Lifeshine and GAP insurance

[cdgthreesalmons]

My dealer is hoping that I will take out the Autoglym Lifeshine and VW GAP insurance and VW Chip/Dent protection.

The car is being bough privately so GAP may be an idea.

I did have Lifeshine added to my Golf 6, but at the end of the day it's just "extra strong" polish that will wear out. Maybe the leather protection is worth having??? but I can just as easily use an off the shelf treatment.

As far as chips/dents are concerned I was lucky with the previous car and managed three unscathed years.

Whats the general feeling on these fairly pricey extras??????????

[JimC64]

GAP - Can be a good idea, up to the individual on that one.

Lifeshine - presumably they're talking silly money, usualy anywhere from £200 - £500 irc depending on circumstances.

My opinion - DO NOT GO FOR IT..........Juat a waste of money.

If its in the £300+ region I'd recomend you take the car to a detailer........For that kind of money and maybe a little more you could be talking about a full detail, including swirl removal, proper paint protection etc etc. It'll far exceed anything the dealer can do with Lifeshine and the hour or so a valeter will spend on it.

[lozzer]

I agree about the detailer.

I am using one that costs £200 and everything inside and outside is done with better products than the dealer by a person who has been specialising in this for years.

NFU mutual offer 2 year gap insurance as part of their comprehensive package. Recommended by Which and... no, I do not work for them :)

[JimC64]

To make matters worse, I was in the dealers one day and saw one of the "valeters" washing / cleaning a car......He dropped his wash cloth, picked it up, quick look around, quick shake of the cloth and then he carried on .....WHAT!!!!!!

A detailer eats sleeps lives n breathes excellence and attention to well, detail

If you love you car, go down this route and know its money well spent

[algarve]

If GAP insurance is for you definitely get other quotes from motor insurance/ warranty type insurers.
Dealer prices are very expensive imo.

[dickt]

The most that the dealer pays for these "protection" products, including their application, is £150. (Source, Listers VW salesman). The charging 200 or more is rip off world.
Leather on my Mk 5 was not treated, and I never put leather stuff on it, and it was still great after 60k m and 5 years.
Waste of money.
On the GAP, get more quotes.

[ept55]

I agree with JimC64 use a detailer I,ve told the dealer not to touch my vehicle. When I pick it up I,m taking it to my "local" detailer for a new car prep at a cost of £200 that's inside and out about 4 hours work. If anyone is interested just have a look at detailingworld.co.uk where they can check out detailers in there areas in there work.

[jk88]

I just bought GAP insurance from ALA (ala.co.uk) for our Golf GT, cost £123 for three years £15k cover (£110 net with Quidco cashback). Dealer wanted £495 for the same thing. Agree entirely with other comments re Lifeshine.

[maisbitt]

You can buy lifeshine kits from ebay for as little as £14 each if you're prepared to apply yourself (no harder to do than a meticulous application of wax). Apart from the valeters time you're paying a lot for the warranty that comes with it. These spare kits on ebay are unused ones. Dealership gets 10 kits in to do 10 cars, and the kits have enough stuff to do 2 small cars each or one huge Touran etc. So maybe 6 kits get used between the 10 cars and the other 4 go on ebay. The water repellent for the side windows is crap and wears off within 6 months, but the seat stain-guard treatment is good.

[Pommyboi]

I just bought GAP insurance from ALA (ala.co.uk) for our Golf GT, cost £123 for three years £15k cover (£110 net with Quidco cashback). Dealer wanted £495 for the same thing. Agree entirely with other comments re Lifeshine.

+1 this is how I did it. There are a few discount codes around as well.