Recently I purchased a used vehicle with 0DAS, so looking to get Gap insurance.
I thought it’d be a lot easier to purchase a standalone gap so I turned down the inflated gap offered by the dealership, but it turns out it’s a lot harder to get just the gap.
It’s like trying to just buy a car without all the markups, add-ons, and addendums lol
I tried looking up on the forum, but most of the information is a few years old, and can’t seem to find the one that applies to me.
A few years ago, someone said to go through gapdirect but it seems like they went out of business.
To give a brief explanation, I financed through BoA which I don’t believe Gap is included as part of the loan. And my auto insurance doesn’t offer Gap and it’d cost me a lot more to switch auto insurance than buying a standalone Gap.
Also, I called a few credit unions that I have an account with, but all of them said either I can only purchase the gap if I finance through them or have auto insurance so it won’t work.
While I shouldn’t be upside down much despite 0DAS since I believe I got a very good deal (the sale price was about the trade-in price according to kbb) still I would like to get a gap for peace of mind.
AAA sells gap insurance, but it can vary by region.
Some of the auto insurance companies will offer gap and/or new car replacement.
You could call on another dealership.
There are probably several thousand more exciting ways to flush $400-700 down the toilet (you’re insuring a remote chance of loss combined with a small potential loss, which generally results in absurd premiums relative to the actual risk);
(And I think this may be your best option)… I’ve done a vehicle loan with Bank of America and their rates were outstanding, but that was then and this is now. Take a look at your APR and compare it to what else is out there. It might make sense to immediately refi to a better rate, and then if you still absolutely think you must have this coverage, add it to your refi transaction before it closes.
Take the $$ you would spend in GAP and pay a principal payment on the loan- this will save intrest and bring down the likleyhood you would ever need gap coverage. You didn’t bring in neg equity, and it appears you shopped around to get a good price. The likleyhood of you needing it is pretty minimal.
The finance guy at the dealer was pretty chill to deal with, we had a good car talk and he offered me some options. I was only interested in extended warranty and wheel&tire road hazard with cosmetics; after negotiating a few times, he offered me a pretty aggressive price which ended up to a level where it was take it or leave it. And I ended up taking both.
I do believe those was either at-cost or only a minimum profit if there was any. I didn’t even bother haggling on the gap as I genuinely thought I can easily get a standalone gap for less than $400 without any effort, which turns out to be not true.
While I can call and try to add it, honestly I’m skeptical if they’re willing to go $500 or less judging by the initial offer which is the absolute maximum amount I’m willing to pay for a gap. The car was a very last-minute decision that I only had a short time to make a decision before someone else takes it, so I admit I didn’t really have time to shop around for an auto loan. However, one credit union where I could add gap offered me 1% more APR than the rate BoA gave me hence I went with BoA.
All in all, I think I’ll take Max and Buster’s advice and pass on the gap.
Thanks for your opinion tho!
From what I could find, AAA socal doesn’t sell gap as a standalone. And my auto insurance doesn’t offer gap which would have made everything a lot easier.
Wish if they just showed me the pricing instead of having to call them and ask for a quote.
Wish I could be a member of USAA or Navy Federal.
I completely agree with you. I had a previous BoA auto loan from 2020 and it was less than half of the APR that I’m paying now. It was the best rate I could find for the current market so it is what it is. As I mentioned in a reply to wam’s comment, this was a very last-minute decision and I had to act quickly before someone else takes the car so I had no time to shop around. Still, it was cheaper than a CU and what dealer would offer. I’m not opposed to refi or pay off earlier, so we will see how the market goes.
You’re right, sounds like a better plan overall. I was just worried that the car market is cooling down, and it is a fairly newer car so I might hit deep depreciation within a year or so if anything happens. It was definitely for a ‘just in case’ thing so the chances of me needing it are very minimal, most likely a waste of money. Worst comes to worst, it won’t be too much of a loss where I can just eat up the cost; I’ll be sad but won’t be the end of the world.
We had AAA years ago but it kept getting more expensive for no reason so I made a move. Granted I didn’t get a quote from AAA recently but I am pretty confident that I’m still paying significantly less for the current carrier I have compared to AAA.
I’m a member of both, and neither has the best of anything.
If you’re looking for low-end financial products and abusive service from a place that exploits uniformed military members in its advertising, there’s always PenFed.
I’ve heard that USAA/Navy Federal offers a better benefits, but it could be something that grass looks greener on the other side.
I do have PenFed and they’re the one offered me worse rate than BoA
I joined both for similar (abstract) reasons, and I’ve found that there’s no there there.
Navy Federal is good if you have terrible credit and no one else will give you an unsecured credit card.
USAA is an enigma to me. Their insurance used to be outstanding, but more recent reading suggests that only the true believers still think this is true.
I’ve had nothing but negative experiences with USAA’s banking (beyond belligerent customer service, their ATM cards only allow you to make withdrawals from savings, not checking ). I learned this lesson in Amsterdam when I was almost out of cash.
The only reason I haven’t left is that the ways I joined each are no longer available, and it doesn’t cost anything to stay.
