Anyone take up the RTI insurance?

[jaypr]

Return To Invoice (RTI) insurance was offered to me when i picked up my car.

It’s £352.60 for 3 years and covers the difference between an insurance payout and the price of a brand new car.

So if the cash price of the car is £15,000 and your car is written off or stolen in year three an insurance company will give you the equivalent of £9000. The RTI insurance will pay the extra £6000 so you can effectively get a brand new car.

The policy also covers replacement of keys and locks due to loss or theft up to £350.

So what are people’s thoughts? Is it worth it and should i get it?

Cheers, Jason

[p3asa]

It is basically GAP insurance which can be had a lot lot cheaper.
Get a few quotes on-line then get your garage to match it. Apparently they can give £100's off the price.
Personally I would rather go with the company that offered me the cheapest price rather than one that was originally trying to fleece you befor price matching.

[jaypr]

It is basically GAP insurance which can be had a lot lot cheaper.
Get a few quotes on-line then get your garage to match it. Apparently they can give £100's off the price.
Personally I would rather go with the company that offered me the cheapest price rather than one that was originally trying to fleece you befor price matching.


Thanks for this, i was just having a look online and it does appear to be a bit of a con from the dealer. They said i had 7 days to decide, but looking around the companies i have seen say 90 days after delivery.

Anyway i found a company called http://www.click4gap.co.uk (http://www.click4gap.co.uk/) that does it for £129 and you get £22.50 back via quidco for the same cover as the one offered by my dealer and that’s just the first company I’ve looked at.

At least i don't feel pressured with the "only 7 days to take it up" thing anymore.


Jason

[percymon]

Of course the dealership are making on it, thats what they do ! The quidco deal sounds very good, just make sure the provider is a reputable insurance company. You could also try www.moneysupermarket.com for price comparisons

GAP insurances is no differenct to Diamondbrite or Autoglym Lifeshine options - you can buy either product for under £20 and save yourself £280 by spending 2 hours applying yourself.

[jamief]

www.ala.co.uk also do it quite cheaply and provide Quidco cashback.

[Keithuk]

It is basically GAP insurance which can be had a lot lot cheaper.

Yes I had the GAP insurance and I was quoted £395 for 3 years when I order my Golf GTD the other week. Considering when you buy a new car and drive it of the forecourt you've lost a grand straight off so the extra insurance for a 24 grand car isn't that bad. Considering they say its a much sort after car.

I was talking about this to some motoring friends and they said insurance companies normally pay out new for old in the first 12 months anyway so I'm only cover for 2 years really. ;)

[jamief]

One good tip is NEVER EVER take GAP or RTI insurance from a dealer. Always go elsewhere, you'll save £100s.

[psmith98752]

I'm taking out Finance GAP insurance (as I'm on a lease), not RTI insurance. Only £85 for £10,000 claim limit for 2 years - http://www.car2cover.co.uk/Quote-Me-For-Finance-Gap-Insurance.

[elvismiggell]

Just be VERY careful to check your t's and c's. A lot of insurance companies have a lot of if's but's and maybe's to avoid actually paying out on GAP insurance. I know quite a few people who've had issues trying to claim on GAP.

(Sadly I never thought to ask them why, never needed to know as can't afford a new car!)

[stevebracey]

Hi,

My dealer was offering the Gap Insurance at half price for September so I gave in and had it. I don't think £199 for the three years was too bad and I am happy it is from a reputable provider.

It is not the kind of thing I would ever have considered but it got me thinking about the difference in price/value between a brand new Golf and one that might be two or three years old. If I got paid market value a couple of years into ownership I certainly could not afford to replace it with another brand new car.

Cheers all,

Steve

[Jumbo Golfer]

Autotrader - £119 inc vat for 3 years, bought on line!!

[elvismiggell]

Just be VERY careful to check your t's and c's. A lot of insurance companies have a lot of if's but's and maybe's to avoid actually paying out on GAP insurance. I know quite a few people who've had issues trying to claim on GAP.

(Sadly I never thought to ask them why, never needed to know as can't afford a new car!)

Checked with a colleague. His mate's son's girlfriend had an accident and they refused to pay out all of the gap insurance on the basis that she used the scrappage scheme to buy the car. They're refusing to give her the last £2000, which sadly means she can't afford to replace the car. Not sure who the insurer is I'm afraid.

