GAP insurance and tyre insurance for a 981 Cayman S PDK - Page 2 - Boxster/Cayman - PistonHeads UK

Hi everyone - after some tentative messages in this forum and a year of hesitation, I've finally decided to take the plunge and get a Cayman S and am really excited about it! As this would be my first car, let alone a Porsche, I wondered what people thought about GAP insurance providers (I'm buying the car on finance - but not new it's about 10 months old and has depreciated 10k in that time) and whether tyre insurance (for malicious/accidental damage) is worth buying? I know the tyre insurance will come down to driving style, etc. - but are the tyres (20" alloys) really that prone to issues? I'm tempted by GAP insurance, but am assuming the OPC one isn't the cheapest/best to go for.. Any advice would be appreciated!

I always do GAP (usually ALA back to invoice) but over the last 35 years I have only had one puncture, which means now I have said it I will probably get one next week!

m999psw said: I always do GAP (usually ALA back to invoice) but over the last 35 years I have only had one puncture, which means now I have said it I will probably get one next week! Thanks - who have you used for the GAP insurance? Or do you have any providers you wouldn't recommend?

I am with these ala.co.uk. Not needed to claim yet but when I was looking for cover they seemed pretty good.

I have just ordered GAP, tyre and alloy protection on my CGTS. All from Porsche, I did do some research but costs I have been quoted have been reasonable.

DC20 said: I have just ordered GAP, tyre and alloy protection on my CGTS. All from Porsche, I did do some research but costs I have been quoted have been reasonable. I've done the same for my Dec BGTS. The Gap for piece of mind that I wouldn't have to find a 10k or 20k shortfall and the Wheel & Tyre for those 20" alloys! I did the same for my previous Mini Cooper S and my current Mini JCW. I didn't kerb a wheel for 18 months in the Cooper S, but scuffed the JCW in 4 days I was gutted, but at least it was looking new again within a week.

m999psw said: I am with these ala.co.uk. Not needed to claim yet but when I was looking for cover they seemed pretty good. Thanks - this website does look good; prices much better than the OPC offered me (predictable, I know..!). Did you consider getting the alloy cover and/or the scratch/dent cover?

DC20 said: I have just ordered GAP, tyre and alloy protection on my CGTS. All from Porsche, I did do some research but costs I have been quoted have been reasonable. Thanks - I'm due to call Porsche for the 5 day complementary insurance, so will ask them then. Did you consider getting scratch/dent cover?

Another question for you all: if an "approved repairer" under the tyre insurance policies taken to include Porsche? My worry would be that, if it does not, then the warranty could be invalidated…

FarzyB said: Thanks - I'm due to call Porsche for the 5 day complementary insurance, so will ask them then. Did you consider getting scratch/dent cover? Re Scratch & Dent cover, make sure you get a look at the policy inclusions before you do it. You might find that the maximum scratch length is 15mm or even less, plus limits on dent dimensions too.

It's worth haggling at the last minute for Gap insurance from the stealer, they seem to be able to give this away more easily than any other enticement.

m999psw said: I always do GAP (usually ALA back to invoice) but over the last 35 years I have only had one puncture, which means now I have said it I will probably get one next week! I must be unlucky... 18months ownership and three un-repairable punctures, the first just two weeks after it left the showroom! so I've spent about £1k on replacement tyres!

FarzyB said: Thanks - this website does look good; prices much better than the OPC offered me (predictable, I know..!). Did you consider getting the alloy cover and/or the scratch/dent cover? ALA are very good, have used them for all my new or nearly new cars. Great customer service, even managed to get a pro-rata refund when I sold a car inside of the 3 year cover and they gave me a discount for my new cover with it, bonus!

I have a rather simplistic view of these things, Unless you would have a Finance exposure in the event of total loss, GAP insurance doesn't really make any sense. If you do need it I'm led to believe it's usually cheaper to buy it somewhere other then the dealer. If you can afford the car, you can probably afford to replace tyres. You're going to have to replace them eventually in any event.

mdianuk said: ALA are very good, have used them for all my new or nearly new cars. Great customer service, even managed to get a pro-rata refund when I sold a car inside of the 3 year cover and they gave me a discount for my new cover with it, bonus! have you ever claimed for full invoice ?

