GAP insurance making sense is not a rare instance. GAP insurance is a must for most car buyers. Not that you should, but a lot of buyers will finance 72 and even 84 months. In a normal market, that will mean basically any car will be underwater for quite some time.
For folks that regularly overpay, it may be true about GAP insurance being a must for most of those buyers. I’ve never been in a situation, where I needed it and had quite a few vehicles paid out at a total loss over the years. Not watching the bottom line number, taking what the dealership offers on tradein, and not questioning down ticket fees and addons, typically costs the consumer about $5k. I had a dealer tell me that flat out, Capital Ford in Raleigh. My salesman told me they had to make $5k on every sale, when I questioned a lowball tradein offer and told them I could sell to Carvana for a few thousand more. Each mistake my younger self made taught me not to enter into any vehicle purchase with emotion, or attachment.
No, this is oversimplification. I've purchased about 20 cars in the past 20 years, and I have yet to come across a scenario where GAP wouldn't have made sense - and I'm well versed in this process, having been on both sides of the desk. Add-ons like extended warranties are also irrelevant to GAP, as many of them have total loss clauses refunding the purchase price in the event the car is totaled.. meaning they don't get covered by GAP anyway. I've had GAP pay out 3 times - once on a 2012 Nissan Rogue that was totaled at 6 months old, once on a Mercedes E-class lost in a house fire at 9 months old, and once on a Kia Optima totaled by a deer. All of those cars were purchased for very reasonable prices, with on add-ons as I don't do that, and financed at very low rates (I've never financed a car above 3% APR)
Spoken like a true finance manager. We may have to agree to disagree. Consumers only need to know two values over the life of their Ford vehicle ownership, NADA CLEAN trade in and CLEAN retail, depending on the situation. If one takes care of their vehicle, and doesn’t have major imperfections, they should know that average tradein, average retail, or KBB devalues their vehicle, depending on who uses it, car dealer, or an insurance company. There’s always an outlier that brings down the average, like a beater, or mechanical issues, smokers car, unresolved issues, etc.. Carvana, Carmax and Vroom may be helpful but only to verify the numbers, or access the secondary market to sell a vehicle.
You're rambling and have zero idea what you're talking about. That's not surprising, though, given that you've been getting your information from car salesmen and Geico representatives. Geico, like basically all insurers, does not care what your loan balance is in the event of a total loss. They pay actual cash value (ACV). It's in your contract. Your anecdotal stories about how they paid off a loan you had means nothing to everyone else. Just like the fact that all three times I used GAP, I was insured by Geico.. that also means nothing to anyone else.
As I said we may have to agree to disagree b/c I’d never throw my money away on a Kia, Mercedes, or Nissan. I only keep replying with facts so other folks on this forum would know how to make sure they aren’t too upside down going into their purchase. And so they don’t fall for the crooked finance manager, scaring them into something they don’t need, when they’d be better off putting that money down to lower the total cost of ownership. If they can’t put anything down and really need GAP, they’d be better off going to their own insurance company and paying some de minimis monthly cost. And not the dealership, where it’s marked up 4-5x. Good luck to you and God bless!
If it was a good value for you, that's all that matters. People here obsess about dealer markups. Most won't pay it and that's fine - nobody is forcing them. For those that need the vehicle and see value in a higher price, at least they can get the vehicles. It's a very basic feature of a free market economy that a lot of people don't seem to understand.
Got my XL as soon as I saw it was available on the lot yesterday. Drove it home and added some stuff to it. Still need the bedliner.. other then that I purchased Husky black crossover tool box from Home Depot and floor mats.. sand is killer here in SC.. I'm pleased with it so far..
The tool box is for a Ranger but fits ok.. serves the purpose I need, store a few tools,take off trash and drive to work.. I have a small trailer if I need anything large.. the hitch with 2 balls fits nicely.. got it from Harbor Freight..
