Gap insurance for new car - advice?

[Matt]

Bought a new Qashqai recently - my first new car, so never really considered gap insurance before and turned it down at the dealership

Just had a call about gap insurance, and what she said did make a bit of sense, but don't want to get duped. She was offering gap insurance for the full 4 years of the PCP, at about £10/month

Any advice?

 

[Fridgeman]

I believe that if the car is brand new you would get the full invoice price through your insurance for the first year you should be able to check with your insurance other than that just check Google for reviews before spending your money

 

[The Ruthsayer]

I believe that if the car is brand new you would get the full invoice price through your insurance for the first year you should be able to check with your insurance other than that just check Google for reviews before spending your money

It makes a great deal of sense at the rate you are being quoted; but as the Fridgeman says, Gap usually incepts one year after you have purchased the car. Check the t and c’s of your insurance before committing.

 

[Matt]

I believe that if the car is brand new you would get the full invoice price through your insurance for the first year you should be able to check with your insurance other than that just check Google for reviews before spending your money

I just checked and it looks like we are covered in that instance - thanks for pointing it out!

 

[Muttley]

I've always viewed it as a con. Rather like extended warranties.

Mind all insurance is very little different to gambling. How likely are you to have an accident that totally writes off your new car? I'd say it was pretty unlikely so I would not countenance the premium. It's all based on "Oooh what if someone sets fire to your car and the insurance doesn't pay out enough to replace it?" or other horrific scenarios, all pretty unlikely. Well in the past I have argued with Insurance companies over their valuation of a car damaged in an accident and got it increased, so you can and should do that. Also just accept that if someone does wipes out your new motor then you will take a financial hit on it like the way in which your premium will go up subsequently.

 

[Andy_W]

I'm not sure if this is still correct but I think you can turn insurance offers down if they're lower than what it would cost to replace the car, and effectively demand that they replace the car like for like. If they struggle to do that, then you can ask for more. I had a write-off (not my fault) a few years back and rejected about 3 offers, as they were all ridiculous, eventually, I got what I would have if I had sold on the open market.

In some instances (especially now with the high demand), cars can be worth more than what you paid for them new, which should give you grounds to reject insurers' offers, as the offer does not replace the car in the same way.

Not sure how this works when you're claiming off someone else's insurance, but it shouldn't be a cop-out for them to offer you 10%-15% less than you paid, and maybe even a bigger gap to what you can replace it for immediately. I imagine if you threatened court action you would get a fair price, but I bet most don't do this.

I still took gap out on my car, as I was in a bit of a rush, and I suppose it gave me some peace of mind, but a bit of a fight would probably cover the same, if not more, I'd probably end up doing both.

 

[Richyboro]

Never take the gap offered by the dealer, shop around I got gap on my daughter's first car but only for a year.