GAP and key insurance - 2020 R1250GSA Rallye

leasky

leasky

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At the eleventh hour (bike being collected from them tomorrow) Vines of Guildford have just asked me if I want to buy GAP and key insurance.

Having had neither before; can I ask the brethren here what the consensus is on these two “options”.
 
I had Return To Invoice GAP on a car for the equivalent of £2.50/week.

After the car was stolen, Avivia coughed £40K and the return to invoice GAP coughed the balance of £22K.

I bought my GSA with it :thumb

For me it was money well spent :thumb

Non dealer may be cheaper, but I recall BMW GAP covers fitted options too, so panniers/topbox and NAV - and they should negotiate on price too.
 
I don't take it and never have in over 45 years of driving and riding. I look at it as an insurers way of extracting more money to support insurers for not valuing a vehicle to its true value, bikes seem to be more susseptable. And dealers sales getting a bit of extra commission, I'm willing to be convinced otherwise if there's a valid reason for having it. But consider that I pay cash. I'm sure for PCP's etc there may be more point in it, I don't know.

I don't want to tempt fate but the last time I had an insurance claim of any kind was 1975. And I've never lost a key. Never say never, but chances are low. guess this is where it becomes like gambling.

I believe that there are companies that sell it at half the cost of what the dealers do, and I'm told that it's better cover if you look for Defacto 5 star rated. I don't know but that's what my son tells me.

Suppose you have to consider a lot of things like; what you do with/on your bike, do you leave it in public car parks every day? does it sit outside every night? is there a higher risk of a serious accident causing a write off? and so on. it may be more likely needed.
 
Thanks guys; I should perhaps have added further information: I seldom do more than 4K miles per year, the bike is kept in an alarmed garage next to the house (only access to the house / garage area is via electric gates), usual cameras, security lights etc.

It’s odd that the dealer hasn’t mentioned this to me during the previous 2 weeks and only bring it up at half 5 the day before the bike is due to be picked up.....
 
leasky said:
It’s odd that the dealer hasn’t mentioned this to me during the previous 2 weeks and only bring it up at half 5 the day before the bike is due to be picked up.....
Click to expand...
Upselling is normally expected of the regular sales guys by the business managers, probably asked him whilst dealing with paperwork etc. The sales guy that I bought my GS from started the conversation; “I have to ask you this” but he kind of knew the answer. Probably cos I’m from Yorkshire ��
 
I usually purchase gap, and probably will again - I understand the views from both sides.

But, firstly, you don't normally need to make a decision until the 6 month mark - you should be covered by full return to invoice on you regular insurance within that time period (check) - and gap insurance companies, including those badged as BMW, will allow to take out the gap policy before 6 mths at no additional premium (for the reason just stated), so you may as well save 6 mths.

Buying BMW gap is at least 50% more expensive than going to an indepenent but you do get the BMW backing whereas an indie financial house could go bust at anytime. There's an indie that does very good prices, has been round for 10 years, and seems to have good reviews, but I'd need to find and can't do so now.

There are two types of gap insurance - Return to Invoice and Replacement - Replacement is essentially covering you for inflation, as if you claimed on a rti after 5 years they'd be a shorfall on the price you'd need to pay. I've only seen RTI for m/bs?
 
leasky said:
Thanks guys; I should perhaps have added further information: I seldom do more than 4K miles per year, the bike is kept in an alarmed garage next to the house (only access to the house / garage area is via electric gates), usual cameras, security lights etc.

It’s odd that the dealer hasn’t mentioned this to me during the previous 2 weeks and only bring it up at half 5 the day before the bike is due to be picked up.....
Click to expand...

You must factor in fire and an accident - not just theft . Hopefully it wont happen.
 
I went with GAP but not from the dealership. I got the same level of cover with EasyGap Insurance for £114 for three years. Less than £3 a month. It may well be another insurance theft but I saved hard to buy my bike and if the worst does happen I’ll feel more confident...
for what it’s worth I went with EasyGap having read the positive reviews on this very site.
 
reckon they were the ones I was thinking of and was considering
 
I’ve never really looked at GAP thinking it was a piss take and wouldn’t affect me.

