Car advice

[hk blues]

8 hours ago, TxRover said:

Not to be cynical, but why not tell them you’ll drive it until the get the new wiring loom in, get out of the Rio and have her (or, more likely, you) refill the car every time you hit 1/2 the range you get by multiplying the gas tank size by the mileage you got before. Example, if it’s an Astra with a 48 litre tank, and rated at about 9 miles per litre, you would expect 430 miles from a full tank…so fill up to full every 200 miles or so. It sucks, but it beats driving a Rio…and your comment suggests the gauge is good above half a tank.

Could work, but 'out of sight, out of mind' springs to mind.

[TxRover]

7 hours ago, hk blues said:

Could work, but 'out of sight, out of mind' springs to mind.

Except the gas gauge will start plummeting as soon as it hits the half-full point…unless I misunderstood the issue.

[hk blues]

13 hours ago, TxRover said:

Except the gas gauge will start plummeting as soon as it hits the half-full point…unless I misunderstood the issue.

I meant that if the car isn't sitting in the garage it's all too easy for them to "forget" about it and not chase up the spare part so diligently.  

[Ekhibee88]

Bought a car recently and it came with 30 day GAP insurance. They phoned asking if I'm interested in cover for a further two years or something. Is it worth it ?

[alta-pete]

3 minutes ago, Ekhibee88 said:

Bought a car recently and it came with 30 day GAP insurance. They phoned asking if I'm interested in cover for a further two years or something. Is it worth it ?

Depends on your circumstances. I bought something fairly new that was likely to depreciate fairly quickly so, if anything did happen to it in the first couple of years, I got the full invoice price back rather than the then current market value. A couple of hundred quid compared to the value of the car a couple of years down the road seemed a reasonable buy to me.

The only categoric thing I would say is don't take the dealer's quote - they are only making a mark up on products already widely available online. They'll sell you it as you get the 'dealer service' but there's nothing in that - it's a fairly binary choice whether the policy pays out or not. Is your car written off or not? Just keep a copy of the purchase invoices for both the car and the policy somewhere safe...

[Empty It]

I remember having a wee Peugeot 106 and the fuel gauge never worked the entire time I had it, was like Russian roulette driving it sometimes. The joys of being 17 and buying cars from pals for a couple hundred pound.

[scottsdad]

1 hour ago, Empty It said:

I remember having a wee Peugeot 106 and the fuel gauge never worked the entire time I had it, was like Russian roulette driving it sometimes. The joys of being 17 and buying cars from pals for a couple hundred pound.

Same here, with a Vauxhall Nova. 

Only ran out of petrol once. 

[strichener]

2 hours ago, Ekhibee88 said:

Bought a car recently and it came with 30 day GAP insurance. They phoned asking if I'm interested in cover for a further two years or something. Is it worth it ?

An insurance policy to cover replacing the car should something happen.  Exactly what your car insurance is supposed to cover.  If you have not taken out finance then don't bother.  If you have taken out finance for a high percentage of the cost (i.e. small deposit) then there is a small chance that it may be of benefit.

Personally I have never taken GAP insurance on any car I have bought.  Seeing it as insurance companies charging you twice for the the same thing.

 

[TxRover]

3 hours ago, strichener said:

An insurance policy to cover replacing the car should something happen.  Exactly what your car insurance is supposed to cover.  If you have not taken out finance then don't bother.  If you have taken out finance for a high percentage of the cost (i.e. small deposit) then there is a small chance that it may be of benefit.

Personally I have never taken GAP insurance on any car I have bought.  Seeing it as insurance companies charging you twice for the the same thing.

 

I used to distain GAP insurance, but then a few horror stories from co-workers made me rethink a categorical opposition. The question you have to ask yourself if what is the car I bought worth after I drive it off the lot versus what do I owe? The average new car depreciates about 10-15% when you drive it off the lot…so if your £20,000 purchase is totaled by a HGV 5 minutes after you drive of the forecourt, the insurance company will pay you £17,000. The question then is how much did you finance?

Generally, if you want GAP, the cheaper option is to buy it from your lender.

It may also be good if you use a longer term loan, as cars depreciate by 20%+ in the first year, and most are worth only about 50% of new at the 3-4 year mark. If you do a 60+ month loan (there are 84 month loans out there, don’t do it!), you are generally upside down for the first two to three years unless you put down 10%+.

[Empty It]

10 minutes ago, TxRover said:

I used to distain GAP insurance, but then a few horror stories from co-workers made me rethink a categorical opposition. The question you have to ask yourself if what is the car I bought worth after I drive it off the lot versus what do I owe? The average new car depreciates about 10-15% when you drive it off the lot…so if your £20,000 purchase is totaled by a HGV 5 minutes after you drive of the forecourt, the insurance company will pay you £17,000. The question then is how much did you finance?

Generally, if you want GAP, the cheaper option is to buy it from your lender.

It may also be good if you use a longer term loan, as cars depreciate by 20%+ in the first year, and most are worth only about 50% of new at the 3-4 year mark. If you do a 60+ month loan (there are 84 month loans out there, don’t do it!), you are generally upside down for the first two to three years unless you put down 10%+.