[Blackthorn]

Interesting thread, I'd never heard of Gap insurance before my dealer offered it to me, and had no idea you could buy it elsewhere. My dealer was doing it for £299 so I suppose it varies slightly based on the cost of the car.
We had decided to purchase it, but that was before we realised that they had forgotten to order Park Assist. In the end they threw in the the Gap insurance and the three years free servicing as compensation, but if I'd know how much cheaper you could get gap then maybe I could have negotiated a better deal.

[p3asa]

I read somewhere that the GAP insurance is where the salesman can make his biggest bonus.
I've not really had a chance to look around but so far my cheapest GAP quote has been £125 for a list price of £20900 which I think is good but I don't really understand how to work out the "maximum GAP payout" they ask about. Surely we would have to know how much the car will depreciate by first?

[jamief]

I read somewhere that the GAP insurance is where the salesman can make his biggest bonus.
I've not really had a chance to look around but so far my cheapest GAP quote has been £125 for a list price of £20900 which I think is good but I don't really understand how to work out the "maximum GAP payout" they ask about. Surely we would have to know how much the car will depreciate by first?

GAP covers any shortfall between what you owe on finance and what your insurance company pays out.

I.e. 20k car, 6 months old, written off.

Insurance pays £16,000.

Finance owed £18,500.

Gap covers the £2500 difference.

In my experience, the minimum payouts offered are more than enough.

[p3asa]

Cheers.
So you need to know how much the car is going to depreciate by realistically?
I think £5000 seems to be the "lowest" maximum payout you can opt for.

[jamief]

Cheers.
So you need to know how much the car is going to depreciate by realistically?
I think £5000 seems to be the "lowest" maximum payout you can opt for.

In essence, yes.

Although I think a lot of insurers (check with yours) offer a like for like replacement within the first 12 months, so if you write your car off then you'll get a replacement car.

[Jumbo Golfer]

I suppose it's £2k we the tax payer paid....so she shouldn't get it back....and as it says, RTI - Return to Invoice (i.e. what you actually paid after any discounts)...

[ptolemy]

From my days at the dealership I can confirm that GAP is a nice little earner for the salesman and dealership. Dealers will typically sell GAP for what they can get away with. Couple of things to bear in mind; your three year cover is all well and good but you will only need it for one or two years because if it is a new car you should get a new for old car anyway in the case of a write off (depending on your insurer). Secondly, before saying no, most dealers will discount the GAP price massively rather than lose the sale. Remember that they often receive a volume bonus for the amount sold and therefore don't just rely on the profit from individual sales. I frequently saw business managers shave a couple of hundred pounds off the price. There is very little profit in new car sales (dealers cash in from servicing and used cars) and so they are trying to maximise profit from each customer with these little add ons.

[jaypr]

So, I finally made my decision on the whole GAP insurance thing.

As I got my car through the scrappage scheme, I e-mailed one company (Car2Cover) to clarify what was covered with their RTI insurance. This was their response.


The Return To Invoice cover will look at the purchase price that you paid for the car - ie the discounted value after any discount/scrappage allowance.
As my car was discounted by £3950 due to the scrappage scheme, I didn’t like the sound of that. They also wrote:


You could consider the Vehicle Replacement Insurance which looks at the cost of replacing your car with a new like for like car (even if the cost of a new car is higher than what you originally purchased.)

So that’s what I’ve done. My original quote from VW was £352.60 for 3 years RTI cover, which would have been as useful as a chocolate teapot!

Now I’ve got 4 years cover with a maximum VRI payout of £15,000 (not including the insurance payout) for £295.

There were a few cheaper companies, but I went with Car2Cover as it had some additional cover, which others didn’t, like they do not exclude theft of vehicle with use of keys.

So although I don't plan to write off my car or get it stolen anytime soon, I have a little piece of mind for 4 years and £295.

Cheers, Jason

[jamojdm]

Thanks for the post jaypr! My car gets built next week so just starting to look at these things...

Just a quick question though, as the 2nd hand cars on sale at my VW dealer cost more than the one I ordered even with more milage, would my insurance company not have to cover this???