I will be leasing a new Toyota Mirai in couple of weeks (already reserved one coming to dealer) and I had a question about my liability and need for a Gap Insurance. I did some reading on previous gap insurance discussion here and still bit confused. I understand that Toyotas don’t come with gap insurance included as part of a standard lease.
So I plan to do a 1 pay lease and if I total the car in the three years I am leasing it and if insurance company values the car at lower than the residual value then I would lose my 1 pay completely. I think I am OK with that idea and would not purchase gap insurance.
Now my question is, if the residual value is significantly lower than the pay off at the time the car is totaled, would I be liable for more than what I already paid for one pay lease up front to the leasing company? If so, I may purchase gap insurance. Since this is a hydrogen car, it is possible depreciation could be very steep and if car is totaled, it might not add up toe residual value.
Any insight of the experts here would be appreciated.
It doesn’t have to do with the RV. You need to compare its current payoff amount vs the current value. If it’s negative, you (or GAP) is responsible for the difference.
I know generally it doesn’t have to do with RV but in my case it does since I am doing a 1 pay lease upfront and I am OK with losing my 1 pay amount if the car is totaled.
My question again is, am I going to be liable for more than 1 pay lease I paid upfront if insurance company pays out is less than RV at any point in the lease? I am trying to minimize unknown risk meaning I am OK with losing upfront money but not future money. And since this is a hydrogen car depreciation will be significant as I drive it off lot. I am trying to decide whether to get gap insurance for this scenario.
Why would you be okay with losing your one payment? Gap insurance through your regular insurance company is pretty cheap as others posted here previously.
The answer is still the same. If the current value is less than the current payoff amount (the RV in your 1-pay case), then you are responsible for the difference. This seems unlikely, but I guess it’s possible.
Ok. Thanks for information. I figured that was the case. The reason I am concerned about my liability below RV is because Mirai’s value sink like a rock. Look at this three year old Mirai selling for $15k (link below). Mirai is a $60K car and it dropped to $15K in three years. That is why I am concerned about my liability if I total this car during my lease.
I have Geico and they don’t provide gap insurance so I have to get it from somewhere else. Anybody have any suggestion where to buy beside at the dealer when I am picking up the car? Can the gap insurance be purchased after the car deal is completed from another toyota dealer?
So, this could be an issue for Mirai lease. That it may be difficult to get gap insurance and only option is to buy from dealer meaning you are stuck with whatever they offer you which could be quite expensive.
Any other hackers here lease a Mirai and got gap insurance? How much did you pay?
If you can buy it reasonably at the dealer get the gap! It is a mark up game/profit center for some so just know what it should cost and negotiate. If that is not an option many insurance companies will offer something as an add on similar to gap (know this as an insurance broker). They are not expensive but do have limitations (2 to 3 years and usually no more than 125% of the actual cars value in a total loss payout). Only you can decide what is the best for you. On a car like the Mirai I personally would not take the chance of self insuring. It could be a very costly situation if your holding the bag for some negative equity.
