the big problem with Gap Insurance !

[wanderingbob]

If you buy gap insurance on a new RV you are acknowledging right from the purchase that you owe more than it is worth ! Why would you buy and finance something that has less worth the instant that you buy it !
Pay a lot more down and you are in the same boat but you will save the cost of gap insurance .
There are no easy answers , if that is the only way that you can swing the deal , have at it !
Americas RV industry was built on pay as little down as ya can and finance for 12 years .

[BadgerMcAdams]

GAP insurance...wouldn't be without it. My experience with not having it.

We owned a Dodge Intrepid. Wife was hit by a woman who was caboosing through a light (Wife had the right of way). Insurance totaled the car.

Their insurance called and said, "The check for your car, $13,000 and change, will be ready for you to pick up tomorrow morning"

Tomorrow morning, their insurance called, "Oh, yeah, we just realized she had the minimum coverage, all you are getting is $10,000. Sorry about that."

Luckily, our insurance said to take the $10,000 and they would cover the $3,000+...They would then go after the woman who hit us in court for the difference.

That could have turned out very differently with us having to find the $3,000 difference. When we bought our 2017 Dodge Ram, we got GAP insurance. As long as the minimum insurance coverage required is generally 1/3 to 1/4 of the amount needed to pay off a totaled vehicle, it is worth it in my opinion.

Of Course, Your mileage may vary...

[roadrat2]

Given the immediate depreciation of an RV, I would think that all banks would require gap insurance on any purchase that isn't at least 20% down. It's hard to imagine the bank not insisting on enough insurance to cover the amount of the loan, at a minimum.

[time2roll]

My GAP insurance is cash in the bank. Using all your cash presents risks also.

Paying just the minimum payment is the real trouble. If you can only afford the minimum payment maybe too much was spent on the toy.

[westernrvparkow]

I can't think of too many things you buy that isn't worth much less once you walk out the door. Try selling a pre-owned Big Mac. See what you can get on Ebay for a pair of underwear, even if they still have the tag on them. And yes, the vast majority of people finance all those purchases today since actual cash is being used less and less every day. I use a credit card (so I am financing those small purchases) for those and similar items daily. The fact I pay the balance in full monthly does not change the fact I financed items that became worthless the minute I stepped out of the door.
I have purchased GAP insurance on several vehicles because there was financing options that were to my benefit, superior to paying cash. As previously mentioned, GAP insurance is very cheap and I deemed it to be a prudent purchase. Yes, peace of mind through insurance can be expensive, but who among us can financially handle the absolute worst case that could occur without insurance, be it on our automobiles, our RVs, our homes or our health.

[ktmrfs]

ksg5000 wrote:

wanderingbob wrote:
If you buy gap insurance on a new RV you are acknowledging right from the purchase that you owe more than it is worth

Just about every vehicle you buy is worth less than what you paid for it as soon as you drive it off the lot. People buy GAP insurance when they don't have the financial resources to run the risk that they can't pay off their RV Loan in the event it's totalled. No shame in that - and it's a choice based on their wallet.

x2. In our case I have never bought gap insurance and have very high deductibles. the savings from that strategy has more than paid for any losses we have incurred. But if the losses would be a big hardship then insurance is a good way to go. But think of insurance as protecting you from losses you can't afford and buy appropriately.

[ksg5000]

wanderingbob wrote:
If you buy gap insurance on a new RV you are acknowledging right from the purchase that you owe more than it is worth

Just about every vehicle you buy is worth less than what you paid for it as soon as you drive it off the lot. People buy GAP insurance when they don't have the financial resources to run the risk that they can't pay off their RV Loan in the event it's totalled. No shame in that - and it's a choice based on their wallet.

[Ozlander]

Don't buy new.

[Walaby]

Wow... did you just wake up this morning and come to this conclusion?

As Halmfamily said, GAP is very inexpensive, certainly not the thousands of dollars you are implying.

Even if you drop 50% down cash, you are STILL paying more than the RV is worth as soon as you drive it off the lot. In the cash down scenario, you are just out more of your money up front. Why would you throw away your cash on a trailer that is worth less the instant you buy it?

Im pretty sure everyone here is an adult and can make their own informed decisions.

Mike

[Lwiddis]

“if most of us wait to save up enough money our children would have never experienced the joy of camping”

The joy of camping doesn’t require an RV...for adults or kids.

[Halmfamily]

GAP insurance is very inexpensive. We paid $350 for GAP through our credit union, whom we received our loan through. Thats less than 1% of pur loan. We are not all wealthy individuals, that being said, if most of us wait to save up enough money our children would have never experienced the joy of camping. We live one life and are not going to worry about paying interest.

[riven1950]

Like you said depreciation is going to get you whether you pay cash or finance. Is replacement cost insurance the Gap insurance for those of us who pay cash? If so, and you hate Gap insurance, do you also hate replacement cost insurance?

[Grit_dog]

Glad to get that off your chest Bob?

[ken56]

Something is worth only what someone is willing to pay for it. It's the same for a car or truck. Depreciation is what it is, we live with it or we don't purchase anything because everything depreciates. I have never purchased "gap" insurance just like extended warranties it's not worth the money to me.


I hate insurance companies but what ya gonna do? it's a necessary evil that we have to have it. I am sure if all of us added up the premiums we have paid for car insurance and the claimes we have made on said insurance we would be shocked at how much we have paid for that "peace of mind".