Skoda GAP Insurance - advice

[VRSquiche]

Hello

Does anyone have any advice / experience / knowledge of Skoda GAP insurance.

Anyone know how much it costs and are there any alternatives. Any info greatly appriciated

Cheers

VRS Quiche

[Dodgy]

I'm interested to know about this, too. My dealer offered me an alternative type of GAP insurance called - RTI - 'Return to Invoice' and is supported by 'Auto Protect'. It costs £295 and I have 30 days in which to decide to take it or not. Essentially RTI will pay the difference between any insurance settlement I receive should the car be stolen or written off and the amount I paid for it. Even if that happens in 2 years and 11 months (the policy lasts for 3 years). Of course that would be best case scenario for the buyer
I haven't decided either way yet, was hoping that other people will answer VRSquiche's post, too.

Dave.

[Mr Grumpy]

I wish I had taken it out when I bought my previous Fabia
If it costs say £300, and is valid for 3 years, that works out at approx £2 a week to ensure that your car is 'returned to invoice' if it were stolen.
That doesn't sound bad at all.
Although any modifications, i.e. different alloys, or aftermarket exhaust, that should be declared on your car insurance, and will be covered, will NOT be covered on the rti/gap insurance.
That's how I understood it anyway.

[Snoopie]

I didn't take it with my Skoda. I couldn't see how it 'easy' it would be to get some of your money back if that did happen!

[Fabia 12v]

£320 and worth every single penny in my opinion

[BrOwS]

If you want GAP/RTI insurance, avoid purchasing it from the dealer. Remember any financial/ warranty product they can flog at you has large profit margins attached. It's where they can make the most cash from a car sale.

I was certaintly interested but a swift search on Google found a number of legimate companies offering the exact same service but at £100 less. I've not taken anything out yet because Direct Line are covering the first year. The majority of major car insurers will do this so it's worth checking when your phoning up to revise your policy.

After this first year there are plenty of GAP/RTI companies who will provide the service despite your car being a year old. Just read the T&C's very carefully.

[Chrispy]

I got this but not from the dealer. My loan cover from Alliance & Leicester also gives me this. Covers the difference in loss of value if a full claim is made.
But the cover is also the usual of sickness, death, etc. Get it from another financial org. Cheaper and better.

[Fab_vRS]

My brother is a car salesman and he advised getting gap insurance after seeing customers come unstuck without it in the event of a write off. When I bought my Fabia vRS in January I stalled a bit on buying the gap insurance and the dealer dropped the price to £250 which I snapped up. That was for the more expensive of the two types of insurance of offer.

In short make sure you get it but like every other stage of buying your car make sure you haggle. Go armed with cheap prices from the web and get them to price match.

[S41NT]

I managed to worm it out of my dealer for 'free' but no doubt they've screwed me somewhere else on the deal and made that money back. No such word as 'free' in the car sales industry

[Paul007]

Mine was £299 from a main dealer. Still not convinced it was worth it....or the autoglym package which was extra that I've also seen in Halfords for a lot less. Still, I scr***d them on the asking price so not a bad deal.

[DGW]

Originally Posted by Mr Grumpy

Although any modifications, i.e. different alloys, or aftermarket exhaust, that should be declared on your car insurance, and will be covered, will NOT be covered on the rti/gap insurance.
That's how I understood it anyway.

The Gap Plus insurance I had said under Exclusions:

Cover is not provided if vehicle modifications are other than in accordance with Manufacturer's specifications.

I read that as meaning if the vehicle is modified with a non-Skoda-approved accessory, then there is no GAP insurance cover. Other exclusions listed, eg driving whilst intoxicated or without fully comp insurance, likewise mean no GAP cover.

[hebrew]

Any one know of a good place to get Gap insurance from then?
We were quoted about £375 off the Skoda insurance guy for our LE Fabia, had a look on the net last night and i got a quote for £130. I know it needs reading through to be sure its the same cover etc, but its one hell of a difference all the same.

[BrOwS]

Check with your insurer, you may find they give 1st year as return to invoice.

Not sure of any other companies. There are alot out there so just read the T&C's very carefully.

[*tim*]

Originally Posted by hebrew

had a look on the net last night and i got a quote for £130

Didn't realise you could buy GAP insurance from alternative companies, where did you get that quote from?

DGW: your standard insurance is void (other than third party?) if your driving ****ed. [not that i'm suggesting you have / haven't, just making a factual comment]

[sparkes1]

I paid £349 from main dealer. Probably much too much, but what price peace of mind. I think anyone buying a new car it's a no brainer.Like someone else said,it's only a couple of quid a week to protect one of the largest purchases you're likely to make.

[Tony58]

I got 3 year cover £7500 RTI Gap Insurance for £159 on the net

[sparkes1]

Also make sure you take out the right cover. The cheaper one at the dealers only covers the amount of finance outstanding if there is a shortfall. The other policy repays the diferrance upto £15000 for 3 years.

[AndyVRS]

I found out about 2.5 years ago gap insurance is worth every penny, someone wrote off my first Vrs and in the end think total loss on a 1year old car with 36k was £500 quid so I do take it with every car I buy now

[hebrew]

Originally Posted by *tim*

where did you get that quote from?

This is the cheapest that i've found, at £130 for three years cover RTI for £10,000 cover

car2cover - Finance Gap Insurance, Return to Invoice, Tyre Cover and Credit protection

This is another one that comes out at £170
Gap Insurance by Click4Gap

I've had a read through the T&C's and all that i can see different is that they don't pay out on the insurance excess, whereas the Skoda one does. Unless i'm missing something