Did you recently take on (or consider) a loan of 84 months or longer on a car purchase?
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Exposure: your statement is partially correct...yes, your exposure will decrease over time as your car is paid down...and your vehicle will be depreciating at the same time...if you have a 3 year loan and a moderate down payment, the chance is worth taking...my point is just that for most folks who put less than 10% down, and finance 5,6,7 years, their car is depreciating quite rapidly and the loan is being paid down very slowly...their gap may be well over $5-10 thousand for the first 3 years, maybe into the fourth...if they are racking up 20K miles or more, the gap may even widen over the first 3 years...GAP ins is even more important then...
Further, for the folks who do not need/want GAP, they are usually in a better financial position, so they can absorb the difference, but they are also the ones who do not put zero down and finance over 7 years...so, USUALLY, the ones who do not need it are the ones who put a substantial down payment and only finance over 3 years...the ones who need 7 years are the ones who are hardest hit by the gap, so they need the GAP ins...
Yes, one is playing the odds...but the chances of a wreck can happen on any day at any time...to me, and to those whom I would offer advice, I say that the $300-400 cost of the GAP, to insure against the possible payout in the first two years of maybe $10K or more, even if you HAVE money, the cost is worth it...even if you have $10K in the bank, why take the chance of spending it when a small premium may save it???...it IS your money, spend it as you wish, but the nominal cost of the ins is well worth it to me, and I would tell most folks to buy it...
Again, if they do not have the $$$ for the downpayment, and they finance 5,6,7 years because they cannot afford the higher payment, they are textbook candidates for GAP, because they are the exact folks that are devastated by the difference when their car is wrecked...
YMMV...
Ok first thing I am not saying never get gap insurance, I am just saying that its not always the wise choice.
Secondly if your buying a car and getting a loan thats more than 5 years your are over buying and I strongly suggest getting something more affordable.
Finally unless they drive mega miles or have a very high interest rate most people should be right side up by 3 years or very close to it.
I say that the $300-400 cost of the GAP, to insure against the possible payout in the first two years of maybe $10K or more,
If you are going to be upside down on a loan by $10k you are buying a very expensive car most people will never be that far upside down, not even close. If you will be at most $5,000 upside down on a loan $400 is a little high for gap insurance.
Again, if they do not have the $$$ for the downpayment, and they finance 5,6,7 years because they cannot afford the higher payment,
Again 2 things.
1.) I never said never get gap insurance, I said that not everyone should get it, it all depends on several different things.
2.) If your are taking more than 5 years to pay off a car you are over buying your car and I strongly suggest something less expensive.
3.) Odds of needing gap are very slim.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
So, a $35K car out the door is now a $42K loan...then, when the car is totalled in 12-24 months, they still owe over $40K but the ins will only pay $25-28K...
Certianly, they are buying more car than they can afford, that is why they put little down and finance over 5-7 years...
Your opinions are valuable, but your facts are quite incorrect...GAP is probably useful/mandatory for well over 75% of all car buyers...it is a rare person who will not be hurt by having to come up with more than $3K if their car is totalled... :shades:
But what most people forget in their "calculations" .. is the "real world trade-in value" of their vehicle, and lets be honest here .. Galants aren't known for their "Rolex" style resale value ..l.o.l...
2 simple examples in the last 2 days on 2 different price points ...
Customer "A" just traded his low miler 02 Bimmer 745Li in on a new $48,000 ABC vehicle .... the trade is worth $33 on a good day - and he owes $39 ...
MSRP: $48,220
sale price: $46,000
trade value: $33,000
difference figure: $13,000
taxes on difference: $ 910
tag: $49
__________________________
Sub total: $13,959
payoff: $39,187.23
total: $53,146.23
$$ down: $4,500
TBF - to be financed: $48,646.23
Drive it over the curb: it's worth $39 - $40,000 on a good day.
Does this guy need Gap.? .. considering he's already $9grand in the bucket .. and when August/September rolls around, he'll be heading south to "at least" $10/$11,000+ .... Gap is cheap insurance.
