8 replies to this topic

[TheRobster]

I hope I'm posting to the right place - I'm new on here.  I'm buying my first Mini Cooper, which is second hand (about 8 years old) for £6,800.  The guy at the garage suggested I take out gap insurance, where, in the event of write off, they would make up the difference between what the insurance company paid and the purchase price of the car. Price of insurance quoted was £400. For 3 years.

 

I was initially taken with the idea of this.  But, on reflection, I wonder if its worth it.  Is a classic Mini Cooper really going to depreciate significantly in 3 years?

 

Just wondered if anyone else has experience of this and has any advice.

[Ben_O]

An 8 year old classic Mini? Is that right?

 

They stopped making them in 2000

[TheRobster]

Clearly not if you use the phrase "classic" in that sense!  

 

Any views on gap insurance?

[RedRuby]

I have only heard of gap insurance for new cars so cannot comment on alleged gap insurance for a used car. As Ben above says if your car is 8 years old it will be a BMW mini and not a classic mini, unless of course it is an import and is registered in the year that it was imported into this country. If it is a classic mini you should be able to get classic insurance with an agreed value.

[mini stephen]

My father had it a few years ago the car was stolen and burned the gap insurance refused to pay out for nearly six months as they did not agree with the value his insurance company offerd eg his insurance said it was worth £2000 gap company thought it was worth £2800 only an example the only way he got it sorted was the dealer split the dif as my father bought another new car the other problem was his insurance wouldn't pay out till the gap was sorted as they felt they may end up paying to much meant he had to pay six monthly payments on a car he didn't have so in our view avoid caused more trouble than worth

[AVV IT]

Moved to insurance area.

Sorry are we talking about a Classic Mini Cooper here or not? In the case of a Rover Classic Mini (I.e pre 2001), you would probably be best to take out an agreed valuation insurance classic policy instead, so that in the event of a total loss you actually get back the true value of the car and not just the insurers interpretation of standard market value for a 14+ year old car. If however you're talking about a modern BMW Mini, then GAP insurance might be worth considering as a "New Mini" will depreciate over the three year period.

Depreciation aside, with GAP insurance you are also insuring against the cost of the dealers premium. Dealers typically build 20-30% into the asking price of a car to cover their own overheads and any warrantee. Even if you were to write off the car as you drove it off the dealers forecourt, then you're still likely to get a grand or so less than you just paid for it from any insurance payout.

Personally I'm of the opinion that GAP insurance is a bit of a con in that much like extended warrantee the dealer will be on commission for selling you a product that preys on your insecurities about something you've just spent a huge amount of money on. What's more, I think it's even more of a con that the insurance industry dare to sell you an additional policy to cover the inadequacies of a standard motor insurance policy that they've already sold you, but then your own personal financial situation needs to be considered. If in the event of a total loss you wouldn't have the cash to make up the shortfall between the insurance payout and a replacement car, or if you would have outstanding finance on the car to pay off, then the protection of GAP insurance is probably going to be more of a necessity.

[TheRobster]

Thanks for the advice.  No, we are not talking about a Classic Mini Cooper.  We are talking about a 2006 BMW mini.  My feeling is that there will be depreciation but not as great as with a brand new car.  I will sleep on it!

[FLIPSKNACKER]

I hope I'm posting to the right place - I'm new on here.  I'm buying my first Mini Cooper, which is second hand (about 8 years old) for £6,800.  The guy at the garage suggested I take out gap insurance, where, in the event of write off, they would make up the difference between what the insurance company paid and the purchase price of the car. Price of insurance quoted was £400. For 3 years.

 

I was initially taken with the idea of this.  But, on reflection, I wonder if its worth it.  Is a classic Mini Cooper really going to depreciate significantly in 3 years?

 

Just wondered if anyone else has experience of this and has any advice.

 

£400 for GAP insurance (I'm guessing it's a 3year policy?) on a £6,800 vehicle is absurd. Look online (see here for example; http://www.money.co....p-insurance.htm) for details of a number of providers.

For a vehicle at this price and age, you'd be able to get Invoice GAP Insurance online for circa £70 all inclusive for a 3-year policy, or circa £95 for a 4-year policy some providers will allow you to buy up to 5-years cover too.  The duration is worthwhile putting some thought in to at this stage too because almost all GAP insurance policies have a 10-year age limit.  E.g. the vehicle has to be less than 10-years old when you buy/renew the policy, in which case, depending on how long you intend to keep the vehicle for, if it's already 8 years old, a longer policy may well be prudent.  If you sell the vehicle before the policy expires, you normally get a pro-rata rebate anyway.

 

Ultimately, never buy GAP insurance from a motor-dealer.  They'll have your pants down and then some!

[venkman]

My father had it a few years ago the car was stolen and burned the gap insurance refused to pay out for nearly six months as they did not agree with the value his insurance company offerd eg his insurance said it was worth £2000 gap company thought it was worth £2800 only an example the only way he got it sorted was the dealer split the dif as my father bought another new car the other problem was his insurance wouldn't pay out till the gap was sorted as they felt they may end up paying to much meant he had to pay six monthly payments on a car he didn't have so in our view avoid caused more trouble than worth

 

I have had the same experience as this , we were looking at a new car a few weeks ago and they DO tell you about that bit now but from our "use" of GAP we just say no!!!!   My opinion of GAP!!