And all of this is why I don't have the slightest clue why anyone would buy a brand new car.

[mac.i]

GAP is to cover the difference between 'market value' which the insurer will pay out and what you owe on the car so you don't end up still paying for something you don't have anymore.

 

You want RTI - return to invoice which will pay the difference between the insurers 'market value' and what you paid so should make sure any finance is clear and you have a deposit to go car hunting with.

Look for a policy away from the dealership if you can...

[strichener]

39 minutes ago, TxRover said:

I used to distain GAP insurance, but then a few horror stories from co-workers made me rethink a categorical opposition. The question you have to ask yourself if what is the car I bought worth after I drive it off the lot versus what do I owe? The average new car depreciates about 10-15% when you drive it off the lot…so if your £20,000 purchase is totaled by a HGV 5 minutes after you drive of the forecourt, the insurance company will pay you £17,000. The question then is how much did you finance?

Generally, if you want GAP, the cheaper option is to buy it from your lender.

It may also be good if you use a longer term loan, as cars depreciate by 20%+ in the first year, and most are worth only about 50% of new at the 3-4 year mark. If you do a 60+ month loan (there are 84 month loans out there, don’t do it!), you are generally upside down for the first two to three years unless you put down 10%+.

Your insurance should cover you for replacement value of your vehicle.  In the rare instances when I have had to make an insurance claim, I have never accepted a settlement that wouldn't put me into the position I was in before the claim.  It is literally what insurance is for. 

 

The fact that they con people into taking out an additional insurance policy to cover the "gap" between what you had and what they are willing to pay out shows how warped the insurance market is.

[strichener]

7 minutes ago, mac.i said:

GAP is to cover the difference between 'market value' which the insurer will pay out and what you owe on the car so you don't end up still paying for something you don't have anymore.

 

You want RTI - return to invoice which will pay the difference between the insurers 'market value' and what you paid so should make sure any finance is clear and you have a deposit to go car hunting with.

Look for a policy away from the dealership if you can...

Market Value for a car that you have just bought from a dealer should be the price you paid.  The Financial Ombudsmen has made clear that they expect the market value to be the price you can buy the vehicle at from a reputable dealer.

[mac.i]

1 hour ago, strichener said:

Market Value for a car that you have just bought from a dealer should be the price you paid.  The Financial Ombudsmen has made clear that they expect the market value to be the price you can buy the vehicle at from a reputable dealer.

Yeah, right after that might hold but if you are at the point in finance where you owe more than the car is worth you are up a creek without a paddle... It's also in the interest of the GAP company to get the best payout from your insurer.

No skin in the game but it's well worth it. Like all insurances you pay for something you don't want to need.

[Andy Dufresne]

On 27/12/2022 at 23:42, TxRover said:

Not to be cynical, but why not tell them you’ll drive it until the get the new wiring loom in, get out of the Rio and have her (or, more likely, you) refill the car every time you hit 1/2 the range you get by multiplying the gas tank size by the mileage you got before. Example, if it’s an Astra with a 48 litre tank, and rated at about 9 miles per litre, you would expect 430 miles from a full tank…so fill up to full every 200 miles or so. It sucks, but it beats driving a Rio…and your comment suggests the gauge is good above half a tank.

The fuel tank is out and because they have a had it a while the MOT and Road tax has ran out.

[Andy Dufresne]

8 hours ago, Ekhibee88 said:

Bought a car recently and it came with 30 day GAP insurance. They phoned asking if I'm interested in cover for a further two years or something. Is it worth it ?

Get GAP insurance,we use a company called ALA they are very good.My mate never took GAP out on his brand new FQ300 after paying £38k for it,He wrote it off within 6 months and his insurance only paid out £28k 

[TxRover]

1 hour ago, Andy Dufresne said:

The fuel tank is out and because they have a had it a while the MOT and Road tax has ran out.

Surely there is a provision in customer protection that would require them to provide you a more comparable vehicle or repurchase the defective vehicle if they cannot repair it within a certain period. How old is the car?

 

Edit: Consumer Rights Act of 2015 and the 1979 Sale of Goods Act should offer some protections.

Edited December 30, 2022 by TxRover

[Andy Dufresne]

3 minutes ago, TxRover said:

Surely there is a provision in customer protection that would require them to provide you a more comparable vehicle or repurchase the defective vehicle if they cannot repair it within a certain period. How old is the car?

It is a 2016,because the original fault was within a month of use buying the car we are covered by the consumer rights act.she loves the car but we have given Arnold Clark a time limit now that they have to sort it out.My wife has only done 2.5k miles in the car since she bought it a year ago.

[strichener]

14 hours ago, Andy Dufresne said:

Get GAP insurance,we use a company called ALA they are very good.My mate never took GAP out on his brand new FQ300 after paying £38k for it,He wrote it off within 6 months and his insurance only paid out £28k 

Your mate should have paid for better insurance rather than GAP insurance.  My current policy will replace the vehicle in the first two years.

[Empty It]

Got a slow puncture, the problem is the spare is under the van and the bolt holding it up is covered in shit, cleaned up using wire brush and release oil as best as possible. The bolt is now moving but jamming, would it be okay to use an impact gun on this as long as I don't go mental with it?