Customer "B" just traded his 01 clean low mile Kia 4x4 Sportage in on a new "XYZ" vehicle .... the trade is worth $4,000 on a nice sunny day - and he owes $7,100 ...
MSRP: $29,827
sale price: $27,987
trade value: $4,000
difference figure: $23,987
taxes on difference: $1,679
tag: $49
_____________________
sub total: $25,715
payoff: $7,047
total: $32,762
$$ down: $2,500
TBF - to be financed: $30,262
Drive it over the curb: it's worth maybe $22ish ... come August/September, it's worth under $21 .... does this guy need need Gap.??
It's cheap insurance ........
Terry
Even a $35K car will be paid down to the low $20's in two years. Now lets face it, most buyers don't buy $35k cars. Most buyers buy cars in the mid $20's or lower. It is hard to be $10K upside down on a $25K car (unless your rolling over another loan).
Plus the rarity of having the total loss makes it an unwise investment in most cases.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
... but 75% of the buyers today are in a negative equity position ... and it doesn't make a difference if they drive a $15,000 Mazda or a $95,000 Mercedes ....
The 2 examples I used .. are just the average guy buying a car, not the extreme ..... we need to get out more.
Terry.
We must remember that we are insuring against the TOTALLED car, thereby having to come up with the difference...if a car is wrecked, but repairable, than GAP never enters into the scenario...it is simply my opinion that, altho totals make up a small percentage of all auto wrecks, one never knows if today is the day that their car will be the totalled one, so GAP is a worthy recommendation...
I bought it at the dealer for convenience...if other places are cheaper, it only strengthens the argument for it, as you will be paying less for the same protection...
Please, feel free not to buy it, I certainly don't care...but when I talk to bankruptcy clients, and they tell me that they are anywhere from $5K to $20K underwater because their car was totalled and insurance did not pay off what they owed, I always ask them if they had GAP ins, and they ask, "What's that?"...when I tell them, their first statement is "Why didn't someone tell me about that before?"...well, I am telling all those who read this thread...
And, if you don't buy it, that's OK...just don't say you weren't warned...
As a CPA, you may deal with a class of folks with more money than the class of folks that I deal with...for my clients, I would venture a guess that over 90% of them MUST have it...
It really comes down to $$$...if you have it, then you either finance the vehicle shorter, make a larger down payment, or do not fear the possible payout if totalled...if you really don't have it, then GAP is probably a wise choice to preserve the lump sum that you can never seem to accumulate...
Lastly, is it spelled totaled or totalled???
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Actually it would support my statement. $27,000 is in the mid $20's range (Closer to $25K than $30K). Also remember that for every $50K Rover you sell they would have to sell two $15K cars to get to that average, For every $100K car sold Chevy would have to sell 4 Aveo SV's (at $10K each) to get the average car sold to be $27K.
If you figure that then people roll in some negative equity from the previous car
Not everyone rolls negative equity from a previous car.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Really? the typical car buyer on that $15K mazda is going to put $0 or $500 down and finance the balance including sales tax reg fees etc for 72 months. I can assure you he or her is going to be upside down substantially for most or all of the term. This example is more the norm than the financially prudent buyer who puts a significant amount down and a short finance term.
2011 Hyundai Sonata, 2014 BMW 428i convertible, 2015 Honda CTX700D
Also, for those that qualify (and I do not mean to beat a dead horse), many of those have auto loan deficiencies that would have been cured by GAP insurance (or, obviously, larger down paymts or shorter loan periods, but their cheapest solution would have been GAP...definitely cheaper than the cost of Bankruptcy...
Thank You
Real-World Trade-In Values
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2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
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Anyways, the Gap coverage through Honda is $595. I see it online for $299. What is the best way to go? Honda or online? Any suggestions?
Thanks!
Okay, how much upside down do you think you might be on the Pilot, worst case? $1000? $2000? Maybe $5000 at some point? If your risk is $5000 or more at some point, then a $300 premium for the insurance is not very high. If the most you think you might be at risk to cover is maybe $1500 - $2000, then the premium becomes closer to your risk. Depends on which risk you want to take...risk losing your premium (not collecting on the GAP) or not taking the GAP and risking covering out of pocket if something does happen.
