I enjoy learning about these systems to buy things you cannot afford. I assume this is because the remaining principle on the loan is greater than the purchase price minus depreciation?
There can be a gap between the amount of the loan and what the insurance will pay out for a totaled car. This type of insurance covers that gap, hence the name.
There are a number of factors why the loan might be higher than the payout. In general, if you need gap insurance you are likely overextended.
Not really. Cars devalue the second you drive them off the lot because it goes from new to used. A totaled car under insurance would get you the cost of a used car, because thats what your car is, even if you just bought it that week. The gap covers the value between new and used. Still a giant scam though.
It’s insurance if you total your brand new car youre paying off , so you don’t end up with no car and -45k+ in debt (having to pay off a car that’s now totaled and being scrapped), annnddd need a new car . If you have gap insurance and total ur car, your old car gets paid off and you’re at null again, or you have a couple extra thousand to throw on a new car. I learned this the hard way after getting tboned in an intersection the 2nd day I had my brand new Subaru and not understanding why insurance wasn’t covering it…🤦🏻♀️ but it’s a huge scam, but unfortunately it’s one that we have implemented into society here, just like many other scams…
In the US? Yeah absolutely, people will buy way outside of their means and take out a 72 month loan at like, 6+% APR just to look I dunno, rich to their neighbors? It's weird. GAP gives them a safety net I guess if bad things happen but still, it shouldn't be necessary.
It absolutely is! But outside of owning a home, which for most people is LOL yeah right, their only lizard brain symbol of status is what they are driving around town, so people fall for the trap.
I could very much afford my vehicle and still got gap insurance. Gap is like $10/month and cars depreciate crazy fast. It loses like $5k the second you drive it off the lot. I don’t want to be saddled with paying off that difference if some idiot in a shitbox totals my car after a month.
So say you get a loan from the bank for $30k for the vehicle. You drive the car for 3 months and still owe $28k on it. The car is only worth $25k now though. You get into an accident and the car is totaled. If you don’t have gap insurance, your insurance will only pay out what the car is worth ($25k). You still owe the difference ($3k) to the bank. If you don’t have gap insurance then you have to pay that $3k out of pocket. Gap insurance is especially useful if you have a longer loan term (60+ months) because it’s highly likely that the car is going to depreciate faster than you’re paying it off.
Taking a loan doesn’t mean you can’t afford a car….there are multiple reasons to finance a vehicle vs paying cash.
Manufacturer incentives often don’t apply if you pay cash so you end up paying a higher price up front.
If interest rates are below ~5% then you are better off financing the vehicle because you can reliably get 5%+ returns with your cash in an SP500 ETF over the life of the loan.
Even if you have the cash up front to buy a vehicle but you don’t want to deplete savings in the event of an unforeseen circumstance (job loss, health issue, natural disaster) you can use the loan to spread the burden out over time and put your savings into an ETF/CD/other financial vehicle that will cover the cost of interest but also leave you liquid.
Anytime you purchase a new car, it depreciates like crazy as soon as you drive it off the lot, even if you purchased it at fair market value, so it doesn't necessarily mean you overpaid or rolled the old loan in.
LPT, never buy it from the dealership as they charge you for every month of the loan, when you may only need it 12-24 months. You can add it to your regular policy and drop it once the loan to value equalizes.
I learned this the hard way on a motorcycle. Totaled the bike (and my spine in the process) and after full coverage insurance paid their part, I had to keep making payments for like a year. Gap is a must have
Only saying this so some people don't get the wrong impression. Gap insurance covers a set amount like "125% of vehicle value at time of accident" doesn't cover ANY amount leftover.
Its for when you make a dumb decision like financing a car for 10 years plus 5 years worth of upside down from the last one and then total it. Extra insurance to pay the difference between what the car is worth and what you owe on it.
Usually $20-50 per month if your insurer offers it, $500-1000 once up front at purchase if you buy it from the dealer. Some people think it pays out on trade in/sale, but you need to have your car be a total loss for it to pay.
Some people even make that mistake multiple times.
I was a finance manager for years. GAP insurance is and never has been $20-$50 a month and it’s not even a monthly fee. It’s a one time fee that a majority of banks now include for free on the loan and if they don’t, might cost $80-$120. When I added it to my wife’s car last year it was $60 total.
It’s a specific protection/insurance you’re able to purchase alongside a vehicle from a dealership, IIRC if you total your vehicle you’ll have the remaining amount of the loan debt paid off after the other insurance payouts are sorted out.
The moment you drive a car off the lot it is worth a lot less than you paid, so if it gets totaled quickly the gap insurance covers the gap in value and loan value.
92
u/sourbeer51 8d ago
Hits deer next day and didn't get gap insurance
LET'S GO BRANDON