albertcado

Our family's IS 500 has been allocated so we should be able to pick one within the next month and make it ours. How many of you new IS 500 owners purchased GAP insurance? I've never had GAP on my previous vehicles but as this being our first high end luxury car in a very bad driving culture (LA area) I'm highly considering it.
Any advice would be much appreciated. Also what's the best way to figure out when I should cancel the GAP if I decide to get it? I'm aware at a certain point it won't be necessary when the value covers what's owed, do I have that right?

Thanks in advance.

Bechtold

Well I guess it depends. I put a decent down payment so I didn't think about doing it. I should be ahead of the depreciation curve. I would only recommend it if you are trading something in that still needs to be paid off. Otherwise I feel it should be fine to pass on it.

jororo

Don't know cost for the GAP insurance but cheaper option could be to just get car insurance with new vehicle replacement? Then if it gets totaled/etc you just have the existing financing agreement novated to reflect the new replacement car as the collateral in lieu of the older totaled vehicle. Guessing that'd buy you two years at least.

PSGT4

Is it a fun/weekend car or daily driver?

albertcado

I'll be trading in my current car which will have some of the loan still owed on it, but the trade-in should cover the remaining financed amount and have some cash left for downpayment. In addition, we're going to be putting more cash on top of it as down payment. How much down payment total would you recommend?

albertcado

It's going to be a daily driven family car with mostly local driving. Unfortunately I live in Los Angeles where the drivers are horrible and unless they're driving a nice car themselves they don't care much about damage to their own or other's vehicles :T

Bechtold

Sounds like then you won't be the upside down on the trade person who should get Gap insurance. I recommend putting as much down as you are comfortable with and not draining your accounts of course. With interest rates rising I'm all for financing as little as possible.

LeeSabien

Here’s my take: if you’re financing your sweet IS 500 and putting down less than 20%, it might be worth considering. Gap coverage kicks in if your car gets totaled and your insurance payout doesn’t cover what you still owe on the loan. It’s like a safety net for your wheels!

Check out more info on gap insurance at https://www.insurancecloud.co.uk/services/gap/. It’s not a must for everyone, but hey, better safe than sorry, right? Drop your thoughts below—let’s share the wisdom!

mastershibe

You won't really have a choice probably, the dealer will just stick it in the financing paperwork and you'll have to fight to get it removed. Probably a good idea to have if you won't be able to afford coughing up 30k on the spot if your car gets totaled.

Benibiker1558

So, Gap insurance covers the remaining balance on your auto loan if your car is stolen or totaled and your car is worth less than what you owe. If you rolled over another car loan into your new car loan or had a very small down payment it's probably a good idea to get Gap insurance otherwise if something happens to your car (heaven forbid), you'll be without a car and still owe on it . The IS500 and Lexus in general hold their values pretty well so I would see what the Kelly Blue Book value is and compare that to what you owe, then you have a better idea if you need it or not.

RSColeman

Yes if you owe more than what insurance company will pay you if vehicle is totaled. Hard part is figuring out what that dollar amount is from insurance company and even harder to determine as you add miles and years to car. I assume their is cost analysis with all those factors and it spits out a price but no way to get a copy of it unless you are in the insurance business. If I paid 25% or better down I would not bother with GAP. Happily at my and my wife's age we just wrote a big check and took our car home, title is coming in mail.

chi3fy

GAP is need / recommended if you owe more than what the vehicle is worth, so in the event of a total loss and your upside down it will cover the difference.