Also to consider...you might only be at risk say 2.5 years if you financed the Pilot for 5 years, assuming it holds it's value pretty well. Also GAP will only pay if the vehicle is TOTALED or maybe stolen while you owe more that it's worth.
If you can afford to cover a couple thousand dollar 'GAP' out of pocket, then you could afford to not take the GAP. On the other hand, if you can NOT afford to cover the GAP out of pocket, then you might be advised to take it.
Again - THANK YOU!!
You wouldn't get a check from anybody.
Your insurance would pay the real value of the car to your lending company, and the gap insurance would pay the difference between that and what you actually owe on the car. If you owe as much or less than its really worth, the gap insurance pays nothing.
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
If, you are in the 4th year of a 5 year loan, and you owe $7,000 and the car is worth $7,000, then liability or collision pays off your loan and GAP pays nothing...
GAP is most valuable in the first 3 years, where your car may depreciate from $30K down to $18K, but your loan has been paid down from $30K to $25K, that is where GAP shines...
'11 GMC Sierra 1500; '98 Alfa 156 2.0TS; '08 Maser QP; '67 Coronet R/T; '13 Fiat 500c; '20 S90 T6; '22 MB Sprinter 2500 4x4 diesel; '97 Suzuki R Wagon; '96 Opel Astra; '11 Mini Cooper S
It is worth a try...whereas trying what you suggested may require an attorney to defend you...:):):)
Just kidding, of course.
Thanks again for all the time you take to post advice on the Forum.
Chris
Bob
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Find me at kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
2015 Kia Soul, 2021 Subaru Forester (kirstie_h), 2024 GMC Sierra 1500 (mr. kirstie_h)
Review your vehicle
So, if you were 15K upside down in your Town Car, and traded for a new Excursion (w/no down payment), in one year you could be neg eq almost 30K...I question whether Gap would pay all of it off if totalled...
But, I think the example given is a little extreme... If the new vehicle is only worth $22K, then you likely won't be able to get a loan for over $30K on it, anyway...
GAP insurance will payoff the balance of the loan, if the car is totaled... It doesn't matter why the funds were borrowed... just that they are collateralized by the new car..
regards,
kyfdx
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Hum. If your insurance company's gap will not pay for old loan, what is their deal? Will they only pay up to MSRP on the current? Even so, how do they account for neg equity rolled into one with rebates and discounts? Example, $40K MSRP GM/FORD/DC sold at $37K invoice with $5K rebate nets maybe $33.5K with taxes. IF XYZ banks will finance MSRP then your could roll at least $6K negative equity into the deal. Would you then have to submit to your insurance company copies of your buyers order and argue with them about trade value, etc.?
If this is the case, maybe the insurance company GAP is not equivalent to the more expensive GAP you could purchase through the dealship and should be called something else to avoid confusion?
More on GAP. Since Allstate (my insurance company) has been really advertising 'Accident Forgivness" and "New Care Replacement" that seems to be a form of GAP, I went to their site to see if they had any details. Nope, looks like they want you to talk to an agent. I wonder if the agents have any documents that detail the coverage? Or do they just want to lure you into signing up and then bring out the details if you ever need to file a claim? Kind of disappointed.
Now go forward a year and assume a total. Tell me what my cost basis would be on each of these examples? How much of my shown original balance on the new vehicle would be carry-over from the old loan? Do they use $10K or $13K as the value of my old vehicle? If the loan papers show $13K trade with no discount, does that mean under both examples that there is NO carry-over? Or would they try to argue some other value? Does it depend on the state how deals are represented on the sales order and does that have major bearing on what they would pay?
Sorry if I'm making this discussion more complicated than it should be, but without a complete explanation of how they try and calculate these things, if may be difficult to really know what happens. Has anyone been through this and gotten a surprise?
Good discussion,
Bill