Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Tue 22 May 2012 21:02

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Bigdaveg

I recently bought a NIssan, in the short time I've had the car I have leant a lot about nissan dealers and the extras they tout, I can also see why they score poorly as compared to the likes of Honda Dealers etc.

Under no circumstance take out a Nissan dealer's Gap insurance, Gap insurance is imho a good thing to have, for those that don't know it effectively covers the short-fall between what your insurer pays out and the purchase price of your car, in the event of a total loss claim, normally covering up to 3 years. The dealer's gap insurance is essentially a cash cow, comission is what it's all about and then when you read the small print and start to ask questions, even more alarming concerns evolve. e.g can you spend your money anywhere and what is the actual maximum payable etc,etc,etc, If and when you do sign up to a dealer's gap insurance those bold claims of being able to terminate, as you are legally entitled to do so within 14 days, seems to fall on deaf ears, strange that . If anyone does think Gap insurance is a good idea, look elsewhere it is much cheaper and far more transparent elsewhere, it probably only involves just one company as well, and not the salesman, credit company and insurers. A Nissan dealer quoted just under £300 for 3 years, can anyone please tell me if that's a fair price, lol ;-).

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 22 May 2012 21:21

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Tonto1

Depends on what the policy actually covers, but £300 sounds well over the top.Would be amazed if at that price , they didn't have scope to haggle.

As an example, got Gap cover on a Mini Cooper (from BMW) for £240. I was a bit lazy, as I know I could have got similar cover off the web for approx £170/180, but the dealer had been excellent and given a good discount off list, so didn't begrudge them a bit of profit on the side - they in turn reciprocated with a few decent freebies e.g. umbrellas, and cleaning stuff.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 22 May 2012 21:40

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Bigdaveg

ALA - who have glowing reviews and who are in partnership with the RAC & Auto trader could've done 4 years (as opposed to 3) with £5k pay out on a <£8k car, for £114, now that is a lot of haggle room, not to mention a few truck loads of umbrella's & cleaning stuff.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Tue 22 May 2012 23:10

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - daveyjp

A far easier option is not to borrow to the hilt when buying a car so you reduce the chances of having a car worth a lot less than what is owed on it.

Borrow as little as possible and pay the loan off as quickly as possible.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 23 May 2012 08:11

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Tonto1

Bigdaveg - I looked ALA and a number of others, but to match the Mini product would have been around £170+. I was content to pay a bit over the odds for (relative) peace of mind and maintain what has been a very good relationship with the dealer - who has never failed to bend over backwards to assist. Did you give the Nissan dealer the chance to offer you a better price?

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 23 May 2012 00:27

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - bonzo dog

Hi Big Dave, I'm unsure why you are saying

Under no circumstance take out a Nissan dealer's Gap insurance

You say Gap is a good idea then question but not criticise certain aspects. For example what do you mean by

can you spend your money anywhere.

The maximum claim limit should be clearly stated & as you point out you legally have 14 days cancellation rights so what do you mean by

seems to fall on deaf ears.

Also, how do you know this is not one dealer's Gap insurance; why condemn all Nissan dealers.

£300 is probably about right for cars priced to £15,000; above this it would tend to be more expensive.

And yes, you could buy it cheaper from the internet as you could a car but the same reasons for not doing so apply to Gap

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Wed 23 May 2012 20:56

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Bigdaveg

Pretty obvious really; take out a policy away from a main dealer and if you have a prang you get your money and you can buy where ever you want, take out a gap poilcy from a dealer, can the same be said, read the small print ;-).

Yes the max should be clearly indicated, but is it, check and no mine was'nt.

Deaf ears; personal experience ;-)

Why condemn nissan dealers ?, got any more gap insurance quotes for any other nissans, which can show me that not all Dealers charge at least double what you can get it for elsewhere ?.

The op was "just" intended to show any perspective buyer what extra's the dealer will tempt you with, had I known about G3 and gap prior to walking in the showroom do you think I'd be writing this now, don't make the same mistakes I did, gap is far cheaper online, and probably (as i found) provides a far better professional service & protection.

Edited by Bigdaveg on 23/05/2012 at 20:58

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 31 May 2012 13:43

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Bigdaveg

(Post remove on instructions from Bigdaveg 17-6-2012. HJ)

Edited by Honestjohn on 17/06/2012 at 09:47

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Thu 31 May 2012 18:43

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Bigdaveg

(Post remove on instructions from Bigdaveg 17-6-2012. HJ)

Edited by Honestjohn on 17/06/2012 at 09:48

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 2 Jun 2012 14:59

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Galad

Overheard a jubliant salesman in my Vauxhall dealership whilst waiting for a service how he'd clinched a cracker deal (for him obviously) on a personal contract purchase plan (the one with a balloon payment at the end), gap insurance, tyre insurance, special paint protection, plus a 3 year service plan on a new Corsa that an elderly gent has just purchased. Judging from the whoops of glee and high fives going on in the sales manager's office, the commission alone must have been mouth watering - just hope the punter was satsified with package!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 2 Jun 2012 16:50

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - bonzo dog

Absolutely disgraceful .....retailers making profit on items they sell & paying their staff as well!

Reply | Report as offensive | Link

Sat 2 Jun 2012 17:11

Nissan Note - Gap Insurance from a main dealer - fact or fantasy - Avant

I can imagine that Vauxhall dealers do very well with these 'extras': private punters buying Vauxhalls are pretty gullible in the first place.

Reply | Report as offensive | Link