[BMWSKI]

Hi All,

My current GAP policy is due to expire within a week and I am also hoping to collect my 335d at a similar time. Although BMW have been promising this for weeks now!
Anyway, I'm looking into a new GAP policy and also considering tyre and alloy insurance...What are peoples views / experiences with tyre and alloy cover? Are they really worth it? I will be running 18" run flat winters / summers on 400M's.
Minimum tread depth for tyres is 2mm which sounds excellent and 5 claims can be made in 3 years.
Alloys are 3 claims per annum and lasts 3 years.

Any thoughts would be appreciated...

Cheers

[F30AM]

There is an article in the latest Auto Express about the minefield with GAP Insurance claims. Interesting read.

[BMWSKI]

Good or Bad???

[F30AM]

Originally Posted by BMWSKI

Good or Bad???

Bad. It takes forever and a day for them to pay up it seems.

[dopper99]

I went with car2cover for my new car. Had a long chat with them before I signed up and they seem very good.
Got full vehicle replacement rather than return to invoice. That way you make sure you can buy the EXACT car again in the event of a right off as you get the full list price of the replacement car regardless of what you paid for the car.

Its also transferable to another car if you swap cars, unlike BMW gap which is dead the minute you sell your car. I also understand with BMW gap that the gap insurance company send the cheque to the dealer and you have to buy again with them and are tied in whereas with a policy like car2cover, you just get a cheque and you can buy what you want from where you want.

I considered their dent/alloy protection policy and didn't think it was worth it. It was about £350 for 3 years but there is a £25 excess each time you claim. So two claims would cost you £400. I think I'd rather pay for my own as I think it would still be cheaper than £400. (Eg two claims of two alloys would be about £200).
Again, didn't bother with tyre insurance - I'll take my chances and pay out if on the remote chance I get a puncture.
Also the dent protection and tyre insurance are not transferable to another car unlike the gap. Worth checking these things when you buy these kind of covers.

But there are loads of companies to choice from so shop around and choose what's best for you.

[BMWSKI]

There is no excess charge with the tyre and alloy cover with mine although I'm not sure if it's transferable. A 3 yr policy would work out fine though.
Dent cover has too many restrictions but the others sound pretty straight forward to me...

[ZigmundUK]

Talk to the dude at car2cover. Very reassuring. Also reviews for them seem v good.

[BMWSKI]

I'm thinking that the alloy cover would be useful for when my wife drives it...if I let her!

[MarkG_M5Comp]

Like others here I've gone for car2cover, GAP and tyre insurance. Like others I was convinced by the guy I spoke to on the phone.

Dent insurance was too pricey when compared to ChipsAway etc. and since I have the 403s, wheel insurance doesn't cover diamond cuts.

For the price, I'd definitely go GAP, my wife just had a puncture on her 1 series (no tyre insurance) which cost me £170, on the 335 this would have been £260 is so again, worthwhile for me.

[BMWSKI]

I've always been with Ala and they seem good on the phone too.

[RichardM]

The BMW tyre policy is pretty crap as it only plays out 50% if the tyre is classed as 50% worn.

[rich100]

I went with ala also. It was about a third of the price of what bmw wanted even though bmw were knocking a bit off.

Granted its not a bmw policy but I figured better to have some level of cover rather than none at all.

As regards to whether it's a good idea or not, I've never bothered in the past but I've never had a new car before either . I think the issue with a new car is it loses a fair chunk of value in the first year and the insurance company will only pay the market rate hence the gap. Not such a problem with a 2 or 3 year old car but I'd definitely get something in place for yours mate considering its value.

Are you signed up to quidco at all? I got a further 10% cash back by clicking through to Ala via quidco.

[dazzapb]

I think I will use ALA for gap (they do vechicle replacement plus)

Use code 'vri4434' for 10% off

Maybe car2cover for tyre insurance as they are cheaper.

Maybe ask dealer if they can get near these prices? But it seems the policies they sell are not as good so read the small print.

Thanks

[dopper99]

Car2cover do 5% cash back if you get the quote emailed to you. I got £15 back which will do very nicely.

[ben_e71]

the trouble with all of these things is where do you stop ... insurance for the car, insurance for the GAP in case you use the insurance for the car, insurance for your alloys, insurance for your tyres, insurance for dents .... insurance insurance insurance.... it soon adds up ...

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by ben_e71

the trouble with all of these things is where do you stop ... insurance for the car, insurance for the GAP in case you use the insurance for the car, insurance for your alloys, insurance for your tyres, insurance for dents .... insurance insurance insurance.... it soon adds up ...

Yes but I think if you are buying a new car you'd be mad not to take out gap. You can keep the rest as far as I'm concerned.

If you don't get gap and your car gets nicked, do you want to trust your insurance company to pay out enough to replace it with the same car? That I doubt very much.

[ben_e71]

well my insurance policy replaces with a brand new vehicle year one ...

the benefits of not always going cheapest

[dopper99]

Originally Posted by ben_e71

well my insurance policy replaces with a brand new vehicle year one ...

the benefits of not always going cheapest

Well I'm with Direct Line and I checked this before I bought GAP and they said if the car was less than a year old they would "replace it".

Not trusting them I still took out GAP from day one even though car2cover allow a 1 year deferral if the customer chooses.

Anyway, I'm glad I did this as I've just found this on Direct Line's website:

If your car is less than one year old and you are the first and only registered owner, in order to get you back on the road as quickly as possible with the minimum amount of hassle, we will try to offer you a permanent replacement vehicle of the same make and model. If we can't, your claim will be settled based on the market value of your car when the accident happened, less any excess that may apply.

>>>try to offer you a permanent replacement vehicle of the same make and model????
The chances of getting the exact same 335d with exact same options are virtually zero so they would pay out the market value instead.

Glad I went for GAP.

[DickieGibbo]

Originally Posted by ben_e71

well my insurance policy replaces with a brand new vehicle year one ...

the benefits of not always going cheapest

That's true with most insurance policies but you cannot buy gap after the car is 3 months old I believe, so you will be risking it for year 2 and 3.

As an insurance broker I have seen many people lose out over the years in not purchasing GAP and for £130 for 3 years cover for £15k gap, I think it is money well spent!

Dickie

[MarkG_M5Comp]

BUY TYRE INSURANCE!!!

Woke up this morning and found a flat tyre

After 5 seconds of shouting inside my head I remembered I was insured and after calling Kwik-Fit to be quoted £323.00, I'm thinking my £259.00 premium is pretty good value.

OK Kwik-Fit rip you off and I've found much better at £224.00 but it's still great value, I've had the car 2 months and covered 4,400 miles so in 3 years, 60k I'd be lucky not to have more trouble.

Incidentally, I think with most companies you can only get tyre insurance if buying GAP so you need to factor in the best price overall rather than in isolation.

I've also decided not to defer my GAP on the basis a) the policy is more black and white than Zurich, 'back to invoice' - simple and b) I want the flexibility to change insurance companies without worrying that they'll f*** me over in the event of a claim when discussing market value. Also, had an interesting discussion with Car2Cover who gave a balanced view but also shared experience that people do have trouble, even in the first year, with insurers.

[steddyman]

Pah. Car2cover will only sell you tyre insurance if you are buying GAP insurance form them.

I bought the BMW gap insurance. That's rubbish.

[ben_e71]

okay so live and learn sound like I need to investigate.... but being quoted £250 - so those that are experienced do you cover all 3 or 4 years of your lease and what percentage of the vehicle value do you cover?

ta