Help!!!!

[The Ozz Mission]

Hi All

I'm thinking of buying the below A2, the dealer is sorting the following for me,.... I'm a bit of a car virgin so... Is he ripping me off?

I am part exing a very crappy K reg metro, its really a shed the dealer sais he's gonna give me £400 for it.

Something about GAP insurance, £400

He's gonna do me the A2 for £13,700 based on the above, not to sure if I want the GAP insurance....



http://www.jackbarclay.co.uk/kcom/response.asp?querytype=7&VSCoId=99&Magic=298&extended=true

Talk Is Cheap, Supply Has Exceeded Demand

[Skipton01]

Seems like quite a good deal. I got the same car (albeit a 2001 model year version) with roughly the same mileage and even the same colour. I paid £11500 after a £2000 trade-in. I've been very happy since, but don't expect your fuel consumption to be as good as the quoted ones until the engine is fully run-in (about 20,000 miles!).

GAP protection insurance is there to cover the shortfall between the value of the car versus the outstanding loan amount,should you have to default on the loan. If your circumstances are certain then don't bother with it.

You could on the other hand buy mine, which as I say is exactly the same, only on a 51 plate with 27000 miles, full Audi service history etc. Price - £9250:)

A2 TDI SE 2001 Ebony Black Pearl (The Little Tank!) Soon to be TDi 90 Sport with the full monty and red leather!

[wayne]

I recently bought an A2 and think that it is the best car I have ever owned. It is a 1.6 FSI sport which I bought two weeks ago for £10,300.
It was up for £11,000 but I knocked them down for cash.

the car will be 2 years old in november this year and has done 17,500 miles and it lovely.

Priced it new and it was going to cost £18,600. Why dont you look at one a bit older....you save alot of money and they are well made cars bulit to last.
Hope that this gives you some idea. I will send you photos if you want of mine.

Email me on

www.wayne@roberts8812.freeserve.co.uk

[Ezza]

I am possibly looking to purchase a 1.6 FSI Sport, to replace/upgrade the current A2 1.4 (petrol) SE. Wayne, did you pay this price of £10,300 from an Audi dealer?
I'd be interested to find out if this was an Audi dealer or an independent dealer.
For info, I and my wife (it's really the wifes car) are very pleased with the A2, very well built, nippy, stylish, and a little different from the norm. GREAT!

Sept 2001 registered A2 1.4 SE in Crystal Blue metallic, Open Sky Roof, Climate, 'Symphony' 6 CD radio & tape, Bose sound system, curtain airbags.

[Will]

Possibly this is a bit late for you Ozz, but here's my thoughts on GAP insurance anyway. You buy a car for £10,000 say and write it off after 1 year. The car is now worth £8000 after 1 year and that's what your regular insurance company will give you to finance a new car of a similar age. GAP insurance will give you an extra £2000 to cover the difference between the original value of the car and the depreciated value. (This is how it was explained to me anyway....have I got this wrong?) So based on this explanation I couldn't see the benefit of paying £400 for GAP insurance. If I write off a 3 year old car I expect to receive money off my insurance to finanace another 3 year old car and not a new one. A new one would certainly be nice, but firstly I'd hope not to write my car off in the first place and secondly I am not prepared to pay £400 to cover that risk.

[daveyjp]

There are two different types of Gap insurance. This was taken from Car Care Plan website

http://www.carcareplan.co.uk/carcareproducts.htm

GAP Insurance

For total peace of mind you can't do without.

Consider the facts :

Over half a million cars are written off by insurance companies every year, as a result of accidents, theft and fire

More than 200 vehicles are involved in serious accidents in the UK each day

One third of stolen cars are never recovered

A car is stolen every minute of the day in the UK
These are frightening statistics
Something that is just as scary is that if your car is written off, the settlement value from your insurance company may be insufficient to buy a replacement vehicle, or may leave you owing money to the Finance Company for a vehicle which has already been written off.

Car Care Plan GAP Insurance covers the 'gap' between your insurance company's valuation of your car and what it will cost to either buy an equivalent replacement or to pay off any finance*.

Taking out Car Care Plan GAP insurance not only gives you extra security and peace of mind, but additional protection that could save you thousands of pounds.

