The dealer offered two extras to me; 1) Gap Insurance......is this a good idea & is it best to go with dealer's offer or source on internet? 2) Service Plan.....they offered a 2 or 3 year plan which includes annual service @ 0% APR, which works out about £17 per month, should I go for it?
GAP insurance? Remember that they will always want to sell you something more than you'll ever want to buy it. I never buy any insurances, meaning when something goes wrongI remember all the money I've saved on GAP insurance, extended warranties for TVs, dishwashers, microwaves, washing machines, etc, etc etc and then think, OK, I'm still quids in. I am currently £1000s in credit. Your current car policy should replace with brand new in the first year. As mine is on a 2-year Options deal, I'm already 50% covered. I'll take the risk on the other 50%.
As for servicing plans, I think I discussed the same thing with my dealer. Are you saying that you can essentially pre-pay for services at 0%? Why would you want to do that? If there's no financial benefit to prepaying, don't bother. Unless of course you cannot guarantee to have the money when needed and the £17/month is a convenient way to budget for it. If you religiously stick it in a savings account though, you might even earn a few pennies of interest.
The service plan I discussed also included breakdown assistance. I already have that too, so did not want to pay for it twice.
although i hate paying insurance i feel especially if you are on finance , finance gap insurance is a good deal, ford dealer offered me 3 year warranty for £300 , i thought it was pricey ,searched the net and paid £90.00 for 2 years deffered for 1 year for a gap of £10,000 insurance ,i see your point about saving thousands by not paying up front for insurance ,but if you are unfortunate to have your car stolen and never recovered ,or a total write off , you stand to loose well more than the thousands that you may have saved ,for £90.00 a small sum i have piece of mind ,knowing that whatever happens over the next 3 years ,my kuga will be replaced with a new car , and as we all full well know accidents do happen !
hi kugajedi i used http://www.surfandprotect.com. if you find a cheaper quote than they offer £5.00 discount on the cheapest price you have been quoted ,i chose surfandprotect.com. because they are backed by axa awell knowen insurance underwriter.
hello all
I had always been of the opinion that extra insurance was a waste of money, until a VW saleman explained GAP to me, i paid 350.00 for 3 years cover and boy was i glad 11 months after buying the car it was stolen, our insurance offered us nearly 5000.00 less than what we paid for the car,and the gap insurance paid the shortfall no problem. the best 350.00 i have spent.
Hello peeps - me again...So - has anyone taken out GAP Insurance with their brand new Kuga?
The quotes from the dealer were £299 - they were insisting that was cheap - I never took it.
I have seen some for around the £150 mark - am contemplating it but unsure of the small print
I believe GAP insurance is valid for the 1st 3 years of the cars life...
Any advice?
I would be surprised if anything like that would be good value from a dealer, it would be like buying payment protection or extended cover for other products from the shop who sold you the item- usually better to price check on internet. But i could be wrong.
mike
I bought it for £200 from the dealer, if i had a bump and the car was ritten off the insurance co will only pay the market value of the car then gap will cough up the short fall to get me back on the road and for what it costs over 36 months approx £5.50 per month it seems worth it.
it is definitely worth shopping around because much cheaper is available (and more cover)
the dealer i went to made a big palaver (legal requirement i take it) to stress that they do not offer products from the "whole market" - ie they are not offering you the most competitive one.
a simple google search will find better deals very quickly.
cheers for the replies - i guess the cost spread over 3 years makes sense - plus the risk of a total write off or it being stolen and getting back exactly what you paid for it does make sense.......will have a hunt on google - these dealers think because your buying a brand new car your pockets are lined with gold!
i was offered at £299 Polarford for gap did not take it,as hollandjones has said your insurance covers you for a new car if written off in the first year.I did take out the maintenance contract after i had my 1500mile check on my car £18.69 a month for 30 months gets me 3 years servicing not sure at the time when i bought the car i think they offered me this package for £500 ?
Just to add a point here. There is different cover with Gap insurance so make sure you have what you need.
Most gap cover pays out the difference between what your insurance company pays out and what you paid for the car. Initially this seems fine, but if the insurance is for 3 years and you right the car off at 2yrs 11mths, the total payment you get will probably be much less than a new car would cost to replace.
My policy pays out the difference between the current market value and the cost of purchasing a new car i.e if a new Kuga in 3yrs costs £29000, thats what I'll get paid.
Also not all insurance companies pay out for a new car in the first year (mine doesn't) butif they do,somegap policies will start after the 1st year effectively giving you 4 yrsgap insurance.
By the way, mines a new for old policy which only cost £220. I initially took out the dealer policy at £399 but cancelled it within a week.
I have it on good authority (inside knowledge) that GAPis one of the only warranty / insurance type things worth buying, however the dealer obviuosly buys it at very very much less than the average £399 that they sell it for. You WILL be able to negotiate at least a £100 discount maybe even more depending on the deal on the table at the time.
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