But I’m just to buy an overpriced used GS from a main dealer for £9700 on a 3yr pcp with £1k down, £115/month and GFV of £5500. Am I getting it right, if it gets nicked it’s unlikely my insurance will pay the BMW premium and probably value it at say £8000-£8500. Then I’d lose my £250 excess so end up with £7750-£8250 back. The outstanding finance might be £8500 if it happens early in the first year so I’d lose my £1000 deposit and possibly have to find another £750?
The GAP quote on Easygap is £98, this would pay the excess ‘up to £250’ and also the original invoice value or finance whichever’s higher. So I’d get £9700 back, no matter when it was nicked.

Is that about it?

Obviously I’ve not had a bike nicked in 25 years or written one off in 200k miles or more so it’s all down to the risk I’m willing to entertain and ability to take the hit if it goes TU?
 
GAP insurance is great if you suffer a total loss or a rip-off / unnecessary (insert word of choice) if you don’t. Insurance claims are, by their very nature, sudden and unforeseen. Just because someone has not had a claim in 300 or however many years, does not mean that they will not have a claim today, tomorrow, next week or next year.

Buy it if you think it’s reasonable value. Don’t buy it if you don’t. It is that simple and has nothing to do with a class or model of motorbike. Try the insurance section; it’s full of likeminds.
 
GAP insurance is always sold as giving you a new bike if your nearly new one is written off - in effect making you better off than you were.

Surely the purpose of insurance is to cover your loss and to put you back in the position you were before the event. If you buy a new bike and then after 6 months of so its is written off, you haven't lost a brand new bike, you've lost a second hand one. The traditional insurance cover should stump up enough for you to replace your lost bike with something similar ie a used bike at a value of probably 15-20% less than you paid, or more.

Where has the expectation that the loser is entitled to a brand new replacement come from, effectively putting the loser in a better position than he/she was before the loss - cynical marketing by the insurers trying to sell an expensive gimmick?

I suppose the kicker is if you've bought the bike on credit and owe more than the second hand value. That's when GAP insurance can seem like a good idea as it can cover the amount you owe to the tick man
 
i bought a car two years ago for 40k. wouldnt normally take Gap but thought i will this time. 11months later car was stolen and not recovered. i got the insurance pay out of 30K plus 10k gap - worth every penny...if its needed.

was a lovely car..dam

Barry
 
Britishbeefy - yes, sounds right.

mw3230 - clearly, the value of gap insurance increases over the period of holding the insurance and vehicle.

RTI gap doesn't guarantee a replacement/brand new vehicle, but simply covers the financial gap between the price paid for the vehicle and the 'traditional' insurance payout. For cars, replacement gap is available, which would pay the difference between the insurance payout and the current price of the vehicle's replacement.
 
I bought my GAP insurance for the 5 series when it was new just because I would never be able to replace it again "old for new" if it ever got written off in the first 5 years. I went online to purchase it and have a year left to go. It is peace of mind for me and I am pleased I spent the money.
 
Taken it out on my last 3 new bikes (not from BMW) cost usually about £120 for 3 year cover (starts after 6 month standard bike replacement off your bike insurance ) so effectively 3 1/2 year cover works out £35 per year and that is gold package new bike replacement at time of loss so I paid 17k two and a half years later new bike cost 20k that is what they pay up to.
Okey downfall third policy and luckily not had to claim but with the possibility of claiming up to 10k surly got to be worth it ,
 
Thanks for all the responses gents.

I bought the bike from Vines and got them to fit a full titanium Akropovic system and full black adventure luggage with back rest, inner bags and a few other bits and pieces.

The amount they originally wanted and the amount I actually paid differed by well over £2k, however even the final invoice price would certainly not be comparable to the (I would imagine much lower) figure which an insurer would offer me in the case of a total loss - so I think that GAP insurance may be a prudent option on this occasion.
 
Car/bike insurance is competitive I guess. When I bought a new motorhome it was covered under replaced with new for 3 years! And that was a £300 a year insurance policy for an appreciating asset!

It’s worth the same now as when I bought it 6 years ago. Brexit and Covid eh?
 
Nippy Normans supply Touratech, Wunderlich, Desert Fox and many other makes of accessories.
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