*Subject to the level of cover chosen.

The Benefits

Protects your investment

Provides cover for up to three years

Covers shortfalls up to £10,000, or £20,000 on Replacement Vehicle Insurance

Covers new and used vehicles

No vehicle age restrictions

Three levels of cover available to cover most circumstances

Claims paid quickly to get you back on the road
Three Levels of Cover to Suit You:
REPLACEMENT VEHICLE INSURANCE UP TO 3 YEARS COVER

Replacement Vehicle Insurance will cover the difference between the car insurance settlement and the current value of an equivalent new vehicle. If your vehicle is financed you can use this payment to settle any outstanding finance, with any remaining balance put towards your new replacement vehicle.

INVOICE PRICE PROTECTION TO 3 YEARS COVER

Invoice Price Protection will cover the difference between the car insurance settlement and the invoice value of your vehicle at the start of the agreement, which means you get back the original purchase price in full. If your vehicle is financed you can use this payment to settle any outstanding finance, with any remaining balance put towards your replacement vehicle.

FINANCE REPAYMENT UP TO 5 YEARS COVER

Finance Repayment will meet the difference between the car insurance settlement and your outstanding finance payments, leaving you free to take out a new agreement on a replacement car.

All of the above are subject to Terms and Conditions as detailed in the Car Care Plan GAP booklet.

How it Works

You buy a new car costing £12,495 with a deposit of £1,250 and finance the remainder.

One year later, your car is stolen and declared a total loss, with £8,350 still outstanding on Finance, but the insurance company payout was only £7,500.

So you still owe £850 to the Finance Company, you have lost your deposit of £1,250 and you have to find the money to buy a replacement vehicle, which now costs £12,995.

Car Care Plan vehicle replacement insurance
This level of cover will pay the £5,495 shortfall between the insurance company payout and the price to purchase an equivalent replacement vehicle. This means that after repaying the finance shortfall of £850, you have £4,645 to put towards the purchase of an equivalent replacement vehicle.

Car Care Plan invoice protection plan
This level of cover will pay the £4,995 shortfall between the insurance company payout and the original invoice price paid for the vehicle. This means that your existing finance is repaid, and you have £4,145 deposit to put towards a replacement vehicle.

Car Care Plan finance repayment
This level of cover will pay the £850 shortfall to the Finance Company, clearing your existing liability.

As you can see a potetnail minefield, so you need to know which one you are getting. Car Care Plan can quote for it too.

I can insure a £15,000 car for a year for £300, but to cover a gap it costs me £400 - yeah right!

[Shaf]

My understanding of GAP insurance is that there are 2 types.
1. This covers the difference between any outstanding finance and what the car's book value is at the time. So taking Will's example above your regular insurance will pay out £8,000 and Gap will pay out the outstanding finance (not necessarily £2,000).

2. This covers the difference between the original invoice price and the car's book value. So GAP would pay out £2,000.

On a new car, your insurance company would replace your car with an identical replacement in the first 12 months if your car was written off. After 12 months they will give you book value which may not take into account any optional extras. £400 for GAP does sound a bit steep. That's what my brother got quoted at the time he bought a Yaris but in the end he ended up paying something like £150 for the same product from the same dealer.

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE

[Shaf]

Daveyjp,
Looks like I was writing my post at the same time as you.

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE

[Will]

Thanks for the information Daveyjp and Shaf. It's not as simple as I originally thought. Though I would argue one slight point. It's not always fair to say the insurance company will pay out less than the car is worth. I wrote a car off an number of years ago now. The original compensation offer I was made was basically Book price. But when I went through Autotrader I could not find a similar car for this compensation. So I went back to the insurance company, explained the facts to them and they agreed that their compensation should allow to purchase a near identical car. So they eventually paid me the full cost of replacing my car :) Which in this example (I admit not all) would make GAP redundant.

[Shaf]

I think in the current climate with minimal deposits and finance payments over several years there are many people with negative equity in their cars ie they owe more than the car is worth. GAP would be a safeguard to any one in this situation.

Cheers

Shaf

Nov 2002 TDi Sport, Silver,Black/grey interior,climate. Replaced previous Mar 2001 TDi SE