A coworker was saying that some insurance companies sell this type of policy where it supposedly covers the difference between the Blue Book value of the car and what it could be re-sold for (higher than BB $)... I feel that my Type R is worth more than the BB value (and that this discrepancy will increase), and am going to contact my insurance guy about this Monday...
Has anyone else heard of this, and/or have this extra coverage? Is it expensive?
tia.

 

I bought gap insurance when I purchased the vehicle. I think it was only $500. Basically, if your car is totalled, gap insurance covers the difference between what your car is worth and what you owe. You do not need gap insurance if you owe less than the worth of the car. So, if your car note is less than $22,000-$24,000 (assuming you have a 2000-2001 ITR with normal mileage) you do not need gap insurance.

 

I have it. I bought it at the time of purchase.

I call it peace of mind

 

My personal rule of thumb. If you need gap insurance, you didn't put enough down.

Warren

 

But its also for exotics and valuable cars whos bluebook is lower than what you could actually buy another one for isn't it?

 

I didn't buy it because the value of our cars is pretty good and will stay high. If you plan on paying your financing off within 1-2 years I wouldn't buy it; but it can't hurt.

 

But is the bluebook high?

 

I believe the insurance you are referring to is called "replacement insurance" not gap.

I could be wrong though....I am sure if you explain to your agent what you want they will give to you regardless of name.

 

Gap insurance has nothing to do with the STREET value of your car. In the event of a total loss or theft, the insurance company will try to give you WHOLESALE value of the car. So, unless you are mostly paid off, you could easily get screwed or have to fight your insurance company hard to get what the car is really worth. I know this because a friend had his car stolen after only having it a few months, and the insurance company tried to low ball him.

I bought it too, and I put enough down. Piece of mind is right for one of the most frequently stolen and relatively rare cars in the US.


[Modified by FBP_1171, 7:55 AM 7/20/2001]

 

There is no bluebook for our cars. Not enough of them have been traded or whatever (I forget the reason on the KBB website.) I think they evaluate the value of our cars based on the GSR and maybe adding on a premium. Kinda of sucks for us. I think the going rate for our cars maybe about $1500 to $2000 above a similar conditioned GSR.

 

so can you only get this "gap" insurance when you purchase the car???? my "brother-n-law" bought a 00' itr and was wondering about getting this.

 

This I am not sure about. Maybe ask the finance guy at a car dealer or call the bank that is financing your car.

 

well, considering that you're a *** really brings down the blue book value of your car. ***.

 

FBP_1171,

Well, I wrecked my Type-R that was financed and I DIDN'T have gap, but it didn't matter. I owed almost $10K on the car, but the insurance company paid me $25K (plus tax, title, license, etc) so the $10K just came out of that and i was left with $15K+

So what would gap do there for me? Nothing at all. All gap does it cover the difference in the amount you owe on the car versus the amount you get from the insurance company.

 

Gap insurance = one more way for them to get money out of you ....... don't do it!!

If an insurance company totals your car, and you can show that your loan amount is more than what they are giving you, they will typically give you the payoff amount.

Don't get it, unless you are a high interest rate risk (ie - bad credit), and even then, only do it if they make you do it to get the loan.

Its just like an extended warranty, and under-spray. Ways for the dealer to make more money off of you (don't forget this is included in your loan, so it ALSO influences the total interest you pay on the loan).

Trust me, I sold cars when I got out of high school ....... I know a lot of what goes on in dealers.

 

Gap coverage is NOT just a way for dealers to make money off customers. It is a rider on your auto insurance policy and has nothing to do with the dealer. If you have a lease, you NEED it because otherwise in the event of a totally loss (collision or theft) you are stuck having to buy out the lease, and this nearly always costs more than what the blue book of the car is. Even if you finance, it is common for the loan payoff amount to be more than the blue book value of the car for a couple years if it is a long loan or you didn't put much down. If you financed your car, find out what the payoff on the loan is, and if that is more than what you think insurance would give you, gap coverage makes sense. If you put a decent amount down or have already had the car a year or more, chances are you don't need gap coverage because the car is worth more than what you owe on it, and gap coverage would be a waste of money because it would never come into effect, even in a total loss situation.

 

That makes no sense, especially on a Type-R. Let's use the Type-R for an example, and we will say it is financed. I agree with the point about leasing the car, you definately need GAP then). If you put only say, $5000 down, then you still have around $22000 left to pay off right (that iswith interest, etc, ballpark figure of course). The Type-R new goes for about $24,450. Now, If you get in an accident within 1 year of having the car most likely you are goign to get 90%-95% of what you paid for the car back from the insurance company since Integras in general and especially a limited edition Type-R hold their value very well. Thus, you would get about $22,000 from the insurance company, plus they usually will give you the tax, title and license fees. Thus, you are not at about $24,000 total. So there you go, no GAP insurance needed.

If you aren't leasing, unless you put an INSANELY SMALL AMOUNT (like $1000) down, then you probably DO NOT NEED GAP INSURANCE.

I don't think it is a scam by dealers at all though, in Illinois I believe they are required by law to offer it. I had to sign papers saying they had offered it to me.


[Modified by onyx00, 3:39 PM 7/21/2001]