PorscheGT4 said: have you ever claimed for full invoice ? Sadly yes, once, when my car was stolen (probably in eastern Europe now). Takes time, as expected, but was honoured in full. Was quite the result, as the car was worth about half what I paid for it and would have meant being able to buy the newer version of the same car (M3) had I wanted to stick with the brand. For £200 at the time, it turned out to be well worthwhile.

mdianuk said: PorscheGT4 said: have you ever claimed for full invoice ? Sadly yes, once, when my car was stolen (probably in eastern Europe now). Takes time, as expected, but was honoured in full. Was quite the result, as the car was worth about half what I paid for it and would have meant being able to buy the newer version of the same car (M3) had I wanted to stick with the brand. For £200 at the time, it turned out to be well worthwhile. +1 I always take GAP for that very reason. Just in case. and silverlinng point kind of makes it less bad when it happens.

Trotmant said: mdianuk said: PorscheGT4 said: have you ever claimed for full invoice ? Sadly yes, once, when my car was stolen (probably in eastern Europe now). Takes time, as expected, but was honoured in full. Was quite the result, as the car was worth about half what I paid for it and would have meant being able to buy the newer version of the same car (M3) had I wanted to stick with the brand. For £200 at the time, it turned out to be well worthwhile. +1 I always take GAP for that very reason. Just in case. and silverlinng point kind of makes it less bad when it happens. Completely agree - I'd rather spend £300 now and avoid a potential £20,000 later, no matter the odds against the latter happening. I spent a while on the ALA website last night and they seem transparent and reasonable. Scratch/dent cover there is also limited to 15mm length for scratch and a fixed diameter for dents, which is fair enough I think. That said, the claim limit per claim is about £100 which won't really cover it and so it seems this isn't one worth getting.

engineermk said: m999psw said: I always do GAP (usually ALA back to invoice) but over the last 35 years I have only had one puncture, which means now I have said it I will probably get one next week! I must be unlucky... 18months ownership and three un-repairable punctures, the first just two weeks after it left the showroom! so I've spent about £1k on replacement tyres! Wow - that's high! I do sometimes kerb tyres (no punctures, but these weren't performance tyes), so I plan on getting the tyre cover.

Ozzie Osmond said: I have a rather simplistic view of these things, Unless you would have a Finance exposure in the event of total loss, GAP insurance doesn't really make any sense. If you do need it I'm led to believe it's usually cheaper to buy it somewhere other then the dealer. If you can afford the car, you can probably afford to replace tyres. You're going to have to replace them eventually in any event. I agree with you on the GAP insurance - the dealer is definitely not the right place. In terms of the tyres, the concern is more about premature tyre damage - wear and tear is expected and budgeted for, but the (poor) quality of the roads in London could mean losing tyres for no reason other than bad luck. So I'll be getting this insurance.

GAP insurance makes a lot of sense if your buy on finance or expecting large depreciation, for example new or nearly new car. I had a non reparable puncher a week after picking up a used car, £380 for two new fronts. Makes that tyre insurance look tempting.

FarzyB said: Wow - that's high! I do sometimes kerb tyres (no punctures, but these weren't performance tyes), so I plan on getting the tyre cover. no kerbs... one bolt! one screw and one nail... Argh

engineermk said: FarzyB said: Wow - that's high! I do sometimes kerb tyres (no punctures, but these weren't performance tyes), so I plan on getting the tyre cover. no kerbs... one bolt! one screw and one nail... Argh Ouch! I'm all insured up. As an update, the ALA cover won't cover the Carrera Classic alloys, because these are diamond cut.

Has anyone claimed on their gap insurance. I tried on the gap insurance I had on my S2000, and when some scumbag nicked it they wouldn't cover the gap. Insisting there was no gap, I even tried the ombudsman who didn't find in my favour. Personally on that experience I wouldn't bother again, unless I hear different here.

I'll hopefully be taking delivery of my 981 2.7 PDK on friday so have been looking at this thread with interest. I've managed to sort out GAP insurance with ALA for a very reasonable amount (£192 instead of Porsche's £699!). I've been wondering about the tyre and alloy protection as these both seem pretty good value with ALA - £120 for alloys and £220 for tyres (both 2 year policies). I had tyre insurance when I had a 997 a few years ago and it paid for itself easily, that was with porsche though so wondering if I'll get reasonable cover from ALA. Specifically whether they'll be happy with replacing a tyre rather than repairing it if it gets a nail in it. Does any one have any experience of this on here?

Do any of you have vehicle replacement GAP? I have a policy bought from Frank Pickles for my BMW, deferred for 12 months (Aviva car insurance replace car if wrote off in first year), the policy pays out the full replacement cost so if the price has gone up (which it will have) you get the new price for your car or nearest equivalent. An added advantage is they don't care if you got a discount, you get the full price regardless. They pay out in cash too so you can buy a new car anywhere even a different make. Seems a better policy than ALA to me - or am I missing something?