply with (which I assume include keeping it comprehensively insured, but might also refer to servicing) and exclusions.

It sounds cheap in relation to the £5,000 you paid but of course if won't pay out that much - you should get the then market value of the car from your insurer if it is written off. There's no "loss" as such other than the need to replace your car earlier than you otherwise would have, so really for RTI you are betting £70 that you will have a write off in the next 3 years, at odds somewhere between say 15-1 and 40-1. The chances of an actual write off are presumably lower than that.

I agree £70 sounds worth considering.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 11:22 
 Gap Insurance - Ambo
Gap is usually a lot cheaper online than from a dealer. I got it for my i30 as that represented a fair whack of cash new but didn't need it. I probably wouldn't bother with Gap again.

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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:21 
 Gap Insurance - Crankcase
More or less forever I've owned my cars, and never bothered with gap. However, when my new Renault arrives in a month or two, assuming it goes at all, it will be my first pcp, which I know most of the world does.

I don't have a clue what happens here in the event of a prang. Do I own it? Does Renault Finance? Who pays who in the event of a write off? Do I need gap, or rti, or something else or nothing?

I do imagine that whatever happens in such a scenario it will be me that's expected to cover as much as everyone else involved thinks they can get away with of course.

How does it work with a pcper?
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:27 
 Gap Insurance - Manatee
PCP is just HP with a back loaded repayment schedule and a guaranteed buy back. Otherwise it's a loan, and the risk of ownership is with you.

This is the 'need' case for GAP because if you write the car off early there's a good chance that you will still owe more than it is worth depending on the size of the original deposit.

Don't forget though that many comprehensive policies will pay for a new car if it is written off in year 1.
Last edited by: Manatee on Sun 29 Nov 15 at 13:30
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:35 
 Gap Insurance - Bill Payer
>> How does it work with a pcper?
>>

You'd best ask Renault Finance - I know it gets very messy with lease cars especially in the first year as they generally won't allow your insurance company to replace the car, so your insurance just settles the finance. I don't know how it works with a PCP.

GAP (from online suppliers - ALA has a good reputation and you can get a discount through PistonHeads) is very cheap for a reason: the number of claims are very low.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:45 
 Gap Insurance - Manatee
Given the buy back complication, I'd expect the PCP to be settled and the surplus returned to the policyholder, rather than a car substitution.

I'd agree with asking the lender rather than the dealer if you are concerned, as there's no way of knowing whether the dealer knows what he is talking about IME.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 22:23 
 Gap Insurance - Bill Payer
>> Given the buy back complication, I'd expect the PCP to be settled and the surplus
>> returned to the policyholder, rather than a car substitution.
>>
That doesn't happen with leases. Not generally an issue, but it can be if you opted for a deal with a big upfront payment and then the car is stolen / written off early on in the lease.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 22:46 
 Gap Insurance - Manatee

>> That doesn't happen with leases.

It's not a lease.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:46 
 Gap Insurance - Crankcase
It gets more complex yet. The chassis and the batteries are on two separate agreements., albeit both with Renault Finance...

I'd ask the dealer but meh. I think a bit of trawling through Zoe forums in the next few weeks will be time well spent.

Thanks both for the pointers thus far.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:49 
 Gap Insurance - Manatee
I'm not guessing what will happen there. It could be quite amusing (for us) if they wrote the car off and gave you the batteries back.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:56 
 Gap Insurance - Crankcase
No, you never own the batteries. They're leased. Even if you buy the car at the end of the 24 month pcp you or subsequent owner still has to pay Renault £70 odd a month for as long as the car is on the road. So apparently dealers don't want to take them in px as they can't take on that payment while it sits on their forecourt. Madness the whole thing.

Hence nobody keeps them and just hands them back. I reckon the cars will be unsaleable with that restriction but one assumes they thought it through.

You can buy with batteries included and own them, but then the purchase price is 5k more, so they don't really manage to sell those either.

Sorry, Bromp, nicking your thread. This should really be in the electric car one.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 14:06 
 Gap Insurance - Bromptonaut
>> Sorry, Bromp, nicking your thread. This should really be in the electric car one.

No problem. It's the drift that makes this place what it is.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 14:08 
 Gap Insurance - WillDeBeest
...and that's before AC rolls up with a story about a cat he knew in Sudan.
};---)
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 13:48 
 Gap Insurance - mikeyb
I've always thought of GAP being a bit if a con for the dealer to make a few extra quid, but I was pleasantly surprised when I picked up the Lexus.

Guy started telling me the benefits, and i interrupted him pointing out it was always so much cheaper on line. He then advised that used to be the case, but they had got more competitive and reckoned he could get close to an on line price. Sure enough he ran the figures and quoted £120 ish quid for 3 years RTI

With that in mind your dealer quoting 299 is trying it on
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 16:48 
 Gap Insurance - Slidingpillar
Worth checking what your insurer does in the case of a total loss. Most replace the car with a new for losses inside one year of purchase. A few even do this for two years, NFU Mutual is one (I had the Defender with them).
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 20:39 
 Gap Insurance - mikeyb
I thought the new replacement deal only applied if you were the first registered owner / keeper?
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 20:52 
 Gap Insurance - Manatee
Good point, a watch out if it's a pre-reg.
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 Sun 29 Nov 15 22:26 
 Gap Insurance - Bill Payer
>> Good point, a watch out if it's a pre-reg.
>>
Or if you're not the owner - as is the case with PCP or lease!
Last edited by: Bill Payer on Sun 29 Nov 15 at 22:27
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 Tue 1 Dec 15 10:08 
 Gap Insurance - PR
I got 5 years RTI on my Maser. I paid around £350 for this which for 5 years I don't think is bad at all. The car was 6 months old when I got it, and my "logic" is that since this will be a high miler, any small prang in the latter few years could easily render it a write off.

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